Watership Down

An animation from Richard Adams's novel, argued over for generations because of the gap between how it looks and what it contains. A young rabbit named Fiver foresees that their warren will be destroyed. His brother Hazel and a few others leave with him. There are foxes, dogs, birds and people on the way, but the real danger comes from other warrens: one has forbidden speaking the truth, another is run on military lines under General Woundwort. The film carries the book's own mythology: the rabbits' language, their gods and their creation story are inside the narrative. The opening is made as a flat-coloured, hand-drawn myth and stands apart from the naturalistic drawing of the rest. The voice cast includes John Hurt, Richard Briers, Ralph Richardson and Zero Mostel. Bright Eyes, sung by Art Garfunkel, went to number one in Britain. Before you watch, know this: it looks like children's animation and is not. Blood, struggle and death are shown directly, and the argument over whether it is suitable for children has run in Britain for decades.