Watership Down (1999– )

The adventures of a warren of rabbits as they struggle to develop their new home & protect it from the various threats they face.

Stars:

Richard Briers, Jane Horrocks, Andrew Falvey

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Richard Briers	...	Captain Broom (15 episodes, 1999-2001)
Jane Horrocks	...	Hannah (14 episodes, 1999-2000)
Andrew Falvey	...	Fiver (13 episodes, 1999)
Phill Jupitus	...	Dandelion (13 episodes, 1999)
Stephen Mangan	...	Bigwig (13 episodes, 1999)
Lee Ross	...	Hawkbit (13 episodes, 1999)
Ian Shaw	...	Hazel (13 episodes, 1999)
Rik Mayall	...	Kehaar (13 episodes, 1999)
Elliot Henderson-Boyle	...	Pipkin (12 episodes, 1999)
Rob Rackstraw	...	Campion (9 episodes, 1999)
David Holt	...	Vervain (8 episodes, 1999)
Kate Ashfield	...	Primrose (7 episodes, 1999)
John Hurt	...	General Woundwort (7 episodes, 1999-2000)

Storyline

Heeding the warning of a vision of their old home's destruction, a group of rabbits led by Hazel, his brother Fiver the visionary, the ever inventive doe, Blackberry, and Bigwig, a former member of their old home's military class, go in search of a new home. With the help of new found friends like Kehaar the gull and Hannah the mouse, Fiver's vision leads them to a home called Watership Down. Now, Hazel and his friends must establish their warren and protect it from the threats they face which include humans, predators, and especially the menace of a tyrannically militaristic warren led by the merciless General Woundwart.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbit | place name in title | runt | remake | based on novel

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Genres:

Adventure | Animation | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alltime Entertainment, Canal Famille, Le, Decode Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Hurt, who provides the voice of "General Woundwort", provided the voice of "Hazel" in the 1978 film.

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Connections

Version of Watership Down (1978)

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Soundtracks

"In Fields of Sun"
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Mike Batt

User Reviews

Not as good as the book or film, but a very good show regardless

The book is an incredibly powerful one and the 1978 is one of my all-time favourite movies. So actually considering that the intense nature of the book and film would be simplified for a more family-oriented series I was not expecting much. But I found myself incredibly impressed. In correlation to the book and film it is not as good, but deserves to stand on its own. What was actually impressive about the Watership Down series was that while the ferocity and power was more dominant in the book and film, the series at the same doesn't fall into the trap of making it into a stereotypical cute little bunnies show. There is definitely a darkness and sense of conflict there, but it doesn't feel like too much. The morals are done in a realistic way and the story lines are intelligently done. The writing is strong, not childish or too sophisticated, the music is lovingly haunting and the animation looks beautiful. I actually found the character design of General Woundwort more threatening than he is in the film. The characters are basic in the types of characters they are, but at the same time there is nothing dull or annoying about them. The voice acting is terrific, Richard Briers is suitably earnest and John Hurt takes on the villainous role of Woundwort and is subtly malevolent. Overall, I found it to be a very good show. 9/10 Bethany Cox