MARTIN ROSEN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB.5.  United Kingdom, 1978.  Nepenthe Productions, Watership Productions.  Screenplay by Martin Rosen, based on the novel by Richard Adams.  Produced by Martin Rosen.  Music by Angela Morley.  Film Editing by Terry Rawlings.  

This animated film is about a small group of rabbits who have been told by their seer that their warren is under threat of an environmental disaster and will soon be uninhabitable. Only a few rabbits heed the warning, and they set off in search of a new home on a perilous journey beset by human predators, the dangers of nature and the oppression of other rabbits. The evil rabbit general who runs the police state near a place they think they have found safety in is one of the most unnerving and vicious villains in animated film history, and for this reason I would recommend that the small fries avoid watching it. Anyone interested in seeing animation being used to tell deeply political, thought-provoking stories (with rabbits, no less!) will probably get something out it.