I always appreciate how introspective you are. you make great stuff. and the introspection isnt surface level, or grasping at straws, but usually well thought out and trying to get at the deeper “essence” of stuff, or at least what you got from it. Its been a while since Ive been at school, but it reminds me of those rare occasions when you get a book assignment for english class you really click with and start to pore out your soul and get to that deeper “essence” of something more universal that you can see glimmers of in a narrative. And it feels really good and fulfilling to do. A bit rambly, but really, thank you for this stuff. You help me to reengage with some of my favorite things that I sometimes forget about in the hustle of life.
I did a book report in the 3rd grade about this book. The teacher called me a lier and said I didn't read it and just looked at the dust cover . 😳 I told my dad and he went to the school and put them to task to provide the proof that I created. Nothing in my report was in the dust cover so an A+ replaced the F.
I have almost the exact same story involving this book. I took it to school on my very first day (I was five, for reference) because it was one of my favourites, a comfort thing because I was absolutely NOT looking forward to the whole school thing - and got a LOT of "yeah right, like you can read that" and some kids even stole it and tried to flush it down the toilet, although thankfully I got there in time, and the school learned that I had pretty significant anger issues when the principal got involved due to all the yelling and a couple of kids with black eyes and broken noses. I came back to class absolutely shattered, and when the teacher asked what happened and I told her, even she was incredulous. So she called me up to the front of the class, and told me to start reading. It ended up as kind of a daily thing, after the teacher's initial shock wore off, I guess, and I never hinted at how fucked up it might have been for the other kids, if the thought even occurred to me. The teacher didn't even seem to know what to expect, or she'd never have asked me to read it to a bunch of five- and six-year-olds, lol. But day by day, I went through a chapter each time, completely oblivious to the reactions slowly building up around me until the sound of bawling children finally registered as I closed the book. Even the teacher was just sitting at her desk biting her knuckles and quietly stifling her own tears. Which is... really bizarre and unsettling for such a young kid. Aaand that's the abbreviated version of "How I Spent First Grade Giving Thirty-Odd Children And One Teacher Lasting Psychological Trauma". No regrets. I liked school a lot more after that.
This is the book that turned me onto conlangs. It's fantastic: rabbits can only count up to four, so the word for five, "hrair," also means "many" or "thousand." So Fiver (Hrairoo) means "thousandth," or runt of the litter. Predators are "U Hrair," The thousand. El-Ahrairah comes from Elil-Hrair-Rah, enemies-thousand-prince, Prince Of A Thousand Enemies. Best of all, Hazel tells Woundwort "Silflay hraka, u embleer hrair" ("Eat shit, you stinking predator") and the audience gets it. It's the best.
And speaking to how well woven the conlang is with the story, I hould mention that - to this day - I can only remember the Rabbit's trickster god only by translating the name "Prince of a Thousand Enemies" back into rabbit. The translation comes automatically though. The story, language, and characters are so perfectly woven together that its all one thing in my brain
It's incredibly well integrated. You don't realize exactly how much you've picked up until that statement at the end. Silflay has entered my regular lexicon, and the onomatopoeic Hrududu is a close second.
But the funny thing is, rabbits regularly eat their shit because they can’t fully break down the hay and rough forage that comprises the bulk of their diet.
"My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend has stopped running today." I love Watership Down‐ it actually has influence amomgst rabbit owners. The quote above is often used when one of our rabbits die.
@@TraditionalAviator Yeah, they need that sort of space and it's great to have them around! We're currently taking care of a sprightly senior (12 years!!!) with an amputated hind leg and a plucky little doe five years younger than him. The apartment is all theirs although the older one doesn't like smooth surfaces so we carpeted his usual ways.
This book broke my heart open. We actually had a house rabbit at the time, and it convinced me to get him a companion. A local rabbit shelter arranged “dates” for him, and a large white rabbit decided he was her man. We adopted her, and they fell absolutely in love. The way he came to me and looked at me shortly afterward, I felt he understood what we’d done and was thankful. ❤️
There's a line from the Watership Down movie that I always remember. Hazel asks Frith to save his warren in exchange for his life. Frith responds: "There is not a day or night when a mother doe does not offer her life for her kittens, or an honest captain of Owsla his life for his chief's. But there is no bargain. What is, is what must be."
I don't know if it's the desperation in Hazel's voice, or the way the soundtrack comes in, But I've always found the way John Hurt delivers that line in movie exceedingly moving.
@@craftyvulpine4141 What I always found moving is this: Frith *responded.* He makes it clear that this prayer issomething he hears every day, but he does not make that bargain. After all, all things are Frith's creation. Why should he give his blessing to one when it will be to the detriment of another. A god should not play favorites.
@@FirstLast-cg2nk Except if said god is Yahweh. But it seems that Frith is much more generous and caring than Yahweh is... A lot of human deities have a lot of flaws, even the monotheistic ones like Yahweh, the Christian God or Allah. Lord Frith is basically the "perfect" monotheistic god.
@@TheFriendlyneighborhoodBlubell I watched this movie dozens of times in the '80s as a young kid. I later read the book as an adult. As usual, the book has so much more and you are right that the line is delivered differently in the book. But this is one case where I think it actually hits harder the way the movie does it. It was something I had remembered for many years before reading the book and the only thing I was a little disappointed with when I finally read it. This is one of my top three favorite books.
There's one moment in the final battle between Bigwig and Woundwort that I think deserves a special mention: When Woundwort asks Bigwig why he is still fighting against overwhelming odds, Bigwig answers that his chief rabbit ordered him to defend the warren and never surrender. Woundwort and the other Efrafans are completely blown away by the revelation that Bigwig himself is not the chief, because to them it is simply inconceivable that the chief of the warren could be anyone else except the strongest rabbit. I think that's a great bit because it underlines both Bigwig and Hazel's character arcs during the book. Bigwig went from wanting to leave the weaker rabbits behind and questioning Hazel's orders to defending everyone in their warren, believing that Hazel will come up with a way to save them all. Hazel in turn proves himself worthy of the trust, successfully pulling off his most dangerous and audacious trick of all time. What's more he does it by playing into the strengths of his friends, rather than trying to be the hero alone, leaving Bigwig to defend the warren while he takes the fastest runners and arranges them in a relay chain to lead the dog from the farm to the hill.
The best part is they then assumed the leader was a massive rabbit that they hadn't seen yet and started to panic. Because bigwig had already got the better of woundwort by then
Definitely the coolest part of the story for me. I love just the realization of how they couldn't possibly conceive of someone, or something that wasn't this terrible monster. Imagine the surprised if they found out that little limp rabbit they had seen earlier was the chief
Bigwig's line has me in tears every time I think about it. His dedication to his Warren and to his Chief Rabbit is the culmination of his best traits applied to the group and not just himself. 🥲
My dad read Watership Down to us when we were younger. All I recall fully was 'Elerrirah'(sorry if I spelled it wrong, never read it myself), cause not only was he the rabbit prince, Dad voiced him with Bugs Bunny's voice...I remember it being absolutely fascinating, though
This is the biggest brain interpretation i've ever heard of and that's not me being sarcastic Your dad is thinking on another level here man has changed the game
I grew up with the 1978 animated movie as a kid, and yeah, it definitely made me realize that rabbits aren't just cute, cuddly, passive fluff balls. I had been mistakenly given this movie at the library while trying to find my favorite VHS of The Velveteen Rabbit, and I just loved Watership Down way more, even though I didn't understand a lot of what was happening at the time. It was something new and a little scary, but fascinating. I especially love the highly stylized lore at the start.
