**MOST SHOCKING CARTOON?!** Watership Down (1978) Reaction/ Commentary: FIRST TIME WATCHING
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*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners.
I HIGHLY recommend the book. It goes into more detail on rabbit culture and language. The scene with Cowslip's warren is longer and much more disturbing, and Efrafa gets more development as well. While seeing Hazel die at the end is bittersweet, it's honestly the best ending he could have had. So few wild animals survive long enough to die of old age, especially prey animals like rabbits, so the fact that Hazel got to that point is honestly a miracle. Just to be clear, he didn't die right after the battle. The book states that he was Chief of the warren for a long time before he died.
Also the book does a much better job of depicture the conflict between Bigwig and Hazel. You don't really feel it really in the movie. As well as the friendship between Kehaar and Bigwig. It is so great in the book :D
Not to forget the book has my favourite character! Bluebell
well that changes a lot. I only know the movie and for me it was always so sad that he would die so soon after saving his people
The ending is so sweet yet somber and realistic. We all die in the end ❤
Kehaar is a black headed gull which is common in Britain as well as other seagulls like the herring gull but like any other animal he speaks in broken English to the rabbits ❤
@soloragoldsun2163 Grew up seeing the film every year on Boxing day on tv throughout the eighties and the opening still gives me goosebumps. Love the book as well (when i finally read it, 20 years later)... And of course, as Richard Adams has always said, there is absolutely, definitely, inconceivably no allegorical or metaphorical meaning at all, not even subconsciously. Non what so ever. Zero. Nada. It's just a story of rabbits looking for a new, peaceful place to live.🤔😁
I remember watching this as a 4 year old child and being scared shitless by Fiver's premonitions and the scene where the rabbits were all trapped in the caves suffocating. Its a BIG piece of my childhood, this movie. The book is equally good, I remember stealing it from the school library when I found it
It was exactly the same scene for me. I could take the blood and violence but not the rabbits suffocating in this artstyle. It was 100% a movie for children, but somebody just went a little bit to far. the remake or the nikelodeon series was much more tame.
I saw this movie as a kid,and the scene you described was actually more horrifying than mere suffocation. Fiver’s premonition was of home development coming to the area. The warren was closed in deliberately and they were gassed,likely going crazy and attacking each other,as well as being subjected to the terror of having machines dig up their warren with them still inside,those still alive unable to really move because of all the dead bodies. It’s basically thoughtless development from the point of view of the wildlife affected.
Oh my God I also watched this movie when I was about four years old, and I too do this day gets flats back from it. And from that dam Cat!
Omg I came here to comment exactly that!! It was fivers premonitions that scared me the most- they were so haunting as a small child around 5!! The scary rabbits were scary but definitely the scary premonitions making you feel the world is surrounded in danger and impending doom. Yes I'm not sure it's really suitable for young children. It does have a lot of good life lessons in it but maybe for older children around 8. I love the spitituality in it and the themes about the vulnerability of nature and wildlife, the human impact on the environment. I'm sure this movie had a big effect on my life as environmental concerns, animals and nature have always been very important to me from a young age. Also I'm have a very spiritual perspective on life. I love the team work of the good rabbits too and how they all bravely work together. I definitely relate to the comment above about flashbacks to fivers doom laden premonitions - at least growing up. Seeing it again always brings it back!! Also Thor seemed to think it was a good ending when Hazel went with the Black rabbit, but for a 5 year old not fully comprehending death I was heart broken for Hazel having worked so hard to save his people and then having to leave them behind- it was traumatic!!😭Of all the rabbits I think I relate most to Fiver but he was very heroic in his own way and did save then all with his insight. I was born the year of this movie and it was regularly shown on TV in the UK growing up.
@@leogem177 I would have been disturbed by Hazel’s passing too if not for the understanding that he lived a full life with his people and undoubtedly became a father,grandfather,great-grandfather,etc.,and only had to pass from old age. If he’d passed from grievous injuries,I would have been traumatized too.
The main reason people remember this as very violent and shocking, is because many people saw it for the first time as a child of under 10. Sometimes because their parents saw the cover or poster and thought it would be about cute bunnies, in my case because my parents were okay with me watching it. It stuck in people's minds, either as the cute movie that turned out to be way more violent than they thought, or the first really bloody movie they saw. Like, compare this with the average cartoons children see...
