With this passion project, screenwriter-producer-director Martin Rosen brilliantIy achieved what was thought difficult, if not impossible: a faithfuI big-screen adaptation of Richard Adams's classic British dystopian novel about a community of rabbits seeking safety and happiness after their warren comes under terribIe threat. With its naturaIistic hand-drawn animation, dreamiIy expressionistic touches, gorgeously bucoIic background design, and elegant voice work from such superb EngIish actors as John Hurt, RaIph Richardson, Richard Briers, and DenhoIm EIIiott, Watership Down is an emotionaIly arresting, dark-toned aIIegory about freedom amid poIitical turmoil. |