Same here, it was one of my favorite movies as a little kid, and it's one of the few things I remember from when I was very young. Specifically, I vividly remember the haunting audio and imagery from the scene where they find out what happened to their old warren, as well as a few graphic scenes with Bigwig. I distinctly remember the lore at the start being my favorite part of the whole movie though haha Needless to say, I have a much deeper appreciation of the story as an adult than I did as a small child.
I read the Velveteen Rabbit at school and it was amazing. Yeah, Watership Down was a very fascinating story/series on Netflix, I haven’t read the book tho. Now I feel like watching the series again, and I feel like reading the Velveteen Rabbit again.
Okay, I've never read the Watership Down but your summary from 19:00 onwards moved me to tears. It's been an long week and I'm feeling overwhelmed by the things I need to do and this really helped. Thanks, Tale Foundry.
Thlayli did not guard the entrance to the warren. He burried himself under the last tunnel with all the noncombatant rabbits hiding behind him, so that he could bite Woundwart on the neck and beat him back (knowing it would likely mean his death) and at that moment he proclaimed Hazel his Chief Rabbit. This is a good video, but it sells Bigwig short. His infiltration of Efrefa is one of the greatest adventure stories ever all on its own. And as many times as I read it, I still get chills when he stands his ground and names his chief.
But he never actually names or identifies Hazel to the Efrafans, thus starting the confusion and rumors that stall their advance and, along with how Bigwig is able to make Woundwort bleed like a normal rabbit, breaks their morale. And then the dog shows up.
@@Vinemaple yes! And I always read that as a not so subtle power play on his part. We, the readers, know that he's announcing Hazel as Chief and himself as head of the Owsla, and we know why that relationship works based on their respective traits. But by keeping the Efreffans in the dark he invokes the specter of a rabbit who simply exceeds himself in all the traits they understand and respect. (And who also exceeds Woundwort in those traits, if Bigwig will obey his Chief but fight to overthrow Woundwort) Only Thlayli can have this kind of impact on the reader and on all the other rabbits on both sides of the battle with such a simple line of dialogue, because we know, as the rabbits do, all of the events that led up to that moment, and that he's the sort of character clever enough and bold enough to make threats in that situation.
My _Watership Down_ moment is at the very end, where Hazel sits in the sun listening to one of the next generation tell the story of Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig migrating to Watership Down but named as Elil Hrair Ra and His Owsla. And so Hazel finally meets Elil Hrair Ra and moves on to the next stage of his life, secure in the future of his extended tribe. And so we all must go down into history...
Tale Foundry covering my favorite book? Couldn't be happier to see this! The world that Richard Adam's fleshed out is so compelling, in everything from the rabbits' culture to their myths, to their interactions. I love everything about it and every adaptation I've seen (film and TV series included) though the book is the closest to my heart. An absolute masterpiece.
I read this just a couple of months ago this is of the most interesting things I've ever read. The poetry at the beginning of every chapter is a beautiful touch, the lore and story behind Hazel and his adventure are wonderful and the way Richard Adams set the setting in such a interesting way provoked the imagination to dwell on what exactly happened or is happening, a story of runaways making a great adventure into the unknown, hanging on trust and care. And the climax and the ending are wonderfully paced, but it was the ending that left me staring at the page, knowing that this was the perfect tale to show us what tales have been spun from the imagination to be placed on the shelf of the endless library we know... as literature.
I love this book so much that I tried to find other books by Richard Adams. "The Plague Dogs" is extremely disturbing. Very good, but I kinda wish I could unread it. Seeing even fictional anthropomorphic canines go through SO MUCH SUFFERING was not pleasant.
Yeah, Plauge dogs is way more dark then Watership Down, no contest. At least in Watership Down, the rabbits do eventually make it to their new warren and live in peace for years there. And it’s heavily implied if not outright confirmed that there’s a peaceful afterlife waiting for them when they die. With the Plauge Dogs, Rowf and Snitter have no real proof if the utopian Isle of Dogs they’re trying to escape to even exists, and is heavily implied to be a figment of Snitters deteriorating grip on reality. And dogs in this universe are given no such afterlife mythologies or grimreaper-esque death deities to speak of. All they have is either a painful and tiring existence where they’re experimented on or hunted by humans, or the black empty void of death. The only thing close to comfort being the friendship Rowf and Snitter share and the mutual goal to just try and survive. It’s bleak and nihilistic in ways Watership Down, despite it’s reputation as the darkest animal stories out there, isn’t.
I’ve always loved this story and the lore inside it. Having seen the movie and read the book, I have a new appreciation for wild rabbits. Seeing them in my back yard, I let them have their silflay and go about their lives. Just a note, the rabbit language is called Lapine, it’s meant to sound “fluffy”
Watched this with my wife a short while ago. She had not seen this since she was a child. I said that the film is worth a watch as an adult, she agreed and enjoyed it more as adult rather than a child.
Personally I don't think it's so great it's missing parts from the first chapter that explain what an owsla is and what an outskirter is as well as the fact that rabbits can only count up to four if I were you I'd get the older audiobook read by ralph cosham if you can find it
Im so happy that your touching on this book. This book and movie are my literal favorite. As a small kid i wore out the vhs, watching it over and over. I think looking back, the reason i liked it so much was because while being simple, it didnt talk down to me, and there are really important themes there that you can learn from even as a kid. And the book is even richer. Its satisfying, well written, and is one of the best books about animals with culture that i feel balances what a rabbit culture would be without making them tiny furry humans. Like, they understand spoken folklore because they are underground for long periods and have short lifespans, so it makes sense to pass down oral traditions that help them learn and adapt as rabbits. But they dont understand art, like the shapes of elharairah in the well, because its not rabbit. Its not within their scope of understanding. The stories of hazel and fiver and bigwig, holly, hyzenthlay, Bluebell, strawberry...they all had and have a huge impact on my life
Amazing book. Incredibly effective movie. Taught lil me that it is the story that matters and a talking warren doesn't mean it is childish, some very adult events were going to take place. It was.... startling. The movie.... animation does not mean Happy-go-lucky. Inside thought: I thought of the vicious rabbit, who put the claw marks, as rabbit Hitler, an 8 y.o. understanding of history and allegory. It may not be a 1 to 1 but it ain't completely wrong neither.
I love Watership Down (both the book and the original movie). And I think every author wants to write a story like Watership Down--one in which the story is told through the eyes of non-human characters and is as touching and as meaningful as any great human story--but few have the power to do so. Even fewer try.
The movie gts played in the UK every easter, basically a right of passage for children to be traumatised by what they thought would be a cute rsbbit animated movie.
I read it just a tad over 10 years ago, and I liked how the language and mythology rabbits have added realism to such a concept. It's true, realistically if animals could talk, they wouldn't speak English, French, or any other of man's languages.
One of my favorite moments in the book is, oddly enough, when Bigwig overhears the does of efrafra exchanging poetry. I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t read it, but It’s a place all too relatable, and weirdly enough it gives me hope.