Cant agree more. My experience exactly, I was in grade school when it came out
Being traumatized by this movie is a universal and much cherished childhood experience across the UK, at least to a certain age idk if it's still the case.
The same company also did another film of Richard Adam’s book called ‘Plague Dogs’, definitely worth checking out if you enjoyed Watership Down.
That’s another great, but dark movie.
super good movie but super dark and sad.
Might be hard to find. I don't think it was ever available in the US
@@bmoak The entire movie used to be uploaded to TH-cam somewhere.
@@bmoak its free on youtube movies channel th-cam.com/video/mHY5kJCc1KI/w-d-xo.html
In the US, this was standard movie watching for kids age 8-13. Before the movie came out, you could find the book in every school library! Great story about good vs evil, I remember being around 11 or 12 sitting around with my friends discussing this movie and trying to figure out what characters we wanted to be.
The novel wasn't written FOR children, more like a great novel for anybody to read! It was considered to be a children's book by people who hadn't read it, because they're just fluffy little Bunnies, right?
Yes, I agree. Plus, in Great Britain it was given a "U" rating, like our "G" so hey, family friendly! Bring the three year olds! And then there was much grousing about the violence and blood. But I never viewed it as a childrens novel or movie. In a way Disney made people feel that any movie with cute talking animals in it was kid friendly. This movie is one of my all time favorites.
@@leslie2149 People in the 90s let their kids watch South Park because "it's a cartoon" -- people are stupid.
The author told this story to his young children to keep them occupied in the car while driving to holiday, well before writing the book. This 100% was conceived of and created to be a children's story. It's just that in the 70s kids weren't coddled as much as they are nowadays.
@@pacio49 Yep. Some of the best children's books started out as stories told to the author's children.
I've always known it as a children's story.
Not for 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 children, of course; I wouldn't show this to preschoolers!
It seems like it's regarded as a good story to bridge the transition between "feel-good" fairy tales, where the prince wins the heart of the princess and they live happily ever after, and the more "adult" themed novels with moral dilemmas, where the reader has to come up with their own answers.
If a kid is too old for 𝘊𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, I would definitely recommend having them read this before handing them 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚.
Watership down is a hill in Hampshire England. It’s a real place, I’ve been there. Looks pretty much like it does in the film.
Lendri. Owsla. Hrududu. In Richard Adams' excellent novel the rabbits had their own terminology for things, a Lapine vocabulary (included in a glossary at the end of the book). This made the Lapine society much more believable.
Flay hraka. Emari marli mi U embleer homba!
@@tommc3622 Language!
So for example from this, since Thor asked: Flay is green food, like plants. Rah, added to something, means 'king' or 'lord' or 'great.' So Flayrah is special great food.
It's even in names. Elil Hrair Rah means 'Princes with a Thousand Enemies' from elil (predator) hrair (uncountable, which for rabbits means 'more than four') rah (prince). And they say what the character's names actually are in lapine. Fiver, for example, is Hrairoo - literally 'little thousand' but it's a cute name that means he was one of more-than-four in the litter.
@@ianburns1167 Very good explanation. Whenever I see a bunny I refer to it as "Hrairroo".
And technically speaking, "flay" means eating or to eat. Silflay is the act of eating outdoors. Flayrah would translate as "princely eating" but the term is used to describe particularly yummy foods.
The actual word for "food" in Lapine is unknown.
The Lapine language has been expanded, to a small degree, outside of Mr. Adams' book.
"Mari" is the act of breeding, or to breed. A verb.
"Emari" is a possessive adverb; "You breed"
"Marli" is Lapine for mother.
"Marli mi" is possessive. Your mother.
😀
...sorry for the language.
I LOVE this movie and book. I remember getting in trouble in grade 6 for reading it in class instead of paying attention to whatever the lesson was.
Just brilliant and emotional.
I approve!!!!
My parents rented this movie from Blockbuster when I was a kid thinking it was a cute cartoon about rabbits. I loved it and it is still one of my favorites. I don’t remember ever being bothered by the violence. I was enthralled with the story.
Same. People who cry about this movie "traumatizing" kids seem to forget that kids love dark stuff. There were whole book series of scary stories aimed at kids when I was growing up (and they did not hold back with scaring the bejeesus out of their readers).
I'm 47 and saw this movie when I was a kid in the 80s. Still haven't fully recovered lol.
