Watership Down

Some people who have read the book hate both this TV series and the 1978 film. I've read the book, and do not hate them. Maybe because I saw the TV and film adaptations before.

This series is children's version of the classic novel - so unlike the 1978 film - there is considerably less violence and darkness. Most children will love it because of the endearing characters and fluent animation (quite good for a TV cartoon.) This was one of my favourite shows when I was little, and I liked it because of the way rabbits were presented - intelligent dignified and handsome creatures, not cutesy little balls of fluff.

I must confess, I saw the film before I saw this, and I like both. However, if it were not for this TV show, I would probably never have been eager to read, and love, the book. Many people do not like the 'kiddified' feel, but they do not realise the fact that this was created to introduce children of all ages to the amazing world of Watership Down.

I generously give this series a 7. Although it was well done, season 3 and the ending was a let down. I would have rated it an 8 if season 3 reflected season 1 and 2.

It is a unique story and animation following the trials and tribulations of a rabbit warren. It is much like a regular drama except it is animated with rabbits as main characters instead of humans. I think the content is too mature for kids. Perhaps it would be okay for teens.

It was a disappointment that they veered off in season 3 and were much too focused on war and creating a warren at a man made facility (which was not in the book) was just too far fetched. Rabbits are peaceful and gentle creatures and they belong in the natural world and are not adaptable as other animals such as rats or mice.

This aside, my main criticism of the series was that they should have had one more episode to wrap things up and let us witness outcomes. Instead it felt as though it ended short if they ran out of budget.

As the summary says, this is a good cartoon for kids and TV lovers. It's got all the generic yet lovable characters: a wise leader, a strong fighter, a wisecracker, a sarcastic guy, a smart gal, a cute kid, a big, fierce enemy, and an unsuspected bonus: a prophet! It's fun at times and serious when need be, always interesting and doesn't make you lose interest two minutes into episode one like some cartoons can.

All the same, parts of it are kind of an insult to the original novel. Blackberry, originally a smart male, is a female in the show. (Well, naturally...) Pipkin is a child, not an adult, and some characters were completely cut out, such as Silver and Hyzenthlay. In fact, Hyzenthlay has been replaced with a new female, Primrose. Most lapine words and names, including the does we know from the book like Hyzenthlay, have been taken out, probably since kids can't pronounce them. Kehaar is also much more friendly and rabbit-loving than his book or even movie counterpart. He's been given a little mouse friend who tails him a lot, called Hannah.

I know most of this comment is negative, but that's probably because I read the book before I saw the movie. The series is actually cute, and if you just ignore the parts that are different from the book, it's certainly a show worth watching. Enjoy!

Although many would say that it doesn't even compare to the 1978 film, Personally I'd say it was better. I love the Characters it makes it hard for me to pick a favourite, Which I one of the things I love about it. Blackberry changed from Buck (Male) to Doe (Female). I love the female Blackberry and it was nice to have a Sandleford doe on the Down. This series introduced new characters, never featured in the book such as Spartina or Hickory. It also showed Redstone warren and Darkhaven warren. Characters like Hawkbit, Strawberry or Silverweed made it into the Series. Lapine was still used but I think there should have been more. I think the changes in this series were great, Remember though its only Based on the novel by Richard Adams and if it had of been the same as the film, It would have been quite boring!

The famous novel is the latest thing to fall victim to the commercialism industry. Everywhere you look now there is 'Watership Down' merchandising based on this TV series.

Re-makes rarely turn out anything as good as the originals, and that's certainly the case here. This series is a product of a modern generation which seems to think that kids can only watch cosily bland stuff - I saw the original film when I was a youngster and I never had nightmares. The voices in this TV series version are variable. A few of the vocalists from the original film return, but most of the voices are just typical 'cute cartoon bunny' voices and many supposedly serious scenes are rendered laughable.

Too early-morning-cartoony to be taken seriously, too slow and uneventful to be regarded as comedy. Do yourself a favour and get the original film on video - it's been re-graded from a PG (Parental Guidence) to a U (suitable for all), so even the producers must realise it isn't all that shocking for youngsters.