Max Classic Animated Movie That Traumatized An Entire Generation
Judging by Inside Out 2 making over a billion dollars so far this year, obviously plenty of adults in 2024 do not feel animated movies are just for kids. But in 1978, people saw a movie was a cartoon and figured it must be for children. That is likely why so many adults have stories of being traumatized by the excellent (yet dark) classic, Watership Down.
Not Exactly The Velveteen Rabbit
Based on the 1972 novel by Richard Adams, Watership Down is an incredibly unique movie about the lives of a group of rabbits who go in search of a new warren after a premonition that their current one will be destroyed by farmers. The imaginative film shows the rabbits are intelligent enough to have their own language, their own religion, and even their own social hierarchy.
But perhaps that depiction of the complexities of the life of rabbits should have been a clue that this cartoon was not made specifically with children in mind. What many remember looking back on the movie is how it scared them as kids due to how true to life Watership Down is in the threats that rabbits face. The movie starts with the god of the rabbits dubbing their species “the prince with a thousand enemies” and it certainly feels that way in the movie.
Unsettling Sequences With A Powerful Message
Throughout Watership Down, a variety of the rabbits die shocking, bloody deaths from being caught in snares, run over by vehicles, mauled by dogs, and even killed by each other. While realistic, it could certainly be a lot for an unsuspecting young kid thinking they will be getting a happy Disney movie.
But don’t let that deter you from checking out the movie nowadays. While Watership Down can be sad, it is also an excellent movie about the power of trust and believing in one another. The hand drawn animation is a charming change of pace from the computer generated style of today and it does a great job depicting the emotion of the rabbits. And the voice cast does a great job giving each rabbit a distinct personality.
Consider The Source Material
Watership Down was actually the debut novel of Richard Adams and immediately earned his book numerous awards upon publication. This includes the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, and being voted the forty-second best book of all time according to a poll carried out by The Big Read in 2003.
The Premise Has Been Revisited Over The Years
Watership Down has also been popular enough to be revisited many times, such as Adams writing a sequel for it in the ‘90s, and it being made into a TV series in 2018 that was released on Netflix. If you have not heard of Watership Down before, you are missing out.
Streaming Watership Down On Max
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Plenty of people remember The Secret of NIMH, which follows a pretty similar plot, only focusing on mice instead. If you loved that movie growing up, you will likely enjoy Watership Down as well. It is still a stupendous watch to this day and arguably a bit of a hidden gem that many would say is a classic for the animation genre. It is currently available on Max to stream, so this is one you should definitely check out if you are a fan of animated films.