44 and same 🤪🤣
The Plague Dogs is even more shocking than this one and it's from the same director and author. Be warned, though. That one is a pretty tough watch. The Secret of NIMH or An American Tail are also good choices, still dark (especially for G rated) but more enjoyable
I like the book, but I actuarlly was not a fan of that movie.
I know a lot of people are, though.
@@morcellemorcelle618 To each their own. Richard Adams actually really liked the movie adaptation himself, the movie ending was actually how he intended the book to end initially. I won't say more because spoilers
@@gugurupurasudaikirai7620 yeah, I know that was the intended ending, and I for one am not against it, it was the ending I expected, and was quite surprised by the book.
But for me personally, the movie came across as rather boring, where as the book was extremley sad.
I actuarlly dont know why
Dk I found this worse than plague dogs tbh
My aunt saw this as just some cartoon film that was on some evening, so plonked us down in front of it. The Black Rabbit of Inlé haunted my dreams for years afterwards, as did the visions of the warren being gassed. I had to laugh at you saying it wasn't as violent or as disturbing as you thought because to so many of us watching it as children, it was terrifying!
I love what Frith say. 'If they catch you they will kill you. But first they must catch you.'
Cowslip is a plant/nature name. Almost all the rabbits have plant or nature names. The few that don't have names based on their physical characteristics like Bigwig, Silver, and Fiver ( Called that because he was the runt of the litter and rabbits can't count past four).
You've got to watch "The Plague Dogs" it's the follow up to this, some other "disturbing" animated features -
When The Wind Blows
Barefoot Gen
Felidae
Grave Of The Fireflies
The King Of Pigs
Its Such a Beautiful Day
I like the book, but I actually was not a fan of that movie.
I know a lot of people are, though.
A lot of fucked up cartoons from the 80s lol
The long long holiday is another good one!
Old time fan of book and movie.
"What is flay-ra?" Flay is food. The suffix "ra" means "great." Cowslip had access to high quality food (carrots).
While not a sequel, many have recommended The Plague Dogs, based on another book by this author, and adapted by the same studio. It is not as cheery and light as Watership, but is excellent. And a VERY familiar and recognizable voice actor appears before he was famous (not spoiling it).
Brad Bird (The Simpsons, The Iron Giant, The Incredibles etc) was one of the Plague Dogs crew.
Watership Down is mainly called shocking and brutal because most people don't assume a G-rated cartoon movie about bunnies to have any blood in it I believe XD
There are definitely more brutal animated movies about animals out there though, the cat murder mystery movie Felidae for example or Plague Dogs which I found so tragic that I've only ever managed to watch it once
I've never actually watched Plague Dogs, and I honestly don't want to. The book, while brilliant, was just so horribly depressing that knowing the movie has the ending he originally intended, and not the 'happy' (ha!) one his editor requested, is enough to make me avoid it.
@@Bindi342 I love the book, but didnt like the movie at all
Plague dogs is by the same person
A blast from the past. The book was a huge success in Britain, as was the film, it even spawned a no.1 song, Art Garfunkel’s Bright Eyes.
Watership Down is a real place in England. A down is a synonym for a hill. The rabbits don't know it's called that, though. The book had included a map (with topographic markings) of all the area covered by the rabbits on their journey.
Kind of a LOTR for rabbits. There's a map and everything. haha. But, instead of going towards the evil, they were running from it. Quite the hero's journey for many of the rabbits.
Legendary experimental animator John Hubley did the prologue and was supposed to direct the film but was fired halfway through the production and replaced because the higher ups in charge didn't care for his art style, so except for his prologue everything that he worked on was redone. They didn't even give him credit for the prologue art. Hubley never had a chance to contest it because he died before it was released.
It's one of my favorite books to pick up every few years and read. Like Tolkien, but not quite as detailed, Richard Adams came up with a limited rabbit language, and in the book, the scene where Bigwig and General Woundwort confront each other in the warren, Bigwig says in rabbit language what translates to "Eat shit, oh stinking prince!" I always found that entertaining.
"Flay hraka U embleer rah!"
I saw this in the cinema in 1978. It amuses me when people say it's disturbing. To me now and then it was unutterably beautiful. The music, artwork, great voice acting and story are probably the best I've ever seen in animation. But it's the story that I believe makes people react so strongly. It's a visceral fairytale fable about heroism, sacrifice, community and of course death. The ending lingers long after the credits roll. The book is pretty good too. 😉
A good follow up to this if you haven't seen it would be 'The Secret of NIMH'
They showed us this movie in elementary school in the 90's lol.
