Watership Down viewers had one big problem with the new rabbits
But their pets absolutely loved it…
The first episode of the BBC and Netflix’s Watership Down reboot, which retold Richard Adams’ classic tale of a tribe of rabbits searching for a new home and facing deadly dangers, had one big problem according to a lot of viewers – the characters didn’t actually look much like rabbits at all.
Instead, many thought that Hazel, Bigwig et al (played by James McAvoy and John Boyega among a massive, starry cast) looked a lot more like hares, particularly in their stance and the way their ears stood up, and took to Twitter to share their confusion.
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And if that wasn’t enough, plenty of other viewers also cast a critical eye over the new adaptation’s animation style, described by some as like a video game cutscene and inferior to the iconic 1978 version of the story – while others noticed other issues with the broadcast as well…
Still, not everyone was as negative, with some enjoying the new version of the story as much as the original cartoon adaptation with particular praise for Peter Capaldi’s performance as injured seagull Keehar.
And plenty of animals were also big fans of the new show, even if they might have just been planning their dinner…
Viewers still have time to make their mind up on the whole thing, with another feature-length episode of the drama airings on BBC1 tonight – and at the very least, we’re hoping the dogs, cats and traumatised rabbits of Britain will be tuning in.
The second part of Watership Down airs on BBC1 on Sunday 23rd December at 7.20pm
