I’ve just finished the book - and I’m much more moved than I thought I’d ever be after reading a book about rabbits. Such a good book.
And the ending is so, so lovely and sad and happy.
“It seemed to Hazel that he would not be needing his body any more, so he left it lying on the edge of the ditch…”.
God, I’m welling up again.
Is the film worth seeking out?
No.
(Others may disagree, but I feel that it was a pretty film about the troubles rabbits have moving to a new home and missed the mythic resonance that made the novel great.)
I loved the book, but didn’t like the movie much.
We (my dad recommended the book to me) still talk about ruu-du-duus (sp?) when we see some poor roadkill…
The film’s not bad, but it does take some liberties with the story for the sake of condensing the book to ninety minutes. Almost all of the myths and stories are gone, the plot is streamlined and somewhat reassembled, etc.
If you’re generally forgiving of that sort of thing, you might enjoy it. You might even enjoy it otherwise although you might want to digest the novel a little longer before you go tinkering with your happy memories of it.
Wise words, I think. I’ll order the film anyway, maybe watch it in a week or two.
Has anyone read “Tales from Watership Down”?
Also I’ve heard that both the book and film “Plague Dogs” are worth hunting down. Any thoughts?
Hmm. I thought this was about the book, so in I wandered. I haven’t seen the movie.
The book was truly one of the greats, though, IMO. I never thought rabbits could be so interesting. One of my favorite parts is at the end…Bigwig has come all the way back up the run, and is looking General Woundwort in the eye. General Woundwort says something like
“Give it up, Thyali. I can have this warren down around you in seconds.”
And Bigwig responds, “My Chief Rabbit has told me to stay here and until he tells me otherwise here is where I stay.”
And all the Efrafan rabbits are left wondering - who is this great chief Rabbit? Why has he not appeared? If Bigwig has a Chief Rabbit who must this mighty Chief Rabbit be?
Great, great book. My copy is worn down and rather battered-looking, it’s been read so many times.
I picked up my copy in a second-hand shop for 20 pence, and it’s obviously been well read by someone with very grubby fingers!
I loved the stories of El-ahrairah, and thought that the eventual incorporation into the oral tradition of Fiver’s exploits was well done. I suppose that’s what happens until someone like Homer comes along and sets it in stone.
Hazel’s exploits, obviously. Doe!
I wasn’t impressed with Plague Dogs, Struan. Tales from Watership Down is good, but it’s not the same. Honestly, you’re gong to spend the next 10 years (at least) looking for another Watership Down, and you won’t find it.
The closest I’ve found is Tailchaser’s Song, by Tad Williams, but even that falls short of the brilliance that is Watership Down.
I likwed the movie. Of course it was slimmed down to fit into a movie’s time slot. But it wasn’t prettified – first-time cartoon makrs avoided Disneyfying the flick, and got good results, IMHO. I love the way they started out with the stylized animation telling the Creation of the World from the rabbits’ point of view. Well worth seeing.
I haven’t liked any of Adams’ other books. I read Plague Dogs, and I forced my way through Shardik, but gave up after that. I found them pretty tedious, while Watership Down was a treat.
I didn’t care for the movie, but it didn’t ruin the book for me. One of the best books I’ve ever read, for sure.
I once saw a car in a parking lot with the license plate HRUDUDU. 
As for RA’s other books, I read The Girl in a Swing and it was ghastly. I figured out the “twist”, if that’s what it was meant to be, right away, and then it seemed to take three hundred more tedious pages to get on with it. I only finished it because part of the book was set in a location I knew.
I’ve seen the license plate INLE.
It was on a black Rabbit.
(I’ve also seen ML8 ML8 on a white Rabbit from NH, and heard about another one elsewhere.)
I actually saw the movie first (yes, in a theatre) and was inspired to read the book.
The movie lacks the resonance of the book – and a LOT of what makes the book so worthy of rereading.
I own the movie. I watch it every now and again. But it is merely okay and not nearly the treat the movie is.
While we’re here, I’ll post this link to “The Real Watership Down”
Oh embleer frith.
Once upon a time, I used to run Watershipdown.org and moderate a good sized e-mail group. The community opinion towards Tales from… wasn’t all that great although few people were willing to actually pan the book. It just lacked the same spark.
I enjoyed The Plague Dogs but it’s heavier reading than WD and doesn’t hesitate to beat you about the head with its message. The film is wonderfully animated though and rather true to the book (closer than the WD film, for sure). I’d actually recommend you spend 90min on the film rather than a week on the novel.
Traveller is a story by Adams of the American Civil War as told through General Lee’s horse. It’s in first person and, while it’s no WD, it’s an interesting perspective especially if the historical angle interests you.
Adams’ other books I couldn’t get through. A shame, that, but at least he had one more brilliant and beloved novel than most people will ever create.
That’s pretty cool. That’s way cool, actually. That is so neat to see the actual area in photographs like that.
As for “Tales from Watership Down”, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s still not in the same league as the original novel, of course, primarily because it’s just a series of short stories. But it is nevertheless a fun read and a sort of nostalgic return to the place for those of us who read this book as youngsters and still have great memories of it.
I love the visitor counter in your link ddgryphon.
I really don’t know why I didn’t read this when I was younger. Put off by the “rabbit” thing, or by my then-loathing of “Bright Eyes” probably. Of course, the song makes a whole lot more sense now.
Hey, pal, take it to the Pit.
Seriously, you’ve referenced one of my favorite scenes. That moment in particular is cool because by that point in the book, the reader is well enough acquainted with the Lapine vocabulary and cosmology that ‘o embleer frith’ hits viscerally as a startling obscenity.