Hazel, Dandelion, Blackberry and Clover? No, we’re not making a salad, instead we’re discussing the 1978 animated retelling of the Richard Adam’s novel Watership Down. Join us in episode #17 as we heed Fiver’s warnings and search for our new warren.

Watership Down - Criterion

Director - Martin Rosen

   The Plague Dogs (1982)

      Theme Song - “Time and Tide”  by Alan Price (original keyboardist for The Animals)

         The House of the Rising Sun

         Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Hazel - John Hurt (Died Jan 25, 2017)  (207 acting credits)

   Alien (1979)

   The Elephant Man (1980)

   The Plague Dogs as Snitter (1982)

   Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

   Hellboy (2004)

   V for Vendetta (2005)

   Melancholia (2011)

   Doctor Who as The War Doctor in 3 episodes (2013)

   Watership Down mini-series as General Woundwort (1999 -2000)

Fiver - Richard Briers (Died Feb 17, 2013

Bigwig - Michael Graham Cox (Died Apr 30, 1995)

Captain Holly - John Bennett (April 11, 2005)

Chief Rabbit - Ralph Richardson (Died Oct 10, 1983)

Blackberry - Simon Cadell (Died March 6, 1996)

Silver - Terence Rigby (Died August 10, 2008)

Pipkin - Roy Kinnear (Died September 20, 1988)

Dandelion - Richard O’Callaghan (Still Alive?)

Cat - Lynn Farleigh (Still Alive?)

General Woundwort - Harry Andrews (Died March 6, 1989)

Cowslip - Denholm Elliott

   Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Clover - Mary Maddox

Kehaar (Bird) - Zero Mostel (comedian)

The only black man (Clifton Jones) plays a character named “Blackavar”

Watership Down references in the TV Show “Lost”

Movies with similar stories / plots include Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret of NIMH

Other movies mentioned:

   Raiders of The Lost Ark

   The Dark Crystal

   Floyd Norman - An Animated Life

   The Inbetweeners