Watership Down remake blasted for ‘dreadful CGI and animation’ by fans

Many tuned into the BBC this evening to see what the reboot had to offer – forty years on from the terrifying film.

The 1978 original was given a “Universal” rating by censors, but viewers were stunned by horrific images of blood-soaked fields and rabbits ripping each other’s throats out – to the haunting song, Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel.

But viewers said the remake was just as upsetting because of the “poor quality” CGI – computer generated imagery – in the programme.

One seethed: “5 minutes in and I've given up – are we supposed to be impressed by the animation? It's dreadful. Think I'll just watch the original again sometime.”

While another added: “The 1978 original has better animation than this; I’m really trying to ignore it because the film is one of my favourites but it’s so distracting.”

A third viewer moaned: “Who on earth thought a remake of Watership Down using what looks like pre 2000 computer game animation was mad. All the animals’ legs move at same time as if just copied and pasted.”

Others mocked the reboot, with one tweeting: “Brave of the BBC to try to create an animation using PS1 graphics.”

Another told their followers: “The animation on this latest incarnation of #WatershipDown is so poor it's verging on the distracting. Was the budget spent on the (in fairness, phenomenal) A-list cast the BBC and Netflix have hired?”

One viewer added: “Watership (thumbs) Down. They'd better have the swearing seagull saying P*** Off to save it!”

The reboot of the classic features an A-list cast, including Olivia Coleman, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Capaldi and Gemma Arterton.

Producer, Rory Aitken, met with author Richard eight months before his death to ensure they supported adaptation. He gave the family-friendly reinvention his blessing, saying: “I’m pleased the new adaptation of Watership Down will be less bloody – I always wanted the book to appeal to children.”

Rory said of the BBC version: “We’re not remaking that film, we’re adapting the book. We say the age range for our adaptation is 8 to 80 and over.”

“All the best children’s stories are dark.

“I mean, fairytales are unbelievably dark. Even in Disney films one or both of the parents of the characters die at the beginning.

“So actually, children don’t need things edited or censored in terms of life and death.”

Watership Down’s original film’s director, Martin Rosen, says parents only had themselves to blame for exposing their kids to the movie.

He said: “I did not make this picture for kids at all. I insisted that the film poster indicate how strong a picture it was by having Bigwig the rabbit in a snare.

“I was very surprised when everybody got crazy about it. I didn’t want to shock people at all. I thought I was being faithful to the book.”

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