Journey to Watership Down and
Escape to Watership Down (1999)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by David Finley, based on the novel by Richard Adams
Original Songs & Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Mike Batt
Directed by Troy Williams
Starring the Voices of Kate Ashfield, Richard Briers, Sue Elliot-Nichols, Andrew Falvey, Dawn French, John Hurt, and Rik Mayall

Released by: GoodTimes DVD
Rating: NR (suitable for all audiences)
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; they appear in their original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Avoid them

After a small group of rabbits received a precognition about their home's destruction, they were forced to leave the safety of their home to find a new one. Their new home is called Watership Down, but all is not all peaches and cream there either. It seems that their new home is not as safe as they had hoped. So, now a small group of the rabbits led by Hazel (Ian Shaw), with the help of their new friends Kehaar (Mayall) and Hannah (Jane Horrocks), must do everything they can to protect their new home from the evil General Woundwart (Hurt).

The original animated movie of this novel was outstanding. It's just a shame that this feels like an attempt to make a quick buck off of someone else's idea. The scripts are not well thought out at all. The dialogue is trite and predictible and is very nearly written above the heads of the target audience. The plot is very complicated and they simply jump into the story without re-introducing the characters (or introducing the characters for those who might be watching this for the first time). The animation is quite weak as well. It's very jumpy and there seems to be little attempt to make the rabbit's mouths sync with the dialogue that the actors are spouting out.

What amazes me the most about these discs is the fact that they got some of the best of the actors that Britain has to offer to play this script. John Hurt and Dawn French are completely wasted in this series. French is a very funny woman (for proof, see my review of her shows with Jennifer Saunders), but there is very little that is funny about this story.

Then you have the fact that there are no special features on these discs...of any kind. There is not even a plot summary of the original novel. In fact, there is no mention of the original novel on the DVD at all (with the exception of the back cover of the case). Then you have the fact that there is nothing that is remotely "kid-related" either. There are no DVD or DVD-ROM games for kids to play, and the plot of the original novel just begs for a video game to be made of it (or perhaps not). But, then again, there's nothing for the adults, either. There are no interviews with the cast or crew, nor is there a commentary track. Some text on screen regarding original author Adams would have been something, or at least an acknowledgement of the original film--but alas, no.

Anyway, if you are looking for a DVD for your young children, make sure that you pass this one by. There is nothing here that will keep their interest...or yours.