Wow, you captured exactly why this book is so very important to me, and why Hazel is still my go-to for an example of good leadership. Thank you so much!
My favorite moment in Watership Down is when Bigwig says, "My Chief Rabbit has told me to stay and defend this run, and until he says otherwise, I shall stay here." It's the moment Woundwort finds out Bigwig isn't the chief rabbit of the Watership Down warren, the closest he comes to seing that earned loyalty is stronger than that which is compelled by fear, and it is Bigwig's Big Damn Hero moment.
I got the book from a friend's parent when I was younger and I completely ignored it for several years for some reason. Probably because i was in the middle of "wizards and witches need to be in everything I read" phase. But once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. The rabbit's mythology was my favorite part of the book. Creating tales about a trickster hero and making death look like a rabbit as well was interesting to me and made me interested in mythology as a whole
Watership Down exists in my bones. I loved it when I first watched the animated film as a kid (and then rewatched it over and over and over and...), I loved the book when it was read to me, and then (when I grew impatient with my mum's schedule ) as I read it myself (and re-read it again and again and...), and now, decades later, as an adult, I still find joy in re-reading it, and it's a story I think about. The characters all live somewhere in my heart, and (among many other stories) are part of what makes me... me. The creation myth of the rabbits, and the line "All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand enemies..." still gives me chills, it was just presented so well, it hits all the right notes. Also, the book fostered in me a deep love of books with footnotes (which made me immediately gravitate to Pratchett's writing later) as well as conlangs. I STILL sometimes swear in Lapine because, inevitably, a heartfelt "Frith and Inle!" or "Embleer Frith!" cheers me up and helps diminish whatever made me swear in the first place. "My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today," has echoed in my head on the death of real friends, when nothing else seemed to convey the grief adequately in my mind. POINT IS, good book, bunnies, yes. The art in this video is fantastic, a perfect blend of homage to the animated film and its own delightful self. I love the linocut style
Somehow, in a mere 24 minutes you have encapsulated every aspect of this tale, from the amazingly detailed summary of the story to the very depths of the emotional impact it has in store for you. This tale always brings tears to my eyes and your brilliant account of it has done the same. Bravo.
This was one of my favorite stories growing up. It really set the tone for the rest of my life in so many ways. My sister and I independently got tattoos of our favorite characters, each as a tribute to the father who introduced us to it. It's still one I go back to over and over.
Ahh! Is this a coincidence that Watership is one of my favorites and it is the one to lead me to your channel? The movie terrorized me as a child, I still can't watch some of the scenes today, and yet I can't turn away from either book or movie. I love your animations and pictures that go along with the story. Each rabbit has their own design, love that too. I am immediately subscribing. That being said, I'd like to offer a correction to your summary. When you said that the humans tend to Hazel after he is shot, that isn't true. He crawls into a ditch pipe and it isn't till Fiver has a vision and searches for his brother that he is found and rescued. Now, the farm girl does save Hazel from the cat, and delivers him back to the down after the release of the dog. So... I'll give you half points for it. 😁
When I was a kid, back in the 70s, this was THE book. Everyone read it! My mother gave me her copy and I devoured it. I've read it about 7 or 8 times, now, and it sits beside "The Lord of the Rings" in pride on my shelf!
Aw yeah, my favorite book getting recognized on this channel! I read this all the way back in fifth grade; and it impressed my teacher so much when I suggested it that she didn't even make me write a book report; she just had me read journal entries to prove that I understood it. The movie adaptation is also a work of art. Thank you for making my day!
Finally, someone who sees Watership Down as something other than childhood trauma waiting to happen! I think one of the reasons people see it that way is because most people reportedly misremember childhood experiences as happening at a younger age than they did. It is a deeply suspenseful book, comparable to a gritty post-apocalyptic survival tale about humans. As an adult, it's a must-read.
I love this story, and its excellent storytelling. But you left out one of the most important parts, the rabbits are still rabbits. And the worst villains in the book are the rabbits that stopped being rabbits. But it feels like you left out some of the more animalistic scenes for UA-cam or something. There's a point where the Watership Down rabbits only have one or two females, so the male rabbits almost kill each other in dominance displays. And that's important to the story, because this isn't Redwall with humanoid animals, or the Warrior cats where all the animals act like people, the rabbits are rabbits. With population pressures and dominance displays and everything.
I tend to group a lot of books together, and one of these groupings is: Preteen novel with human animals and highschool drama. Some of the books in this category are: Warriors, Wings of fire, Wolves of the beyond, and Foxcraft. I don't include Watership down in this grouping though, for this exact reason. The rabbits aren't just rabbits physically, but also maintain mental aspects. That's the beauty of this book.
I've always been a huge fan of Watership Down and to see people still making videos of it today always means a lot to me. Your animations preferred a nice visual and I'm glad you appreciate the book such as I did.
I love the way you described this story. I was introduced to Watership Down far later than most, but I quickly fell in love with it and its themes. Its mythology is captivating to someone like me who loves worldbuilding, even though there isn't all that much of it.
I watched at around 3-5 as a child with my twin brother and mum. My mum was covering her eyes for a lot of it and I really didn't get why at the time. I found the movie interesting, but still don't know why I remembered it so vividly. Needless to say around a year ago I remembered seeing the movie after seeing it on my recommended, understood why my mum was covering her eyes, had a short-lived fear of the movie for a while and then went back to toddler me where now I find it interesting
I think that later they made a cartoon that was "less scary", but im not sure, cuz only me and my two sisters remember that cartoon, and no one of our friends remember it
Oh WOW! I remember reading Watership Down in the early 1980s. I haven't re-read it, but I have had 'reminders' like the movie and other people talking about it. I even have read Tales From Watership Down, that one pretty recently. It has definitely crossed my mind many times. Do I want to re-read it? No, because there are so many books I haven't read and I am feeling like I'm running out of time... (I'm nearing 70.)
Everytime I tell people about this book . . . Other People: What's it about? Me: Bunnies. Other people: 🤨 . . . Me: I promise, it's utterly terrifying.
Rabbits have been my favorite animal for a while, the way you say how don’t say how much your worth and don’t think you can do it all yourself it’s just amazing how you tell this story I have no words
Thanks for this. I've been thinking about incorporating media literacy into my 6year old daughters homeschooling curriculum and you just gave me the perfect series. I'm then going to have her watch your video.
Woundworts fierceness is remarkable for a rabbit. Firstly, it’s never proven that Woundwort died in his encounter with the dog. His body was never found and while he was never seen again within the story, he may have moved on and established a new warren somewhere else. His fate was a mystery. The dog returned to the farmer so badly torn up after fighting with Woundwort that the farmer thought he had gotten into a fight with another dog. That’s pretty damn impressive!
Watership Down is one of my favorite books. The mood and tone is this perfect mix of grim acceptance of death and suffering and hope for something better.
2:54 "Elah'rehra, your people can not rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, prince with a thousand enemies" Amazing.
