Watership Down (Martin Rosen, 1978) is as controversial as it is beloved. Whether due to the tear-jerking hit song 'Bright Eyes' or its notorious representation of violence inflicted by and upon animated rabbits, the film retains the ability to move and shock audiences of all ages, remaining an important cultural touchstone decades after its original release.
This open access collection unites scholars and practitioners from a diversity of perspectives to consider the ongoing legacy of this landmark of British cinema and animation history. The authors provide nuanced discussions of Watership Down’s infamous animated depictions of violence, death and its contentious relationship with child audiences, as well as examinations of understudied aspects of the film including its musical score, use of language, its increasingly relevant political and environmental themes and its difficult journey to the screen, complete with behind-the-scenes photographs, documents and production artwork. As the first substantial work on Watership Down, this book is a valuable companion on the film for scholars, students and fans alike.
The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.
List of Illustrations List of Tables Notes on Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction: Watership Down in context Catherine Lester (University of Birmingham, UK) Part I: Bringing the Warren to Life 1. 'We consider the conduct of this film highly unsatisfactory and unprofessional': Film finances and Watership Down Llewella Chapman (University of East Anglia, UK) and James Chapman (University of Leicester, UK) 2. Revisiting the production of Watership Down through the Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive Klive Humberstone (Independent Researcher, UK), Nigel Humberstone (Independent Researcher, UK) and Chris Pallant (Canterbury Christ Church, UK) 3. 'Trying to Eat Grass that isn't There': Unearthing A lapine corpus in Richard Adams' Watership Down and its film adaptation R. Grider (Independent Scholar, USA) Part II: Animal Stories 4. Animating utopia: Aesthetic instability and the revolutionary gaze in the film adaptation of Watership Down Lisa Mullen (University of Cambridge, UK) 5. 'Whenever They Catch You, They Will Kill You': Human-animal conflict in 1970s British children’s cinema Noel Brown (Liverpool Hope University, UK) 6. They watered ship down: Eco-doom and ecopedagogy in adaptations of Watership Down and The Animals of Farthing Wood Hollie Adams (Independent researcher, UK) 7. Watership Down under: When rabbits came to Australia Dan Torre (RMIT University, Australia) and Lienors Torre (Deakin University, Australia) Part III: Aesthetics of Sound and Image 8. 'English pastoral melodies': the traditions and connotations of Angela Morley’s musical score for Watership Down Paul Mazey (Independent Scholar, UK) 9. 'I know now. A terrible thing is coming': Watership Down, music and/as horror Leanne Weston (University of Warwick, UK) 10. Pastel dreams and crimson nightmares: Colour, aesthetics and Watership Down Carolyn Rickards (Independent Scholar, UK) 11. Prince with a thousand faces: Shifting art-styles and the depiction of violence in Watership Down Sam Summers (Middlesex University, UK) Part IV: Affective Encounters with the Rabbit 12. Drawing blood: The forms and ethics of animated violence in Watership Down Josh Schulze (University of Michigan, USA) 13. 'Won’t somebody please think of the bunnies?': Watership Down, rabbit horror and 'suitability' for children Catherine Lester (University of Birmingham, UK) 14. Mourning Hazel-rah Catherine Sadler (Independent Scholar, UK) Guide to Further Research Index
Catherine Lester is Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research centres on the intersections between the horror genre and children’s culture. She is the author of the monograph Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2021), as well as chapters and articles on Disney Princess films, animated horror and children’s horror television.
Reviews for Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence
Strange, controversial, beguiling: Watership Down is an uncommon film that cries out for this excellent collection of essays, providing much needed context and thoughtful analysis of unforgettable animation. Whether readers are rediscovering the film for the first time since childhood or hoping to gain new insight into a lingering obsession, they will find new information and understanding of what makes this film unique. This book offers fresh research into the troubled production and adaptation process, wide-ranging readings of the film's story and aesthetics, and consideration of its reception and long influence. Essential reading for anyone interested in animation, horror, children's cinema, environmentalism, or British film. * Malcolm Cook, Associate Professor in Film Studies, University of Southampton, UK * Watership Down is an enduring classic, but to date the 1978 film has not received scholarly attention. This volume is well-positioned to fill this gap, exploring the multifaceted nature of this beloved film across and organized by four thematic groupings and includes access to never-before-seen archival material. Groundbreaking and thorough, Watership Down: Perspectives On and Beyond Animated Violence is an essential text for undergraduate courses, graduate students and fans of the film alike. * Amy Ratelle, Research Officer and Independent Scholar, Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto, Canada * Watership Down is a seminal and influential British feature animation. Catherine Lester's varied and insightful collection of essays finally offers proper appraisal of the film's social impact, emotional affect and political challenges. Drawing on archival sources and closely researched aspects of the film's production, the readings that follow are refreshingly assured in discussing the power of animation itself to represent complex adult themes and challenging emotive imagery. This is not a book for those wishing to read about 'funny bunnies'. These essays go down the rabbit hole and emerge from the warren with a revealing and penetrative gaze. Bright guys, burning like fire.... * Paul Wells, Professor of Animation, Loughborough University, UK *
