Watership Down

November’s Cinema Sunday features the 1978 British animated classic Watership Down, a stirring tale of fear, faith, and the fight for freedom and security. 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 countryside 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. Adams downplayed the political and religious overtones, maintaining that Watership Down just developed out of the colourful tales he told his young children to pass the time on trips to the countryside. 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! Colour, Blu-ray Disc. 92 mins.