This movie scarred me as a kid. I was a really softhearted kid and it genuinely upset and scared me watching this. Never watched it again after that 😂 I’m an 80s kid though and I do think kids nowadays are pretty desensitised with most things. Which is scary in itself
One thing you have to understand: this movie is a drastically cut down version of the absolute door stopper of a book. Richard Adams wrote animals like J.R.R. Tolkien wrote elves - very wordy. There are pages of backstory about every hill and gully, long tangent legends about the first rabbit, Elahrairah, and the whole Efrafa expedition is about a third of the book, with days of Bigwig working his way into the burrow and learning his way around, and Hazel planning the great escape.
The voice actors in this movie are some of the best British character actors of their day. John Hurt, Sir Ralph Richardson, Joss Ackland, Denholm Elliott, Roy Kinnear… The only exception is:
16:08 For that crazy damn seagull, they got Zero Mostel, of all people.
27:22 This is even more dramatic in the book. Woundwort assumes that Bigwig is the chief because he’s the biggest rabbit - to him, obviously the biggest and strongest are going to rule over the others. And so he imagines a huge rabbit, even bigger than Bigwig, giving the orders. But while Bigwig is their muscle, Hazel is their chief because he’s the smartest.
And the most important thing is that Woundwort simply cannot comprehend that some people are leaders because people naturally just choses to follow them.
All he knows is staying on top by tyrannically walking over others, that, in his mind, wouldnt hesitate to stab him in the back.
That someone would be a natural leader because people respect their compassion and aspiration for justice and equality is beyond his capability to understand.
The contrast between the leader and the tyrant is really well done.
Watership Down, Nuthanger Farm, the Iron Road (railroad) are all real places in England. Watership Down is very close -- within sight, I think -- to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's estate. I believe downs are small hills. I read this novel in high school when the book was still on the best-sellers list. My daughter even chose it as a book to read for a class assignment in middle school. Her teacher told me it was the longest book any of her students had ever chosen. So proud of her. The kid has taste.
Downs are specifically chalk hills if I remember correctly.
One of my favorite books, read it decades ago.
The 2018 BBC/Netflix 4-episode series, while having CGI-animated visuals that looked good, wasn't as good a story.
They changed some significant parts of the story that made it worse, and changed the closing scene of Hazel's death (which was always very emotional for me).
Jow Bloe: Yes. So glad to find someone else who thought the ending was incredibly emotional. Not just sad, but... even now, I don't have the words for it exactly.
It starts with, "You know me, don't you?" and gains strength as they speak with one another.
I love that scene
The bbc-series is a decent series, but a bad adaptation.
In the books, it's explained that rabbits do not have a word for up, so they call hills "downs". As for Watership, that's implied by the later plot device.
I literally just watched this movie yesterday and I have the book on my TBR. I was hoping one of the reactors I follow would watch it. Thanks
Perfect timing!
The later series of Watership down and the series animals of farthing wood were shows that were around my childhood in the 90s. Watching them today makes me question why they were consindered children shows. I mean, it did not really traumatize me but absolutely left a lasting impression and the message that nature (and humanity) can be very cruel but thats just the way it is. Still, when my friend asked me if they could give the book Watership down to his 8 year old nephew because "it has bunnies on it", I declined and suggested waiting a few more years.
Honestly, I'd let a child read the book with a parent around. The story was originally told by the author to his own children during car rides.
"American Tail" and "Gargoyles: awakening" - 90s animated movies worth watching!
Ooh, interesting choice! I must confess, I have yet to actually sit down and watch this whole movie, even though the original novel by Richard Adams is one of my favorite books ever. Also, no direct connection to Animal Farm, but some similarities I suppose. Love that you reacted to this. Cheers!!
Oh yes rabbits fight like that. They're absolutely vicious.
Also Hazel wasn't rejected by Frith. Frith was basically saying "I'm staying out of this. So whatever is going to happen will be by your merits alone"
I read the book, and watched the newer animation on Netflix, but not this classic cartoon. Thanks for the reaction!
A down is a a low hill in the English countryside.
Watership Down, the rivers streams, the cruxa, the iron road and farm... all the locations are all real places.
The beech tree is really there. It's my understanding the old beech finally died recently and a young beech tree has been planted in It's place.
