Watership Down

In this stirring tale of fear, faith, and the fight for freedom and security, a group of rabbits flee their doomed warren and face many dangers to find and protect their new home. This feature delves into the rabbits' surprisingly violent world as they seek to establish a new colony free of tyranny and human intervention. When Fiver, the runt of a rabbit colony, has a prophetic vision about the warren's imminent destruction, his warning is ignored by the rabbit chief. Fiver, his brother Hazel, and a small band of followers set out on a journey across the English countrieside in search of a new home, encountering great danger and discovering that, even with faith, conviction and persistence, survival is always a challenge. Based upon Richard Adams's acclaimed novel of the same name, this heroic fantasy tells a surprisingly complex and conflict-filled story of belief, freedom of conscience, and the desire for self-determination in a desperate fight against tyranny and (human) control.

Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, Captain Holly, Chief Rabbit, Blackberry, Silver, Pipkin, Dandelion, Cowslip, Cat, Clover, Kehaar, General Woundwort, Hyzenthlay, Captain Campion, Blackavar, Vervain, Frith, Black Rabbit, Lucy

Production work was begun by John Hubley, who died in 1977.

Release date is for the United Kingdom; United States release was on November 1, 1978.

Author Richard Adams downplayed the political and religious overtones, maintaining that "Watership Down" just developed out of the colorful tales he told his young children to pass the time on trips to the countrieside. Yet there is an undeniable depth and realism to his story that appeals to adults and children alike. The film version, too, is definitely more frightening and bloody than your standard fuzzy animated bunny yarn, so exercise discretion in bringing younger children!

Saturn Award, Best Animation, 1979