This book will always stay with me. My father used to read to me every night, and this is a tradition that we kept up for longer than is probably normal, but he read less childish books towards the end of it-some crime stuff, and a few odd books that we had lying around. “Watership Down” was one of them, and I really enjoyed when he read it to me. It was very impactful, I still remember the horror of Fiver’s premonitions and the final fight against Efrafa. It’s one of those books that I thought nobody knew about, so, even though I now know that isn’t true, I’m still very happy every time I hear anyone talk about it. Thanks, Tale Foundry! ;)
A sincere thank you for this video. I grew up loving this book, and the original film. The tribute to the Lord Frith myth delighted me. I don't comment on videos often, but this one pulled me to the keyboard. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Watership Down is truly a beautiful and sometimes melancholic... I remember watching cartoon series as a kid and I am suprised to learn by watching this video how much I actually remember about it. I never read book but I am sure if I did, I'd love it even more.
Thank you so much for all of your content. It is very interesting. I appreciate the effort you put in to these videos. I hope to see the next one soon!
I read this book as a kid (wasn’t that long ago but whatever) an trust me, I am not very emotional, but I remember not being able to finish the last page, because wnenever I tried I just ended up crying. It was honestly an amazing one.
I was interested in this. Then you showed THAT book, and my childhood movie trauma gripped me by the spine, LOL. Still watching, but yikes, intense story. Catchy animation style, well done!
I adore Watwership Down - its so gritty and macabre, and the new animated series is absolutely beautiful. I've rewatched it about three times to date. I'm so happy you did a video on this series.
My poor bunny is so confused while I sob near her listening to the video. Poor hazel, he had a happy ending but I keep thinking of how my bun got injured. I gave her extra cuddles.
“My heart has joined the thousands, as my friend has stopped running today.” “When they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you.” That book has such good writing omg
I am very happy to have discovered your site! As a lifetime reader and parent of lifetime readers , Im happy to share your videos which then leads to more discussion of the books we have in common and others that we discovered and want to share in a continuous round robin . 😁Thank you for your wonderful efforts! New subscriber absolutely!
I think one of the best moments of theme in the whole book is when an older rabbit tells younger rabbits a new/old tale of El'Aihra One in which he finds rabbits that live in a peaceful den with plenty of food but are sad and dignified Great lessons and tales, will loop back into legends for the rabbits, because it is how they remember how to be rabbits
never read the book but I do remember seeing the old Watership down DVD in my aunt's attic. traumatized little 7 year old me loll but now that im older I can appreciate the thought and excellent storytelling put into it.
Great video, but there is one small mistake...after Hazel is shot, the humans don't find him, Fiver does. He's found injured, hiding in a pipe and then Fiver (accompanied by Blackberry) bring him back to the down. Later in the book, Hazel is attacked by one of the farm cats and the farmer's daughter saves him and then he's tended to by the humans and set free.
Stories that we didn't know we needed are spoken by you.....Thank you! Thanks for throwing light on such works that I could never have found.....These books are beautiful and so is ur channel.
Holy moly, I've read Watership Down! Most of it, anyway- I started reading because of a specific movie critic. He watched the animated movie. I do understand there are differences, but it basically told me the basic story. I'm in LOVE with the book
I read the book when I was in high school. I've forgotten a good lot of it, so it would be fun to re-read. I love your analogies. I also have a Netherland dwarf bunny named Misty.
I watched the film adaptation wen i was 5 because a friend of my mother gifeted it to me thinkeng it was a film for children, it's still one of the most terryfing experiences of my childhood
so glad you covered this book. i remember watching the animated movie as a kid, while it kind of traumatized with this dark and gory imagery, it was also one of those movies that stuck with me. i didn't know it was based on a book until many years later and i enjoyed the book just as much. it is probably one the few animated movies that was not afraid to stick close to the original source material with it's more adult themes and darker tone.
I was ten when I read this book for the first time and it really stuck with me. I have read it several times after that and some of that wonder from my childhood comes back every time 😊
I saw the movie before I read the book. The movie is TERRIFYING when you're ten years old! I've always loved stories from animal points of view, especially The Foxes of Firstdark, Silverwing and sequels, Warriors, Catwings... I love them all. Watership Down was definitely one of the more mature and heavy of these stories I loved so much.
It's one of my top fav books of all time, I read it the first time when I was around 13 and every couple of years I return to it and no matter what the first Warren they end up at creeps me the fuck out and the very last chapter always has me bawling like a small child 😭
Go listen to the Watership Down audiobook for FREE! ➤ www.audible.com/talefoundry/
It's a massive help to us. Huge thanks to everyone who does.
I always appreciate how introspective you are. you make great stuff. and the introspection isnt surface level, or grasping at straws, but usually well thought out and trying to get at the deeper “essence” of stuff, or at least what you got from it.
Its been a while since Ive been at school, but it reminds me of those rare occasions when you get a book assignment for english class you really click with and start to pore out your soul and get to that deeper “essence” of something more universal that you can see glimmers of in a narrative. And it feels really good and fulfilling to do.
A bit rambly, but really, thank you for this stuff. You help me to reengage with some of my favorite things that I sometimes forget about in the hustle of life.
Thanks for the part after the story it was really heartfelt and it made me feel happy
I like this story and how they made a religion for rabbits I really like frith the creators of all the animals and the prince of a thousand enemies
You're a shining gem, my friend.
@@ObeyNoLies why thank you sir
The face on the rabbit who had the almost-asleep realization they were all dudes is perfect and expressed the situation perfectly.
Our artist, Abbie, does some really amazing concept design doesn't she??
-Benji
Absolutely. The deepest emotion from use of such simple shapes.
Doomed to failure from the start?
@@TheTaleFoundry is hate you
They need sum Hos xD
I did a book report in the 3rd grade about this book. The teacher called me a lier and said I didn't read it and just looked at the dust cover . 😳 I told my dad and he went to the school and put them to task to provide the proof that I created. Nothing in my report was in the dust cover so an A+ replaced the F.
I hate teachers like that
@@melanieortiz712 teachers like that expect you to fail, miserable bunch
Uh huh
They're the one that only saw the dust cover and assume 🙄smh people these days
I have almost the exact same story involving this book. I took it to school on my very first day (I was five, for reference) because it was one of my favourites, a comfort thing because I was absolutely NOT looking forward to the whole school thing - and got a LOT of "yeah right, like you can read that" and some kids even stole it and tried to flush it down the toilet, although thankfully I got there in time, and the school learned that I had pretty significant anger issues when the principal got involved due to all the yelling and a couple of kids with black eyes and broken noses. I came back to class absolutely shattered, and when the teacher asked what happened and I told her, even she was incredulous. So she called me up to the front of the class, and told me to start reading.
It ended up as kind of a daily thing, after the teacher's initial shock wore off, I guess, and I never hinted at how fucked up it might have been for the other kids, if the thought even occurred to me. The teacher didn't even seem to know what to expect, or she'd never have asked me to read it to a bunch of five- and six-year-olds, lol. But day by day, I went through a chapter each time, completely oblivious to the reactions slowly building up around me until the sound of bawling children finally registered as I closed the book. Even the teacher was just sitting at her desk biting her knuckles and quietly stifling her own tears. Which is... really bizarre and unsettling for such a young kid.
Aaand that's the abbreviated version of "How I Spent First Grade Giving Thirty-Odd Children And One Teacher Lasting Psychological Trauma". No regrets.
I liked school a lot more after that.
