Watership Down: Rabbit Cults.

Well, the time has come. We were dreading it. But it honestly wasn't THAT bad! We promise! It's ok, you can hold our hand.

Aly starts us off with an author biography on Richard Adams.

Sarrah tells us all about the original director of Watership Down, John Hubley, who unfortunately passed away early in the process.

Together we discuss the controversy over this movie being shown on Easter Sunday on TV, the new Netflix series announced, and how this film was not really pushed in North America.

Our walkthrough has us really figuring out which parts were going to scar us for life, why that damn bird is so annoying, and ultimately liking this movie way more than anticipated.

So take a deep breath, trust us, and let's find our way to Watership Down.

Hello listeners!

Welcome to the day we have been dreading since we started this podcast.

That’s right. Today is the day we discuss Martin Rosen’s 1978 film, Watership Down.

WARNING: This is the last moment of happiness in the entire film. And it's within the first 5 minutes.

Now, Sarrah and Aly grew up in North America, where Watership Down is a classic novel that some people read in high school or university. But we are very aware that this movie is a THING elsewhere. We are also aware that it has been lauded as one of the most traumatizing, horrific, tear-jerking movies of all time.

So we were super excited. (Not).

But….

It was actually fine.
Y'all are making a big deal out of this.
Don’t get us wrong, some of this stuff is gonna stick to us, and if we saw this as children we’d have nightmares. But as two adults who are usually triggered by anything that has to do with animals getting hurt? We survived.

Granted...not pretty.

So let’s kick this off!

Aly starts us off again with a biography of author Richard Adams, whose very first writing experience was authoring Watership Down!

Richard Adams, a'int he cute?

Sarrah tells us a little about how this movie came to be, including the slightly sad history of the original director John Hubley, who passed away before he could finish the film.

After a brief dash off to Voice Cast Corner (what’s up, John Hurt?) we make our way to Inspiration & Influence with Aly. She tells us about the drama surrounding a British TV channel’s decision to play this movie every Easter Sunday, and about a few pretty cool looking theatrical adaptations.

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The British-Canadian TV Show

Some info/pictures on the role playing game:

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After that, it’s time to hop off to our walkthrough. Aly relives her Cowslip nightmare, we question why our main characters weren’t as clearly set apart in their character design, and yell warnings at our TV.

It’ll be okay, everyone. We can hold hands and pause whenever you need to.
It’s time to find our way to Watership Down.

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Read and watch along with us!
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Our Sources:

Podcast Music By: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

IMDb Page for Watership Down
Wikipedia Article for Watership Down

Wikipedia Article for Richard Adams (author)
Wikipedia Article for John Hubley (original director)
Wikipedia Article for The Un-American Activities Committee
Britannica Article for Richard Adams

Guardian Articles
New Netflix Series
Interview with Richard Adams
Obituary for Richard Adams

Telegraph Interview with Richard Adams
Neatorama.com List of Interesting Watership Down Facts

Metro Article on Easter Showing of Watership Down
Independent Article on Easter Showing of Watership Down