Ah, the first movie to traumatise me. My stepdads mum had me pick a VHS when I was 6 and of course I picked the one with the cute bunnies. She left me alone to watch it 🙃
Based of my favorite novel of all time, I think I've read it 4 times.
The movie is fairly close to the book, seeing as altought they cut alot of the 500 pages out, the relevant stuff is actually really well adapted.
The only thing I wasnt a fan of was how fast paced cowslips warren was. That was my favorite part of the book, it was so intense, it took a while for the rabbits to find out what was actually going on, and you just got this really uncomfortable feeling that something was terribly wrong and when we finally got to the part where Bigwig was caught in the snare the impact of the build up was imediate.
That whole sequence felt way to rushed in the movie, and I wish they'd added an extra 10-15 minutes to get that scene right.
I have seen people refer to this story as The odessy of animals, and it really is one of those grand adventure stories about life and death, only with rabbits as lead characters.
I really really recommend reading the book, it dives a lot more in to the lore of rabbit, and also have a lapin dictionary, that explains all the rabbit words like Homba, Silflay and hrududu.
General Woundwort is okay, the movie seems to have focused more on the "scary" sides of him, where as the Netflix series focused more on the "mad dictator"- part, but didnt make him nearly as intimidating.
He is, imo, one of the best, most interesting antagonists in fiction and
I think a mix of movie- and Netflix Woundwort would have been perfect.
The Netflix series is good as a stand alone, but I dont really like it as a book adaptation.
It took to many liberties and it felt like they didnt understand the essence of the story.
Also, the reason why this traumatized an entire generation was because parents who had not read the book thought "great, a cute film about rabbits", and then took their five year olds to see it.
You are an adult 😉
100% agree. Every adaptation seems to omit the character of Strawberry, but I always loved him so much. Him just squealing in pain when they asked him where his wife was, and then whispering "the wires" always made me cry for him.
@@zammmerjammer 😭
Totally agree. While I like this version, the music is great, the voice talent spot-on, the wistfulness of the animation superb, it feels so truncated and rushed through a lot of the fun and depth of the book feels missing. I suppose not having read would have meant I wouldn't have noticed all that.
The new version is.... lacking best describes it. In the end I have still to see the last part.
The book is excellent. All of the rabbits are fleshed out more and have distinct personalities. And the book has so much more in there. The El-ahrairah chapters told as stories give rabbit culture and the narrative as a whole, added depth.
This is essentially a fantasy novel where the main characters happen to be rabbits.
@@williammcnirlan4820 have you read the "sort of sequel" Tales From Watership Down?
At the time, a lot of parents rented this for their kids because it was an animation and had bunnies on the VHS cover. Hence all the traumatized kids. This was at the very beginning of the era of home rental VHS tapes when you rented the VHS player as well.
I just read the book as a kid with mom and that was quite enough trauma of bunnies dying for their god. The book came out in 1972. It's a very hefty tome. It might be categorized as MG/YA these days, but at the time those kinds of categories didn't really exist as such. You had kids books section for 0-15 year olds in stores and libraries, and by 15 a lot of kids were already sneaking in literary classics and other "adult books". So this was shelved in the kids section with the Richard Scarrys and Nancy Drews.
When I first read the book it was a library copy, and my library actually had in in the adult/general section instead of in the kids/young adult section.
Even when you put aside the trauma and violence, this movie is beautiful. Gorgeous music, beautiful animation and a great depiction of what real life rabbits go through every day. I love it! ❤
You have to remember that this is an animated movie that came out in 1978, but didn't really got any attention until it showed up on HBO in the early 80s (when I saw it) and in video stores. The videotape packaging made it look like a kids movie, with happy rabbits on the hillside. Kids animated movies just didn't have this level of violence (or any violence) at that time.
As a child I watched this and I had nightmares about multiple things related to this film, however as I grew into adulthood I noticed a lot of references like you said to leadership, fighting for freedom but also some very subtle WW2 references like the general symbolising hitler and his owsla representing the SS troopers and the rabbits under them representing the Jews and non desirables of the nazi party at that point in history.
I highly recommend this movie purely because it’s very real in its representation of how life is for a wild rabbit aside from the obvious fictional factors of premonition etc there.
I recommend felidae and the plague dogs if you want any other films like this to react to in future, they are much darker in tone but still worth a watch if interested.
I think the author served in WWII and based the hero rabbits on his war buddies.
My mom put this on for me and left me home alone when I was little. I was 7 and remembered running to my aunt's house down the street when it was over.