This is the book that turned me onto conlangs. It's fantastic: rabbits can only count up to four, so the word for five, "hrair," also means "many" or "thousand."
So Fiver (Hrairoo) means "thousandth," or runt of the litter.
Predators are "U Hrair," The thousand.
El-Ahrairah comes from Elil-Hrair-Rah, enemies-thousand-prince, Prince Of A Thousand Enemies.
Best of all, Hazel tells Woundwort "Silflay hraka, u embleer hrair" ("Eat shit, you stinking predator") and the audience gets it. It's the best.
And speaking to how well woven the conlang is with the story, I hould mention that - to this day - I can only remember the Rabbit's trickster god only by translating the name "Prince of a Thousand Enemies" back into rabbit. The translation comes automatically though. The story, language, and characters are so perfectly woven together that its all one thing in my brain
Isn't it Bigwig who says that?
It's incredibly well integrated. You don't realize exactly how much you've picked up until that statement at the end.
Silflay has entered my regular lexicon, and the onomatopoeic Hrududu is a close second.
But the funny thing is, rabbits regularly eat their shit because they can’t fully break down the hay and rough forage that comprises the bulk of their diet.
*leader not predator
"My heart has joined the thousand, for my friend has stopped running today."
I love Watership Down‐ it actually has influence amomgst rabbit owners. The quote above is often used when one of our rabbits die.
Do you raise rabbits?
@@theeldenbeast I have one! His name is Dumplin'. He lives in my room with me! The whole space is bunny proofed and I buy him new toys every paycheck.
When my mom passed away, that was how we told family and friends
@@theeldenbeast Walter! Good to see you didn't eat your new device yet.
@@TraditionalAviator Yeah, they need that sort of space and it's great to have them around! We're currently taking care of a sprightly senior (12 years!!!) with an amputated hind leg and a plucky little doe five years younger than him. The apartment is all theirs although the older one doesn't like smooth surfaces so we carpeted his usual ways.
This book broke my heart open. We actually had a house rabbit at the time, and it convinced me to get him a companion. A local rabbit shelter arranged “dates” for him, and a large white rabbit decided he was her man. We adopted her, and they fell absolutely in love. The way he came to me and looked at me shortly afterward, I felt he understood what we’d done and was thankful. ❤️
That's so cute he went on rabbit blind dates
"The story that would make ElAhrira to cry" chapter still makes me weep when I remember
Aww that's cute. Yes the film is beautiful but haunting and touched me profoundly. I'm now starting the book. 🐰❤️
There's a line from the Watership Down movie that I always remember. Hazel asks Frith to save his warren in exchange for his life. Frith responds: "There is not a day or night when a mother doe does not offer her life for her kittens, or an honest captain of Owsla his life for his chief's. But there is no bargain. What is, is what must be."
I don't know if it's the desperation in Hazel's voice, or the way the soundtrack comes in, But I've always found the way John Hurt delivers that line in movie exceedingly moving.
@@craftyvulpine4141 What I always found moving is this: Frith *responded.* He makes it clear that this prayer issomething he hears every day, but he does not make that bargain. After all, all things are Frith's creation. Why should he give his blessing to one when it will be to the detriment of another. A god should not play favorites.
@@FirstLast-cg2nk Except if said god is Yahweh. But it seems that Frith is much more generous and caring than Yahweh is... A lot of human deities have a lot of flaws, even the monotheistic ones like Yahweh, the Christian God or Allah. Lord Frith is basically the "perfect" monotheistic god.
In the book that line is said by the black rabbit Inle, embodiment of death. But it’s said to El-ahraira not Hazel.
@@TheFriendlyneighborhoodBlubell I watched this movie dozens of times in the '80s as a young kid. I later read the book as an adult. As usual, the book has so much more and you are right that the line is delivered differently in the book. But this is one case where I think it actually hits harder the way the movie does it. It was something I had remembered for many years before reading the book and the only thing I was a little disappointed with when I finally read it. This is one of my top three favorite books.
There's one moment in the final battle between Bigwig and Woundwort that I think deserves a special mention:
When Woundwort asks Bigwig why he is still fighting against overwhelming odds, Bigwig answers that his chief rabbit ordered him to defend the warren and never surrender. Woundwort and the other Efrafans are completely blown away by the revelation that Bigwig himself is not the chief, because to them it is simply inconceivable that the chief of the warren could be anyone else except the strongest rabbit.
I think that's a great bit because it underlines both Bigwig and Hazel's character arcs during the book. Bigwig went from wanting to leave the weaker rabbits behind and questioning Hazel's orders to defending everyone in their warren, believing that Hazel will come up with a way to save them all. Hazel in turn proves himself worthy of the trust, successfully pulling off his most dangerous and audacious trick of all time. What's more he does it by playing into the strengths of his friends, rather than trying to be the hero alone, leaving Bigwig to defend the warren while he takes the fastest runners and arranges them in a relay chain to lead the dog from the farm to the hill.
The best part is they then assumed the leader was a massive rabbit that they hadn't seen yet and started to panic. Because bigwig had already got the better of woundwort by then
Definitely the coolest part of the story for me. I love just the realization of how they couldn't possibly conceive of someone, or something that wasn't this terrible monster. Imagine the surprised if they found out that little limp rabbit they had seen earlier was the chief
As a child, I found it unrelatable and unconvincing. Because I didn't figure out how rumors work until I was a teenager...
Bigwig's line has me in tears every time I think about it. His dedication to his Warren and to his Chief Rabbit is the culmination of his best traits applied to the group and not just himself. 🥲
My dad read Watership Down to us when we were younger. All I recall fully was 'Elerrirah'(sorry if I spelled it wrong, never read it myself), cause not only was he the rabbit prince, Dad voiced him with Bugs Bunny's voice...I remember it being absolutely fascinating, though
Why did i start hearing buggs bunny on the background while the vídeo was playing
This is the biggest brain interpretation i've ever heard of and that's not me being sarcastic
Your dad is thinking on another level here
man has changed the game
Elihrairah
Hi gastr
Considering El-ahrairah was a trickster hero, the comparison to Bugs Bunny is quite apt.
When I was a kid I read this book because a teacher jokingly called it "bunny on bunny violence" I read it for a laugh and it became my favourite book
The way I SNORTED
I grew up with the 1978 animated movie as a kid, and yeah, it definitely made me realize that rabbits aren't just cute, cuddly, passive fluff balls. I had been mistakenly given this movie at the library while trying to find my favorite VHS of The Velveteen Rabbit, and I just loved Watership Down way more, even though I didn't understand a lot of what was happening at the time. It was something new and a little scary, but fascinating. I especially love the highly stylized lore at the start.
There are no accidents
Same here, it was one of my favorite movies as a little kid, and it's one of the few things I remember from when I was very young. Specifically, I vividly remember the haunting audio and imagery from the scene where they find out what happened to their old warren, as well as a few graphic scenes with Bigwig. I distinctly remember the lore at the start being my favorite part of the whole movie though haha
Needless to say, I have a much deeper appreciation of the story as an adult than I did as a small child.
Same it in my opinion is the BEST book, TV series, movie I have EVER read or seen!
I read the Velveteen Rabbit at school and it was amazing. Yeah, Watership Down was a very fascinating story/series on Netflix, I haven’t read the book tho.
