Watership Down (film)

From Freepedia

Watership Down is acclaimed animated film, directed by Martin Rosen based on the book Watership Down by Richard Adams and released in 1978. It was largely financed by Jake Eberts' company, Goldcrest Films.

The film featured the voices of John Hurt, Richard Briers, and Roy Kinnear, among others, and was the last film appearance of Zero Mostel as the voice of Kehaar, the gull. Art Garfunkel's British No.1 hit, Bright Eyes, was also featured, although in a different arrangement from the version released as a record.

Unlike many animated films, the film faithfully emulated the dark and violent sophistication of the book. As a result, many reviewers took to warning parents that children might find the content highly disturbing. This attitude extended to when the animated television series remake was marketed with the producers making an effort to reassure parents that the violence was softened and that the main characters would not be permanently harmed in their adventures.

The aforementioned violence, which includes several bloody scenes, makes it perhaps surprising that it is rated "U" by the BBFC. The PG certificate was not introduced until the 1980s, but the U certificate was retained for both video and DVD releases. In the United States, the film is rated "PG" by the MPAA.

In 2004 the magazine Total Film named Watership Down the 47th greatest British film of all time.

Although not explicitly cited, many fans feel that this film's dramatic tone has influenced other animated films about animals to tell stories with an equal dramatic gravity such as Walt Disney Pictures' films, The Fox and the Hound and The Lion King.

Possibly the only U-rated film to include the phrase "piss off" (spoken by Kehaar to Hazel, as in the book).