Yeah this movie is brutal but the book is worse as far as the graphic violence...well, when you're 12 anyway.
ah, the first of the childhood trauma trio
❤🩹
(Sees the notification)Oh,boy. Ooooooohhhh boy...!😨🐰🩸
00:36 - 00:40 I LOVE the"Animal Farm"cartoon!!😍You could react to that too!!😃🤩
03:04 - 03:10 🤭🤭🤭
Anyway,this movie reminds me a bit of"The Animals of Farthing Wood".I don't know if it's the same level of trauma,but if it isn't...I'd say we're pretty close!;-S
20:41 - 20:49 "Yeah,show some *respect* to our *ugly* rabbit leader!ù^u"
The book is a must read. I absolutely love this movie. It really depicts the life of a rabbit and the many threats it faces. Awesome watch.
I love the darker choices. Please consider Mary and Max.
This was somehow a movie I missed growing up, but I read the book at 12 the first time (have given it many re-reads) and it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so, so good. The movie I find kind of weird as an adult but I see what they were trying to do. It’s good and interesting in its own way
We watched this so much as kids, the tape broke. Such a great film that I appreciate in a totally different way as an adult.
Watership Down is a real place in Hampshire that just happens to sound as if there is some connection to water. It's not a fictitious name invented for the book; it's an area near where Richard Adams lived as a child The second part, Down, is a noun and here has a meaning similar to 'hill'. To quote the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a down is "an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil - usually used in plural: sheep grazing on the grassy downs" the ship part of the title refers to friendship, hardship, and township. Some of the rabbits are friends and the rabbits face hardships throughout the movie in order to to get to the warren which for them may as well be a township. Homba is another word for fox. The dog is an English black lab which is shorter and stockier than the more lean American Labrador American labs were bred mostly for hunting while English labs were bred for show but still make great hunting dogs. A well trained one won't chase after prey but will retrieve it after hearing the gunshot from the hunter. They can sit quietly for hours on end with the hunter as they wait for prey to come by and have soft mouths so they do not puncture the dead animal as they retrieve it since that is a health hazard.
When I watched, I didn't understand Kehaar and it didn't have subtitles. Its good to read what he was saying
Even almost 50 years later, this movie still holds up for me!
There are two tv remakes, one hand drawn ( I did storyboards on that one) and a more recent CGI version.
Have you watched When the Wind Blows yet? I'm still traumatised 35 years on...
And this isn't even the darkest "kids" movie made in Great Britain. Wait until you see _Plague Dogs._
You siriously say The Plague Dogs was u-rated?
In sweden, it's rated "15 yrs and older".
@@morcellemorcelle618 I looked it up. It wasn't. For UK the original cut was rated A, which later became a PG. In the US it was released as PG but got kicked up to PG-13 once the PG-13 classification was released.
I live just a few miles away from the actual Watership Down and they’ve captured the beauty of the area so well. It used to make me chuckle that for years Channel 5 tv here in the UK used to show this an afternoon family film at Easter. Clearly nobody had actually seen it.
I watched this as a kid when it came on TV when I was 7 years old. Now as a kid I'd get scared during movies really easy. I mean scared like not being able to stop my brain running on a loop the scary part over and over and just constantly shaking because of it.
When I was like 5, The Blob came on TV , and this wasn't even the 80's one but the 50's one, but it got to me! Same thing happened when the 50's version of War of the Worlds came on TV.
Now when Watership Down came on, I don't know if it was because I was getting older or it was a cartoon or a combination of both, but it didn't scare me like that. It thrilled me. If those other movies generated the same kind of fear that someone pointing a gun at me to rob me would...then Watership Down generated the kind of thrilling fear you get when riding a roller coaster.
So while I know others were scarred by this movie as kids and I had been scarred by other movies as a kid, it wasn't that way with me here and so I ended up loving the movie! I watched it many, many times. It was just so unique for an animated film to be so earnest in the portrayal of the life of a wild animal, and kids can pick up on things like that...and some, like me, can appreciate it.
I've also been a sucker for world building since even before I knew what world building was. The mythology created by Richard Addams for the rabbit society was just so fascinating to me. The creation myth at the beginning is one of my favorite parts!
Watership Down is the name of the area of England they were in. Look up images of the real place and see how amazingly accurate they drew it for the movie, it is such beautiful countryside!
Best Regards!
