Watership Down 2018 adaptation

[ASFTSN]

Anyone else watch this before Christmas?

It was just OK I reckon, apart from bad character design/animation. Ridiculously high profile cast, Boyega, Capaldi, Coleman, Kingsley, Crook - just a bit much and I felt it distracted from the immersion (Kingsley and Capaldi were good though).

I do think they succeeded quite well with the tone, it felt quite bleak in places (the Efrafra 'facist' rabbit warren felt quite oppressive and harsh) and I don't think they quite nailed the terror/hallucogenic freakishness of Fiver's visions. But slight kudos for not talking down to younger viewers, with rabbit warriors attacking to kill and getting a bit bloody and that. Could have done with more appalling close ups of rabbits suffering from myxomatosis.

Main let down was definitely the rangy rabbits that neither looked or moved like the genuine article- like marsupial hares or summat.

Biggest strength of the book for me is descriptions of fauna, landscape and flora from the lapine viewpoint and both these adaptations fail there. I want a version directed in the style of A Field in England.

[bgmnts]

Fuck that.

[ASFTSN]

None of the rabbits fuck, they butt.heads gently and tell each other they love each other. Just like real life.

[BlodwynPig]

It was appalling. No depth and little emotion. The music and end credit soundtrack were woefully subpar. Grandkids won't be nostalgiaing over this. Another BBC misstep

[ASFTSN]

Forgot about the credits music, that was the worst bit. What genre of music was that?

[Norton Canes]

Biggest strength of the book for me is descriptions of fauna, landscape and flora from the lapine viewpoint and both these adaptations fail there. I want a version directed in the style of A Field in England

Agreed, Adams' pastoral prose is masterfully evocative. I recommend his non-fiction work Nature Through The Seasons, written with biologist Max Hooper, an account of the English countryside featuring beautifully complementary illustrations by David Goddard.

[mothman]

Who knew the Uncanny Valley would apply to rabbits too? Or would that be the Uncanny Warren?

[BlodwynPig]

Forgot about the credits music, that was the worst bit. What genre of music was that?

Modern BBC interpretation of what woke kids listen to. A simulcrum of music

[ASFTSN]

Agreed, Adams' pastoral prose is masterfully evocative. I recommend his non-fiction work Nature Through The Seasons, written with biologist Max Hooper, an account of the English countryside featuring beautifully complementary illustrations by David Goddard.

I've never heard of this, thanks for the recommendation. That's a beautiful cover too.

[jobotic]

Couldn't watch it. Hurt my eyes trying to see what was going on.

[Twed]

I've seen clips of it and it was absolutely hideous. Really ugly animation, movement all wrong. Hope it sinks and nobody thinks it's the real version.

[BlodwynPig]

I've seen clips of it and it was absolutely hideous. Really ugly animation, movement all wrong. Hope it sinks and nobody thinks it's the real version.

And all those luvvies associated with it for the cash also sink

[Head Gardener]

[JesusAndYourBush]

I watched it, having not read the book and having not seen the original, although I've seen the music video for Bright Eyes.
So I went into it not knowing the back story.  I remembered that it's supposed to be a parable... of... something, I don't remember what.

So I watched it...  The rabbits having human voices didn't work for me.  Rabbits should have cute rabbity voices.  These were being voiced by people just doing their normal voices.  (I saw an article in a magazine where one of the female voice actors was quoted as saying she felt quite ridiculous having to make rabbity sounds. Fuck off.  1. Rabbits don't make sounds.  2. You were just using your normal bloody voice.)

Wasn't the plot supposed to be about humans were doing some building work and so the warrens were at risk?  That was tossed off in about 5 minutes and never mentioned again.

So... some of the rabbits were nice and some were evil shitheads.  Some wanted to be evil leaders and some just wanted to get on with being rabbits.  So I'm guessing it was a parable on human behaviour, but a rather clumsy one that didn't need to be stretched out to more than 3 hours.  And the animation was kindof basic in parts.

[BlodwynPig]

But but bbc so geniuoss

[Andy147]

It's not supposed to be a parable of anything. Richard Adams always said it was just a story about rabbits.

(My potted review of the new version: first half wasn't bad; second half a bit dull.)

[georgetaylor]

It's updated for a modern audience, the gender balance of the rabbits that reach the down was adjusted, when the point was that they are all male bunnies and therefore need to look for does. Rabbits don't form couples in the book. The escape on the boat was missing, they camped out by the fast flowing river for ages and I was expecting them to make a boat escape plan but it never happened and they escaped by just wandering off or something. The black rabbit had a female voice, another gender balance or just an attempt to make the 'Film cliches you want to fuck off' thread? There was no need to give away the 'defending this run for the chief rabbit' speech by having it planned to be said rather than something that just happened and changed the course of the final warren defense but accident.
Hated it.

[Deanjam]

The rabbits looked too similar due to the cod-photo-realism. They all looked the same. Yes, I'm a big rabbit racist.



Much easier to differentiate in the 78 version.



Also found out there was a version in 1999 which I don't remember at all.

[Rizla]

water shit down, more like.

[Rizla]

damn, watered down shit would've been more hilarious.

Anyway I love the 78 film, big part of my childhood. Our teacher read us the book in primary, seemed to take forever. Doesn't need remade so it looks like a computer game. OR DOES IT

[Nowhere Man]

I liked the 78 version, but it was a bit too fast for me. I much prefer the 45 version.

[Bad Ambassador]

They all look like the sexy Cadbury's Caramel rabbit.

[Cerys]

I didn't cry at the end, so it failed.  Failed, I tell you!

[kalowski]

Also found out there was a version in 1999 which I don't remember at all.

Christ, look at that. The inquisitive kid, the angry male, the strident female, and the wacky "twin" pair.

[gatchamandave]

Christ, look at that. The inquisitive kid, the angry male, the strident female, and the wacky "twin" pair.

They so gangsta !

[St_Eddie]

I don't need to watch this to tell you that it's shit.  Fecal matter from the rabbity's bum bum warren.  The brown stuff.  Germ central.  Plops.  What I'm saying, is that it's not very good.  Haven't seen it, mind.  Don't need to.  Proof positive that telepathy exists.