Now I feel like watching the series again, and I feel like reading the Velveteen Rabbit again.
Same here! I loved the subversion of rabbits not being cutesy wootsy animals, but very humanistic and even aggressive.
Okay, I've never read the Watership Down but your summary from 19:00 onwards moved me to tears. It's been an long week and I'm feeling overwhelmed by the things I need to do and this really helped. Thanks, Tale Foundry.
Thlayli did not guard the entrance to the warren. He burried himself under the last tunnel with all the noncombatant rabbits hiding behind him, so that he could bite Woundwart on the neck and beat him back (knowing it would likely mean his death) and at that moment he proclaimed Hazel his Chief Rabbit.
This is a good video, but it sells Bigwig short. His infiltration of Efrefa is one of the greatest adventure stories ever all on its own. And as many times as I read it, I still get chills when he stands his ground and names his chief.
But he never actually names or identifies Hazel to the Efrafans, thus starting the confusion and rumors that stall their advance and, along with how Bigwig is able to make Woundwort bleed like a normal rabbit, breaks their morale. And then the dog shows up.
@@Vinemaple yes! And I always read that as a not so subtle power play on his part. We, the readers, know that he's announcing Hazel as Chief and himself as head of the Owsla, and we know why that relationship works based on their respective traits. But by keeping the Efreffans in the dark he invokes the specter of a rabbit who simply exceeds himself in all the traits they understand and respect. (And who also exceeds Woundwort in those traits, if Bigwig will obey his Chief but fight to overthrow Woundwort)
Only Thlayli can have this kind of impact on the reader and on all the other rabbits on both sides of the battle with such a simple line of dialogue, because we know, as the rabbits do, all of the events that led up to that moment, and that he's the sort of character clever enough and bold enough to make threats in that situation.
My _Watership Down_ moment is at the very end, where Hazel sits in the sun listening to one of the next generation tell the story of Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig migrating to Watership Down but named as Elil Hrair Ra and His Owsla. And so Hazel finally meets Elil Hrair Ra and moves on to the next stage of his life, secure in the future of his extended tribe.
And so we all must go down into history...
The ending still chokes me up especially in the 1978 animated where you simultaneously see him take his last breath and run off with the black rabbit
Tale Foundry covering my favorite book? Couldn't be happier to see this! The world that Richard Adam's fleshed out is so compelling, in everything from the rabbits' culture to their myths, to their interactions. I love everything about it and every adaptation I've seen (film and TV series included) though the book is the closest to my heart. An absolute masterpiece.
I read this just a couple of months ago this is of the most interesting things I've ever read.
The poetry at the beginning of every chapter is a beautiful touch, the lore and story behind Hazel and his adventure are wonderful and the way Richard Adams set the setting in such a interesting way provoked the imagination to dwell on what exactly happened or is happening, a story of runaways making a great adventure into the unknown, hanging on trust and care. And the climax and the ending are wonderfully paced, but it was the ending that left me staring at the page, knowing that this was the perfect tale to show us what tales have been spun from the imagination to be placed on the shelf of the endless library we know... as literature.
I love this book so much that I tried to find other books by Richard Adams. "The Plague Dogs" is extremely disturbing. Very good, but I kinda wish I could unread it. Seeing even fictional anthropomorphic canines go through SO MUCH SUFFERING was not pleasant.
Yeah, theres an animated film for it too. :(
@@Noisycatstephanie the movie horrified me as a kid, had nightmares for months haha
Try Shardik. It's hard to find and rough to get through, but like the others, very much worth it.
We don't talk about plague dogs... no no
Yeah, Plauge dogs is way more dark then Watership Down, no contest.
At least in Watership Down, the rabbits do eventually make it to their new warren and live in peace for years there. And it’s heavily implied if not outright confirmed that there’s a peaceful afterlife waiting for them when they die.
With the Plauge Dogs, Rowf and Snitter have no real proof if the utopian Isle of Dogs they’re trying to escape to even exists, and is heavily implied to be a figment of Snitters deteriorating grip on reality. And dogs in this universe are given no such afterlife mythologies or grimreaper-esque death deities to speak of. All they have is either a painful and tiring existence where they’re experimented on or hunted by humans, or the black empty void of death. The only thing close to comfort being the friendship Rowf and Snitter share and the mutual goal to just try and survive.
It’s bleak and nihilistic in ways Watership Down, despite it’s reputation as the darkest animal stories out there, isn’t.
One of the greatest books I've ever read.
I’ve always loved this story and the lore inside it. Having seen the movie and read the book, I have a new appreciation for wild rabbits. Seeing them in my back yard, I let them have their silflay and go about their lives. Just a note, the rabbit language is called Lapine, it’s meant to sound “fluffy”
Watched this with my wife a short while ago. She had not seen this since she was a child. I said that the film is worth a watch as an adult, she agreed and enjoyed it more as adult rather than a child.
That audiobook version of Watership with Peter Capaldi is spectacular! His version of Kehaar in the miniseries was also great.
Personally I don't think it's so great it's missing parts from the first chapter that explain what an owsla is and what an outskirter is as well as the fact that rabbits can only count up to four if I were you I'd get the older audiobook read by ralph cosham if you can find it
@FoxGirl2003 Agreed, you're right.
@@thedanielstraight wow didn't think you'd respond! Thanks for agreeing with me!
Im so happy that your touching on this book. This book and movie are my literal favorite. As a small kid i wore out the vhs, watching it over and over. I think looking back, the reason i liked it so much was because while being simple, it didnt talk down to me, and there are really important themes there that you can learn from even as a kid. And the book is even richer. Its satisfying, well written, and is one of the best books about animals with culture that i feel balances what a rabbit culture would be without making them tiny furry humans. Like, they understand spoken folklore because they are underground for long periods and have short lifespans, so it makes sense to pass down oral traditions that help them learn and adapt as rabbits. But they dont understand art, like the shapes of elharairah in the well, because its not rabbit. Its not within their scope of understanding. The stories of hazel and fiver and bigwig, holly, hyzenthlay, Bluebell, strawberry...they all had and have a huge impact on my life
Amazing book. Incredibly effective movie.
Taught lil me that it is the story that matters and a talking warren doesn't mean it is childish, some very adult events were going to take place. It was.... startling.
The movie.... animation does not mean Happy-go-lucky.
Inside thought: I thought of the vicious rabbit, who put the claw marks, as rabbit Hitler, an 8 y.o. understanding of history and allegory. It may not be a 1 to 1 but it ain't completely wrong neither.
The ending is devastatingly sad and yet joyful. It made me feel.
I love Watership Down (both the book and the original movie). And I think every author wants to write a story like Watership Down--one in which the story is told through the eyes of non-human characters and is as touching and as meaningful as any great human story--but few have the power to do so. Even fewer try.
I think warrior cats (Warriors,as the books titled)might be your taste,unless you already read them
"My heart joined the thousands as a friend stopped running today."
I say this every time someone dies... I've said it... for Frith sake, far too much.
The movie gts played in the UK every easter, basically a right of passage for children to be traumatised by what they thought would be a cute rsbbit animated movie.
The second I heard you say Watership Down, a blast of nostalgia, fear and anxiety, enter my body
There's a band called Fall of Efrafa, they're gnarly and all of their albums are inspired by the book.
