Netflix Watership Down

[Azerane]

Forgive me if there’s a recent thread for this already. I couldn’t find it and with the forum search down it’s tricky. This series was released on netflix on Christmas Eve. And below is my extended review/rant about it.

This post contains spoilers, the first paragraph below is merely a commentary on the design and style so feel free to read that without worrying about spoilers. I’ll write in when the spoilers start.

As a person who’s favourite book is Watership Down I had certain concerns for the series, especially after seeing the trailer. My first major gripe is the animation and styling of the rabbits. The rabbits barely look like rabbits in that they stand up on their legs more like a dog or cat. However this is of course a style choice and is something you can just get used to (however they did give them paw pads). The animation was a huge issue for me. They’ve gone for the style of hyper-real rabbits (and fallen short) and on top of that the animation is extremely stiff. The rabbits are somewhat lifeless and lack any sort of fluidity. Some of the character designs I like, Bigwig for example, but looking past the animation was quite difficult. The landscapes and settings were quite decent, and I loved the styling of the opening sequence, even if I didn’t agree with some of the narration choices

SPOLIERS BELOW!!!

A quick note on the violence and scary scenes. I know this is an issue for a lot of people in the original movie. I don’t know how they thought scenes with realistic rabbits would be less brutal, they are not, perhaps less bloody, but not less brutal. Some of Fiver’s visions could be a little creepy for some, the first one especially, the others aren’t as bad. But there is still violence and a little bit of blood, and the scene with Bigwig in the snare could be difficult for some to watch. It’s not as direct as the cartoon, but with the realistic style it’s confronting in other ways.

Onto the story. For the most part there were small story changes that were quite acceptable, some of those choices were in the original movie and made to just speed things along, but other choices seemed to be made with complete disregard to characters’ personalities or their development. For seemingly no reason they removed the escape via boat down the river from the Efrafans. There was no reason not to have this and to me it made no sense how they didn’t get caught heading home. Removing this trick also removes some of Woundwort’s motive for going after them. He hated being made to look a complete fool so was determined to get the better of them.

A smaller gripe was the writers giving lines to different characters than what they were written for. Some of these really didn’t matter, but other lines intended for Bigwig or Fiver were given to Clover so that her character had a larger role to play, I don’t mind her having a larger role but not at the expense of two main characters. The worst of which was the fact that when Hazel was shot, it was Clover who went to find him, not Fiver. I understand they were trying to develop that relationship but it was at the expense of Hazel and Fiver’s which is one of the most important ones in the whole story.

One last major rant, lol. When the rabbits leave Sandleford and Hazel leads them to safety, the other rabbits take to calling him Hazel-rah as their chief. Bigwig scoffs at this and says that the day he calls Hazel chief will be the day he stops fighting. In the book this is a big deal, it takes all of their adventures together for Bigwig to learn to respect Hazel and look up to him and when he finally calls him chief you know he is loyal to the end. In this mini series, Bigwig goes on to call Hazel chief almost immediately (even if sarcastically) and multiple times throughout the series (some sarcastic, some not), which makes the moment at the end of the movie less special because that is the day he stops fighting.

So after all that negativity did I actually enjoy it? Yes I did. A good story is still a good story despite flaws and enjoying that story makes it easier to overlook the sad animation and design. Did I cry at the end when you know who dies? Of course I did, I bawled my eyes out, I still connected with his character through the story. It was nice to see a re-imagining of the story, but I’ll admit it wasn’t quite what I expected and fell short in many areas for me. Still, I’m one to always enjoy a re-telling of my favourites, to see the characters in different ways through other people’s eyes sometimes gives a greater perspective on that character. Watching it took some getting used to, but I did enjoy it even if I had many complaints at the end of it.

[Bam]

I have only watched the first episode yet. My main issue is that the rabbits don’t really look like rabbits. What annoyed me the most was the lack of a white underside of the tails. I mean how hard can it be to give them white tails? Wild rabbits have that white tail to confuse pursuers (it is believed).

The rabbits look a lot more like hares than actual rabbits. Even if they’re supposed to be wild rabbits and as such a lot skinnier than domestic rabbits, rabbits don’t have the long legs that make hares resemble deer.

SPOILER: Even if I was rather disappointed with the appearance of the buns (except for Fiver, Fiver is supposed to be scrawny and not so handsome), I found the story-telling quite engrossing. I cried when Bigwig got caught in the snare, even though I knew he’d not die.

I love the book. That makes me feel very protective of the story. So I sit there and find faults with the tv-series, and perhaps I’m judging it too harshly.

[Azerane]

Haha yes, a white undertail is a pretty typical feature, I’m not sure why that was omitted.

I have my suspicions that they styled the rabbits more after the 2D animated TV series, the rabbits in that stand higher on all fours like the rabbits in the new miniseries (more so the later episodes than the earlier ones from memory).

It’s tough not to judge harshly when it’s something you love so much. Look at me, I found so many things to criticise I did enjoy it, I guess I just hoped for and expected so much more.

[Bladesmith]

I love some of my Netflix shows as does my daughter (The new Voltron for example), but you’d think that with such a beloved classic they’d pull out all the stops to make it look amazing.  It looks….half finished.

So….nope.

[Q8bunny]

I’ve waited three friggin years for this premiere, and HATE what they’ve done with it. There’s literally nothing redeemable about it except the voice acting. :'( Curse you, Netflix, you treacherous eyeball crack!

[Bam]

Now I’ve watched all 4 episodes, and I’ve re-evaluated the series. I fell in love with the rabbits even though they barely resemble rabbits. If you haven’t read the book, the series will probaly be more enjoyable than if you have read the book.

[Diamond]

Ha, i thought they looked a little hare-ish too. Though i chalked it up to me being used to Lily the Perfect Sphere.

I thought it was okay in general. Not really great, but i may watch it again.

[Author]

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