Cast in remake admit Watership Down original left them petrified as children
SCOTTISH actor James Mcavoy has shared the terror he felt as he watched the original animated version of Watership Down as a child.
Mcavoy is among a star-studded cast voicing the rabbits in the BBC One version of the best-selling novel, which was famously adapted in 1978.
The Glasgow-born star, who plays Hazel, said watching the original as a child had struck terror into him.
Asked why he had taken the role in the reboot, the 39-year-old replied: “From the deep love and terror that watching the 1978 animation put inside my bones, and then from reading the novel later in life when it blew me away all over again.
“I was excited by the opportunity to try to bring Watership Down to a new generation, on such a huge scale as has never been done before. I think it’s a story you can relive in any decade.”
John Boyega, Gemma Arterton and Nicholas Hoult are also involved in the new version.
Arterton, who plays naive hutch rabbit Clover, said she had been “petrified” by the “harrowing” original at a young age.
The 32-year-old hailed the tale as a “classic” of British literature which contained lessons in environmentalism.
She said: “Watership Down is such a classic story in British literature. I remember seeing the 1978 animation when I was very young – and being petrified by it. Having revisited the story as an adult, it’s so pertinent, especially for these days and these times.”
She added: “In a way, Watership Down is supposed to frighten people. On one level it’s a harrowing wake-up call to get us to look at what we are doing to our environment and our society.
“Without there being those elements, it wouldn’t have the impact that it has. I remember watching the 1978 film as a kid on telly and thinking it would be a lovely bunny rabbit film – but it’s not.”
Hoult plays Fiver, who is able to see visions of the future and foretells the destruction of the rabbits’ home, Sandleford Warren. He said he had found his character’s nightmares especially ghoulish.
He said: “The story is scary at times. Particularly for me, watching Fiver’s nightmares, as they are fairly terrifying. But it’s all there for the story, and not unsuitable for your children to be watching with you.”
Watership Down will air as two feature-length episodes on BBC One on the weekend of December 22 and 23.