A lot more people need to remember this book right now. Thanks for sharing your views, Tale Forge.
I read it just a tad over 10 years ago, and I liked how the language and mythology rabbits have added realism to such a concept. It's true, realistically if animals could talk, they wouldn't speak English, French, or any other of man's languages.
One of my favorite moments in the book is, oddly enough, when Bigwig overhears the does of efrafra exchanging poetry. I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t read it, but It’s a place all too relatable, and weirdly enough it gives me hope.
Watership Down genuinely made me bawl. Absolutely beautiful story.
Me too. It touched my heart and had a profound effect on me. ❤. Haunting but beautiful.
Wow, you captured exactly why this book is so very important to me, and why Hazel is still my go-to for an example of good leadership. Thank you so much!
My favorite moment in Watership Down is when Bigwig says, "My Chief Rabbit has told me to stay and defend this run, and until he says otherwise, I shall stay here." It's the moment Woundwort finds out Bigwig isn't the chief rabbit of the Watership Down warren, the closest he comes to seing that earned loyalty is stronger than that which is compelled by fear, and it is Bigwig's Big Damn Hero moment.
I got the book from a friend's parent when I was younger and I completely ignored it for several years for some reason. Probably because i was in the middle of "wizards and witches need to be in everything I read" phase. But once I started reading it, I couldn't stop.
The rabbit's mythology was my favorite part of the book. Creating tales about a trickster hero and making death look like a rabbit as well was interesting to me and made me interested in mythology as a whole
Watership Down exists in my bones. I loved it when I first watched the animated film as a kid (and then rewatched it over and over and over and...), I loved the book when it was read to me, and then (when I grew impatient with my mum's schedule ) as I read it myself (and re-read it again and again and...), and now, decades later, as an adult, I still find joy in re-reading it, and it's a story I think about. The characters all live somewhere in my heart, and (among many other stories) are part of what makes me... me.
The creation myth of the rabbits, and the line "All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand enemies..." still gives me chills, it was just presented so well, it hits all the right notes.
Also, the book fostered in me a deep love of books with footnotes (which made me immediately gravitate to Pratchett's writing later) as well as conlangs. I STILL sometimes swear in Lapine because, inevitably, a heartfelt "Frith and Inle!" or "Embleer Frith!" cheers me up and helps diminish whatever made me swear in the first place.
"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today," has echoed in my head on the death of real friends, when nothing else seemed to convey the grief adequately in my mind.
POINT IS, good book, bunnies, yes.
The art in this video is fantastic, a perfect blend of homage to the animated film and its own delightful self. I love the linocut style
Somehow, in a mere 24 minutes you have encapsulated every aspect of this tale, from the amazingly detailed summary of the story to the very depths of the emotional impact it has in store for you. This tale always brings tears to my eyes and your brilliant account of it has done the same. Bravo.
This was one of my favorite stories growing up. It really set the tone for the rest of my life in so many ways.
My sister and I independently got tattoos of our favorite characters, each as a tribute to the father who introduced us to it.
It's still one I go back to over and over.
Ahh! Is this a coincidence that Watership is one of my favorites and it is the one to lead me to your channel? The movie terrorized me as a child, I still can't watch some of the scenes today, and yet I can't turn away from either book or movie.
I love your animations and pictures that go along with the story. Each rabbit has their own design, love that too. I am immediately subscribing.
That being said, I'd like to offer a correction to your summary. When you said that the humans tend to Hazel after he is shot, that isn't true. He crawls into a ditch pipe and it isn't till Fiver has a vision and searches for his brother that he is found and rescued. Now, the farm girl does save Hazel from the cat, and delivers him back to the down after the release of the dog. So... I'll give you half points for it. 😁
My favorite book!
No story have moved me like Watership Down.
Perfect review and summary, it made me emotional 😢
Same. ❤🐰
When I was a kid, back in the 70s, this was THE book. Everyone read it! My mother gave me her copy and I devoured it. I've read it about 7 or 8 times, now, and it sits beside "The Lord of the Rings" in pride on my shelf!
Watership Down really is fantastic. That's it, that's all there is to it. It's fantastic in all the best ways.
20:53 that's so heart warming and so kind
Aw yeah, my favorite book getting recognized on this channel! I read this all the way back in fifth grade; and it impressed my teacher so much when I suggested it that she didn't even make me write a book report; she just had me read journal entries to prove that I understood it. The movie adaptation is also a work of art. Thank you for making my day!
Finally, someone who sees Watership Down as something other than childhood trauma waiting to happen! I think one of the reasons people see it that way is because most people reportedly misremember childhood experiences as happening at a younger age than they did. It is a deeply suspenseful book, comparable to a gritty post-apocalyptic survival tale about humans. As an adult, it's a must-read.
I love this story, and its excellent storytelling. But you left out one of the most important parts, the rabbits are still rabbits. And the worst villains in the book are the rabbits that stopped being rabbits.
But it feels like you left out some of the more animalistic scenes for UA-cam or something. There's a point where the Watership Down rabbits only have one or two females, so the male rabbits almost kill each other in dominance displays. And that's important to the story, because this isn't Redwall with humanoid animals, or the Warrior cats where all the animals act like people, the rabbits are rabbits. With population pressures and dominance displays and everything.
To be fair, humans would totally attempt to kill each other in displays of dominance if there's only a few females in the tribe.
I tend to group a lot of books together, and one of these groupings is: Preteen novel with human animals and highschool drama. Some of the books in this category are: Warriors, Wings of fire, Wolves of the beyond, and Foxcraft. I don't include Watership down in this grouping though, for this exact reason. The rabbits aren't just rabbits physically, but also maintain mental aspects. That's the beauty of this book.
I've always been a huge fan of Watership Down and to see people still making videos of it today always means a lot to me.
Your animations preferred a nice visual and I'm glad you appreciate the book such as I did.
I love the way you described this story. I was introduced to Watership Down far later than most, but I quickly fell in love with it and its themes. Its mythology is captivating to someone like me who loves worldbuilding, even though there isn't all that much of it.
I saw the movie when I was a teenager. With my little brothers.
I'll let you guess how that went.
I watched at around 3-5 as a child with my twin brother and mum. My mum was covering her eyes for a lot of it and I really didn't get why at the time. I found the movie interesting, but still don't know why I remembered it so vividly.
Needless to say around a year ago I remembered seeing the movie after seeing it on my recommended, understood why my mum was covering her eyes, had a short-lived fear of the movie for a while and then went back to toddler me where now I find it interesting
I think that later they made a cartoon that was "less scary", but im not sure, cuz only me and my two sisters remember that cartoon, and no one of our friends remember it
Oh WOW! I remember reading Watership Down in the early 1980s. I haven't re-read it, but I have had 'reminders' like the movie and other people talking about it. I even have read Tales From Watership Down, that one pretty recently. It has definitely crossed my mind many times. Do I want to re-read it? No, because there are so many books I haven't read and I am feeling like I'm running out of time... (I'm nearing 70.)
I remember the time when I realized I wouldn't have time enough to read all the books I would want to....
Everytime I tell people about this book . . .
Other People: What's it about?
Me: Bunnies.
Other people: 🤨 . . .
Me: I promise, it's utterly terrifying.
