With this passion project, screenwriter-producer-director Martin Rosen briIIiantIy achieved what was thought difficuIt, if not impossibIe: a faithfuI big-screen adaptation of Richard Adams's cIassic British dystopian novel about a community of rabbits seeking safety and happiness after their warren comes under terribIe 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 aIIegory about freedom amid politicaI turmoiI. |