I ugly cried at the end when I was a kid. This and "all dogs go to heaven" were both such sad cartoon movies
As dark as this movie can get, I really enjoy it.
You should listen to the audiobook version. It’s read by Peter Capaldi, who does the voice of Keehar the seagull in the Netflix version.
Capaldi is amazing in it yes.
Not a patch on Zero Mostel.
The book and this movie made me bawl like a little girl. Bc I a little girl and I’m still not over it.
I can't even watch you watch this. As a child this movie gave me serious nightmares. I'm still haunted by it.
I was a very young child in the 80s (less than 10 years old) when I first watched this. It scard me as a child. I don't think there's ever been a more violent cartoon eve made.
The Animals of Farthing Wood came close. And Felidae is on another level.
I used to watch the animals of farthing wood. Fox, Vixen, Badger and snake. Loved that cartoon grow in up.
@@WinterLynne94 Oh, never heard of that one. I'm gonna check it out. Thank you
@@LA_HA You mean Felidae? Be careful. Before you do, I've gotta warn you. It's very, VERY graphic. Blood, gore, and one particular 18+ scene between two cats. It's very weird and not for the faint of heart. It pulls absolutely zero punches.
@@WinterLynne94 [Edited] I actually meant the other one. I vaguely recall the title of felidae. I haven't seen that one either, though.
So, okay. Now I'm nervous. So, I'll pick a good, bright, sunny day to watch it to counteract the things you've warned me about.
Thank you. I'm glad to know what I'm dealing with if it's off the rails
OMG this film scariest cartoon ever! And made me cry
Oh....Watership Down. such a wonderful movie. Very traumatizing too to a young kids in back the day! I think i first watched it on tv over two nights. LIke it said, very traumatizing! Art Garfunkel's "Bright eyes' is really beautiful, and haunting too!
I was fortunate that as a child my elementary school took a field trip (2 blocks) and saw this in a movie theater. Big screen! Big sound! 🐇
Wow! Rare reaction. It’s pretty wild how early it was introduced to us in school. Of course that was the early 80s & the world was very different. I remember lots of scared friends, but I loved it. The Dark Crystal & The Secret of NIMH were my favorites besides this one. I’m glad my education involved things that wouldn’t be allowed today, and more glad it was before cell phones. 😂 Thanks for a great reaction.
I think for follow ups to similar movies:
1.plaugue dogs
2.felidae
3.animal farm
4.the animals of farthingwood
This animated film hosted a who's-who of voice talent: John Hurt, Zero Mostel, Nigel Hawthorne, Roy Kinnear, even Art Garfunkel singing "Bright Eyes" - names from the 1970's that people remember to this day, such was the talent.
I saw this movie when I was a kid around 1980. They used to play it on HBO all of the time; and didn't find it to be too shocking back then because we kids were not really protected from things like this. I think that only now does it seem shocking because they don't make cartoons like this for kids anymore; and so people today who didn't grow up seeing the likes of this are going to be more sensitive to it.
Cat: 'Can you run? I think not. I think not.'
You think this is shocking? You should see Plague Dogs.
I actuarlly really disliked that adaptation.
Althought, the book absolutley broke my heart.
Like many I watched this at a very young age. It left me with a long term fear of rabbits.
I was 8 years old when I first watched Watership Down, and it became my coming of age movie. To my young mind, the message was clear; the world can be dangerous, and you must be prepared.
I remember one online discussion about a tv crime show episode in which one of the regulars, an abrasive agent, is getting in the baddie-of-the-week’s face to get info, while his innocuous teammate is hovering in the background, picking up details on the baddie’s life and crimes from his office, only to slide in and just eviscerate the baddie with what he learnt in his observations. The other online participant just said, “My chief told me to defend this run,” and it was the perfect analogy to the tv show, with the smarter agent being the one in control, not the tough guy agent.
That’s what I always liked about this story, that Hazel was the leader, not Bigwig, because he believed in his fellow rabbits and their talents and gifts and was able to inspire others through his leadership.
The darkest animated movie that was not produced by Disney
Dude, have you seen The Plague Dogs?!
a few years ago they showed this on easter sunday .. yeah
Watership Down stuck with me as a child not just because violent things happened, or because blood was shown, but for the terror I think it allowed itself to portray. The scene with the warren being destroyed especially didn't shy away from how terrifying an event this was for these beings, so I've remembered that vividly.