“It’s about rabbits and how utterly terrifying the world can be from their perspective, did I mention humans are cthulu?”
I grew up with the animated movie and finally read the book in college. Absolutely wonderful story, thank you for bringing it back to my mind.
Rabbits have been my favorite animal for a while, the way you say how don’t say how much your worth and don’t think you can do it all yourself it’s just amazing how you tell this story I have no words
Thanks for this. I've been thinking about incorporating media literacy into my 6year old daughters homeschooling curriculum and you just gave me the perfect series.
I'm then going to have her watch your video.
Woundworts fierceness is remarkable for a rabbit. Firstly, it’s never proven that Woundwort died in his encounter with the dog. His body was never found and while he was never seen again within the story, he may have moved on and established a new warren somewhere else. His fate was a mystery. The dog returned to the farmer so badly torn up after fighting with Woundwort that the farmer thought he had gotten into a fight with another dog. That’s pretty damn impressive!
Watership Down is one of my favorite books. The mood and tone is this perfect mix of grim acceptance of death and suffering and hope for something better.
The nature of stories is less about what they are and more about what they communicate.
2:54
"Elah'rehra, your people can not rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, prince with a thousand enemies"
Amazing.
This is the most positive take you can get from this story
This book will always stay with me. My father used to read to me every night, and this is a tradition that we kept up for longer than is probably normal, but he read less childish books towards the end of it-some crime stuff, and a few odd books that we had lying around. “Watership Down” was one of them, and I really enjoyed when he read it to me. It was very impactful, I still remember the horror of Fiver’s premonitions and the final fight against Efrafa. It’s one of those books that I thought nobody knew about, so, even though I now know that isn’t true, I’m still very happy every time I hear anyone talk about it. Thanks, Tale Foundry! ;)
A sincere thank you for this video. I grew up loving this book, and the original film. The tribute to the Lord Frith myth delighted me. I don't comment on videos often, but this one pulled me to the keyboard. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Watership Down is truly a beautiful and sometimes melancholic... I remember watching cartoon series as a kid and I am suprised to learn by watching this video how much I actually remember about it. I never read book but I am sure if I did, I'd love it even more.
Thank you so much for all of your content. It is very interesting. I appreciate the effort you put in to these videos. I hope to see the next one soon!
I read this book as a kid (wasn’t that long ago but whatever) an trust me, I am not very emotional, but I remember not being able to finish the last page, because wnenever I tried I just ended up crying. It was honestly an amazing one.
"Everyone is a somebody, somebody just tried to make you feel like nobody..."
Parts of this short synopsis moved me!! Now I have to go read this book!! If not for anything else, for this amazing language of the Rabbits!!
An entire language for the perfect statement of defiance. "Silfle Hraka"
I was interested in this. Then you showed THAT book, and my childhood movie trauma gripped me by the spine, LOL. Still watching, but yikes, intense story. Catchy animation style, well done!
I adore Watwership Down - its so gritty and macabre, and the new animated series is absolutely beautiful. I've rewatched it about three times to date. I'm so happy you did a video on this series.
My poor bunny is so confused while I sob near her listening to the video. Poor hazel, he had a happy ending but I keep thinking of how my bun got injured. I gave her extra cuddles.
“My heart has joined the thousands, as my friend has stopped running today.”
“When they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you.”
That book has such good writing omg
Read this in 2013 as a high schooler. God it's so good.
I am very happy to have discovered your site! As a lifetime reader and parent of lifetime readers , Im happy to share your videos which then leads to more discussion of the books we have in common and others that we discovered and want to share in a continuous round robin . 😁Thank you for your wonderful efforts! New subscriber absolutely!
Watership down got me back into reading recently.
I think one of the best moments of theme in the whole book is when an older rabbit tells younger rabbits a new/old tale of El'Aihra
One in which he finds rabbits that live in a peaceful den with plenty of food but are sad and dignified
Great lessons and tales, will loop back into legends for the rabbits, because it is how they remember how to be rabbits
never read the book but I do remember seeing the old Watership down DVD in my aunt's attic. traumatized little 7 year old me loll but now that im older I can appreciate the thought and excellent storytelling put into it.
Great video, but there is one small mistake...after Hazel is shot, the humans don't find him, Fiver does. He's found injured, hiding in a pipe and then Fiver (accompanied by Blackberry) bring him back to the down. Later in the book, Hazel is attacked by one of the farm cats and the farmer's daughter saves him and then he's tended to by the humans and set free.
you nailed it! i was scared at first, this is an all time life long favorite! love the animated 70s and thhe series and the book. well done
Note: you will CRY LIKE A BABY at the end! I do, every time.
I'm kinda sad the incident with the train wasn't mentioned. That's my favorite part!
So glad there's more attention drawn to one of my favorite stories and presented by one of my favorite creators! Excellent video
This was recommended to me when I began reading the book for the second time. The story is amazing, and so is the rabbit language in it.
Watership down is a masterpiece. I respect this video so much
100% agree. One of the few films that will leave you profoundly silent after crying like a baby. It touches your heart.
Stories that we didn't know we needed are spoken by you.....Thank you! Thanks for throwing light on such works that I could never have found.....These books are beautiful and so is ur channel.
I just knew it'd be watership down. Haven't read the book but I saw the netflix limited series and craved more.
Holy moly, I've read Watership Down! Most of it, anyway-
I started reading because of a specific movie critic. He watched the animated movie. I do understand there are differences, but it basically told me the basic story. I'm in LOVE with the book
I read the book back in 1989 and it's still my favorite book.
Thanks. This is one of the most incredible and wonderous stories I've ever had the privilege of reading. tavi.
I read the book when I was in high school. I've forgotten a good lot of it, so it would be fun to re-read. I love your analogies.
I also have a Netherland dwarf bunny named Misty.
I watched the film adaptation wen i was 5 because a friend of my mother gifeted it to me thinkeng it was a film for children, it's still one of the most terryfing experiences of my childhood
so glad you covered this book. i remember watching the animated movie as a kid, while it kind of traumatized with this dark and gory imagery, it was also one of those movies that stuck with me. i didn't know it was based on a book until many years later and i enjoyed the book just as much. it is probably one the few animated movies that was not afraid to stick close to the original source material with it's more adult themes and darker tone.
I was ten when I read this book for the first time and it really stuck with me. I have read it several times after that and some of that wonder from my childhood comes back every time 😊
I haven’t read the book but I watched the movie as a child and it absolutely traumatized me
Plus, Art Garfunkel, from the amazing Simon & Garfunkel did the music for Watership Down.
You missed a 'before you *hop along*' intro segway.
Love the content, keep it up!
I saw the movie before I read the book. The movie is TERRIFYING when you're ten years old! I've always loved stories from animal points of view, especially The Foxes of Firstdark, Silverwing and sequels, Warriors, Catwings... I love them all. Watership Down was definitely one of the more mature and heavy of these stories I loved so much.
You have no idea how much I needed your sign off. Thank you ❤️
It's one of my top fav books of all time, I read it the first time when I was around 13 and every couple of years I return to it and no matter what the first Warren they end up at creeps me the fuck out and the very last chapter always has me bawling like a small child 😭
This is my favorite thumbnail on a video I’ve ever seen!
Thank you for doing a video of one of my favorite books.