on the new Watership Down

[ysobel]

Halfway through the first episode -- stopped for time only -- and it seems decent but the purist in me is screaming a bit.


For one thing, they seem to have conflated Dandelion and Bluebell. (In book, D is the storyteller, and an original member of the group, and B comes later with Captain Holly and is a jokester. In movie, the groups storyteller is Bluebell even before he's told any stories). ...there also doesn't seem to be a Pipkin.

For another, the thing with El-ahrairah and Frith is all wrong. (In book, after Frith gives gifts to the animals that become elil, El-ahrairah is trying to get away, and Frith blesses his bottom anyway, and it has a very Psalm 139 feel of Frith always being there. In movie, El-ahrairah basically says "kiss my ass", which is NOT THE SAME.)

Hmph

Comments

[killabeez]

On the plus side, I really liked how they showed Cowslip's warren. But otherwise it didn't feel close enough to the original for me. It's funny how attached I am to certain details. The moment when I knew I wouldn't watch the rest was when they were trying to free Bigwig from the snare, and there was no Pipkin. That and the conflation of Dandelion and Bluebell were the no-gos for me. Those rabbits are important, dammit! :)