Production
The film was originally to be directed by John Hubley, who died in 1977. His work can still be found in the film, most notably in the "fable" scene. He was replaced by the film's producer Martin Rosen, his directorial debut.
After the genesis story rendered in a narrated simple cartoon fashion, the animation style changes to a detailed, naturalist one, with concessions to render the animals anthropomorphic only to suggest they have human voices and minds, some facial expressions for emotion and paw gestures. The animation backgrounds are watercolours. Only one of the predators, the farm cat, Tab, is given a few lines, the rest remaining mute.
The backgrounds and locations, especially Efrafa and the nearby railway, are based to the diagrams and maps in Richard Adams's book. Most of the locations in this movie either exist or were based on real spots in Hampshire and surrounding areas.
Although the film was fairly faithful to the novel, several changes were made to the storyline, mainly to decrease overdetailed complexity and improve pace and flow of the plot. In addition, the order in which some events occur is re-arranged. Unlike many animated features, 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 disturbing. The BBFC rated the film 'U' (suitable for all), deciding that "...Whilst the film may move children emotionally during the films duration, it could not seriously trouble them once the spell of the story is broken and a 'U' certificate was therefore quite appropriate". However in 2012, the BBFC admitted that it "has received complaints about the suitability of Watership Down at U almost every year since its classification"
This attitude extended to when the animated Watership Down TV series 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.
Some marketers in the U.S. were also worried that the main promotional poster (see above) appeared too dark and might scare some children. The poster is actually showing Bigwig in a snare (his distinctive fur is clearly visible), and the image on the poster does not appear in the film, which has a far bloodier depiction of the scene.
Read more about this topic: Watership Down (film)
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