Watching as an adult, I think the story encourages you to think about the society you want to live in. These rabbits set out to start a new warren, and along the way they meet other warrens with different ways of life. One is one of safety from external threats, but no freedom for the rabbits living in it, every aspect of their lives controlled. Another is one of comfort and ease, but with a dark price of expoitation lurking beneath that they never face, and it poisons their minds to live like that.
The warren of Watership Down ends up being one of relative freedom, but with the dangers, hardships and challenges associated with that. But the dangers and challenges are meet with cooperation, ingenuity and openmindedness; and courage and daring.
Glad you reacted to this. I think it’s totally underrated.
I saw this in 1985 when i was 5. Absolutely messed me up for a long time. One line that stayed with me was "My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today." I have pet rabbits and think if this line often.
Its an amazing film and ruined me in the 80s. I love it.
Watership down is an actual place. It's in Hampshire, England.
I saw this at the theater when I was 13. It was traumatizing then. I read the book at some point during college. It's absolutely in my top 10 books. I tried to watch the 2018 Netflix version of it, but it just didn't work.
I read this book as a 5th grader for a book report. Did it to look good in my teacher's eyes but really got into the story. It was so long, I was given extra time. At the time, it was just a fun adventure. Later learned about the adult themes and social commentaries which made it even more meaningful. Soooo... much more lore and story in the book. The movie just touches on a much deeper and richer story. Get the audio book and just listen to it.
Yeah… this is not a kid’s movie. This is based on a book by the same name, written by Richard Adams; well worth reading if you get the chance. Nothing to do with Animal Farm, more like a grownup version of Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (only with rabbits, rather than mice and rats)
- Watership Down is a real place in England. Probably built over by now, sadly.
I think the reason people find the violence disturbing is because they do not expect it. This is an animated movie. About bunny rabbits. That typically signals something a bit more gentle and safe.
I never watched this film, but I first read the book for my 8th grade English class and loved it. I hadn’t reread it until 25 years later, and was delighted to find that it really holds up.
And yes Rabbits can fight I work in a pet shop and sometimes we have to seperate them if it gets bad although we don't like to as they should be in pairs. We have a spray that can calm them down but sometimes it doesn't work. Doesn't happenn often though
If you are looking for unique animated movies like this movie, I highly recommended the following:
Wizards (1977)
The Hobbit (1977)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Flight Of Dragons (1982)
No one reacts to these movies and you can "buy" or "rent" a copy to all four right here on TH-cam. Like I said before, I would love to see more people get into these unique animated movies.
So, in the book the rabbits have their own words for certain things.
Homba = fox
Lendri = badger
Flay = food
It scarred me. It made me cry and was a big part of my childhood. Such a great film honestly 😎
The book had a glossary of a about a few dozen rabbit words. Quite a few of them end up in the movie with no explanation.
Lendri=Badger.
hrududu=a car or truck
Flay means food. Rah means king or king of. Flayrah is the"king of foods" and is used by rabbits to describe carrots or other garden veggies.
hraka=droppings. Also used the same way we would use bullshit.
homba=fox
It's still on TH-cam I think at time of writing this but a guy went visiting the locations featured around leadership down. From the down n its tree to the railway Etc. So it is based on a real countryside
The context is that when this was released in Great Britain ... it was NOT rated the American equivalent of PG13 ... or even PG ... it was rated U ... the equivalent of the American G.
Suitable for EVERYONE of ALL ages.
Which ... it ... is ...NOT.
As you can see from the comments below.
I couldn't get through this movie as a kid. I finally tried again in high school and understood why lol this is crazy brutal
Another animated film called the plague dogs was made based on another story by the author of watership down. I have seen it, it also does deal with heavy subject matter such as exploiting animals for science ect. The ending is really sad
I love the song "Bright Eyes" sung by Art Garfunkel, written by Mike Batt, but what makes it even better was Tony Blackburn's link to it on BBC Radio... "The song best ever about rabbits, written by a bat"😂
I never thought I would see someone react to this movie or even the series. Thank you for that.
Excellent reaction thank you!
Scarred me as a child😵💫
I watched the series actually before watching this, and I thought it was very well done!
this movie has haunted me my whole life. especially the soundtrack.. my mum made the mistake of assuming it was a kids movie.. so i watched this as a 6 or 7 year old. not that i blame her.. it gave me a realisation of life and death and nature.. but the soundtrack has stuck with me always