Watership Down (2018)
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 23, 2018
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5

Critic Reviews

  1. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Dec 20, 2018
    100
    It is rigorously intelligent, absolutely thrilling, and--unless the kids are about 17--definitely not for children. ... One of its virtues is its fidelity to the source material—dark, filled with dread, marked by stinging indictments of fascism, fundamentalism and cruelty. Being so true to itself, it’s utterly absorbing--once you get past the fact that the principal characters are rabbits. ... All the performances are convincing.
  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Ben Travers
    Dec 20, 2018
    83
    Despite cheap computer-animation, director Noam Murro (“300: Rise of an Empire”) and writer Tom Bidwell (“My Mad Fat Diary”) evoke a strong sense of empathy for the animals while crafting a stirring limited series built on big, frightening themes of life and death along with more humble thoughts on love, friendship, and socialism.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Dec 14, 2018
    80
    Allowing for the sweetness in Adams' original work to come out in this modern take is part of what makes the BBC-Netflix version of Watership Down work best. The conversations and character development of the rabbits are the bricks that build the story. And while the animation is at first a downside--seemingly retro, too saturated with brown and black tones, making many of the rabbits indistinguishable from one another--that limitation allows the voice work to shine, which of course relies heavily on Adams' lovely descriptions.
  5. Collider
    Reviewed by: Dave Trumbore
    Dec 21, 2018
    60
    Luckily, the story is so good that it shines above the shoddy animation, but the 1978 adaptation is still a better bet and the original story itself is still the best. Give this one a watch only if you can stomach the visuals and the visceral material.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Dec 20, 2018
    60
    Emotional but blandified adaptation. ... If the Netflix Watership Down fails its potential, it benefits from strong voice performances (Boyega is expressive as the bluff but loyal Bigwig) and a solid central story. Even this easy-listening version, which lays on the romance, jokes and limp dialogue (“They may not have wanted a war, but by Frith, that’s what they’ll get”), has moments of grandeur and the sweep of a fantasy epic.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 12 out of 29
  1. Elthor
    Dec 26, 2018
    5
    I remember being traumatized as a kid by the original animated film of Watership Down.
    So, now a big boy with big boy pants I thought I'd see    I remember being traumatized as a kid by the original animated film of Watership Down.
    So, now a big boy with big boy pants I thought I'd see what the new version had to offer me by way of new emotional scars... is boredom a scar? If it is, mission accomplished.    … Full Review »
  2. KuramaxDakota
    Dec 23, 2018
    8
    Watership Down in overall is a great retelling of this classic.

    Although there are some flaws in the series like some changes between the    Watership Down in overall is a great retelling of this classic.

    Although there are some flaws in the series like some changes between the novel itself, this remake tells so greatly without even being too horrific like the 1978 film.

    I praised the performances of James McAvoy, John Boyega, and Sir Ben Kingsley as Hazel, Bigwig, and General Woundwort respectively.

    The animation was done nicely, the music is just majestic. The music brings joy, tragedy, and suspense.

    I recommend this.    … Full Review »
  3. MaltyDoc
    Mar 14, 2019
    0
    The book is an epic adventure full of suspense, terror, love, compassion, growth, and universal themes of humanity. This TV series isThe book is an epic adventure full of suspense, terror, love, compassion, growth, and universal themes of humanity. This TV series is abysmal. They cut out all that made the book magical (the mythos, the lupine linguistics, the shocking violence, the supernatural tension) and left a dull lifeless hack of a show. The animation looks like it was done by people that have read about rabbits and birds, but never actually seen any in real life. This remake is all the worse for the comparison with the original animated movie that was by far superior despite being made four decades ago.… Full Review »
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