This Fantastic 1970s Animated Movie Has Been Traumatizing Kids For Decades

One would think that a movie about a handful of bunny rabbits trying to find a new warren would make for a delightful children's movie, but if that movie happened to be "Watership Down," you would be terribly mistaken. "Watership Down" is beautifully animated and does feature a couple of rather cute bunnies, including Fiver (Richard Briers), who's slightly neurotic and has psychic visions, and Hazel (John Hurt), who does his best to lead the rabbits to a safe new home, but it's ultimately a brutal tale that can be a bit much for the average kid. 

Based on the equally upsetting book by Richard Adams, "Watership Down" is a great early lesson in fascism and totalitarianism for preteens. However, because of its seemingly adorable rabbits and a "U" for "Universal" rating from the U.K. ratings board, families thought it was a totally benign family film, and it has been traumatizing young children for decades. Director Martin Rosen's adaptation of the novel is phenomenal, but due to its adult themes and surprisingly graphic animated violence, it can also be pure kindertrauma.

The journey that Hazel and the rest of the rabbit gang go on is incredibly perilous, with rivers to cross, barn cats to dodge, and more, but it's really two other warrens that end up being the most terrifying threats. One warren seems to be lovely, with fresh vegetables left out by a local farmer, but random rabbits keep disappearing, and it's because said farmer is snaring them. The other has a tyrannical leader, General Woundwort (Harry Andrews), who uses an army of soldier rabbits to keep his warren in line (and rebellion means certain death). There's quite a bit of rabbit fighting and death in "Watership Down," and some of it is very bloody. It's one of the most terrifying animated movies ever made, even if it has some excellent lessons and a great hero's journey. 

Somehow, despite shocking legions of families in the 1970s when it was released, parents continue to misjudge the movie and still put it on for their kids on streaming or buy it online. I had to stop parents from renting it for their young, school-age children several times as a Blockbuster employee in the late 2000s, and it was always a strange thing to explain. "What's so scary about bunnies?" the parents would ask, incredulous. Oh, you sweet summer children, you have no idea.