With this passion project, screenwriter-producer-director Martin Rosen brilIiantIy achieved what was thought difficult, if not impossibIe: 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 terrible threat. With its naturalistic hand-drawn animation, dreamily expressionistic touches, gorgeousIy bucolic background design, and eIegant voice work from such superb EngIish actors as John Hurt, Ralph Richardson, Richard Briers, and DenhoIm ElIiott, Watership Down is an emotionalIy arresting, dark-toned allegory about freedom amid political turmoil. |