Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Tue Apr 07, 2026 6:27 pm
I've never read or seen Watership Down.
It's truly an amazing book. And the movie is so fantastic. (But be ready - it's not a cute and fluffy movie)
That's fine. I'm not looking for cute and/or fluffy, but I just don't enjoy horror.
It's not horror, really.
If you watch Lord of the Rings, you will see anything and everything you see in Watership Down.
What makes it more shocking in Watership Down - is that it's animated rabbits.
You would not expect a movie about rabbits, to have some terrifying, evil rabbit (Sauron, anyone?)
And what roots it more, is, yes, aside from Rabbits talking, it takes place "in the real world" - so it's not some orc or warg that chases the rabbits - it's a cat or a dog. It's not some magical swamp with the dead beneath they need to cross, it's a busy road, with zooming cars.
For reference - when I asked google, where in a library would you find Watership Down the novel - it does not mention horror, as a matter of fact it says...
Watership Down by Richard Adams is typically located in the Adult Fiction or Science Fiction/Fantasy section of a library, shelved alphabetically by the author's last name (Adams, R.). It may sometimes be found in the Young Adult (YA) section due to its classification as a classic crossover novel.
Re: Happy Easter.
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2026 1:25 am
by BBP
I understood Watership Down was based on Adam's experiences at Operation Market Garden and the battle of Arnhem. It does have a retelling of WW2 for the younger population vibe, gloomy and depressing. And violent, very violent.
Re: Happy Easter.
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2026 11:55 am
by Tawmis
BBP wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2026 1:25 am
I understood Watership Down was based on Adam's experiences at Operation Market Garden and the battle of Arnhem. It does have a retelling of WW2 for the younger population vibe, gloomy and depressing. And violent, very violent.
Correct - but it all began, as an improvised story he was telling his daughters.
Re: Happy Easter.
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2026 2:47 pm
by BBP
I shouldn't have watched it again, can't get Bright Eyes out of my head now.
Re: Happy Easter.
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2026 7:04 pm
by Tawmis
BBP wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2026 2:47 pm
I shouldn't have watched it again, can't get Bright Eyes out of my head now.
Hah! You watched it again (recently)?
I love the movie. The beginning, is really the hardest part. There's other demises and such later, but that beginning is... rough.
Interesting note about the song... the difference about how it did in UK vs US...
The song was written, produced and arranged by Mike Batt for Watership Down, with original director John Hubley requesting a song about death. It plays when the rabbit Hazel, the lead character in the film, almost dies after being wounded by a farmer's gun and Fiver, his little brother is led to him by the Black Rabbit of Inlé.
Batt described recording the song as "one of the most difficult sessions" of his career.
The original pop single arrangement of the song was very successful both internationally and in the United Kingdom, staying at number one in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks in 1979, selling over one million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single of the year. In the United States, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
