Down the Rabbit Hole With Noam Murro

Move over, reindeer, it's all about the rabbits this Christmas as the 'digger, listener, runner... prince with a thousand enemies' returns to our screens in a new adaptation of Richard Adams' classic novel, Watership Down.

Scripted by Tom Bidwell and directed by Noam Murro, the four-parter, which airs on the BBC this weekend [Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 December] and on Netflix in 2019, follows a group of renegade rabbits who, forced to flee their warren, set off on a perilous journey across the English countryside in search of a better life.

With a cast list that reads like a who's who of acting royalty (John Boyega, Nicholas Hoult, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Coleman are among the talents lending their voices), beefed-up roles for the female characters, and intricate CGI replacing the hand-drawn animation of the 1978 film, the mini-series is set to introduce a new generation to the charms of Bigwig, Fiver, Hazel and co. And in today's troubled socio-political climate, the themes of migration, power struggles and environmental damage feel more timely than ever.

Much has been made of the new adaptation's 'family friendly' tone (although the Beeb doesn't recommend viewing for under-eights), in contrast to the original film, which laid on the graphic violence and gore with a trowel, leaving many an '80s kid psychologically scarred.

""Producers have promised a less literal take on 'nature red in tooth and claw'. We'll wager that one-eyed arch-villain General Woundwort remains the stuff of nightmares, though.""

Given the book's dark subject-matter - the band of bunnies spend much of the story dodging disease, death and destruction, with the Black Rabbit of Inlé, a sort of lapine Grim Reaper, never more than a few hops away - it would be hard to make a cuddly Disney-fied version while staying faithful to the source material. However, producers have promised a less literal take on 'nature red in tooth and claw'. We'll wager that one-eyed arch-villain General Woundwort - big, ugly and vicious enough to take on a dog - remains the stuff of nightmares, though.

Six years in the making, the series has been a labour of love for director Noam Murro, founder of Biscuit Filmworks, whose feature credits include 300: Rise of an Empire and Smart People, though he's better known for his award-winning commercials reel.

Below, in an exclusive Q&A, Murro tells shots what inspired his unique style of animation, why bringing female characters to the fore was so important, and how the story still resonates today.

Why was the time right for a remake?

I never wanted to remake the film. My intention was to reintroduce this wonderful and culturally-important book to a new generation. Turn any news channel and we can all see the relevancy of bringing Watership Down to the screen today. Migration, homeland, environmental issues, faith, social structure, friendship, loyalty, totalitarianism, and on and on and on. What is so great about Richard Adams’ novel is that it doesn’t wear its allegorical stripes on its sleeve. It is first and foremost a story.

The new adaptation features computer-generated imagery rather than hand-drawn animation, and the result feels like an interesting fusion of modern and classic animation. What inspired you to develop this style?

The animation canvas is so vast and allows for such a variety in imagery and texture. I was personally inspired by the diorama room in [London's] Museum of Natural History. In our series, the backgrounds are more abstract, while the objects and images in the foreground are much more precise and detailed. This method created a dream-like quality, but kept the story rooted in reality. It allowed us to show some of the violence in the story without being gratuitous.

How and when did you first get involved with the project?

Several years ago I approached Martin Rosen who still had the rights to the novel. I really wanted to adapt it for a new generation. I asked (actually, begged!) him to trust me with this cherished story. We both share a deep love and respect for the novel and wanted to make an adaptation that would not disappoint its loyal fans. That fidelity was always the guiding principle. We were very fortunate to find a home for the project with BBC and Netflix, who allowed us to realise that goal.

Clover (Gemma Arterton)

Had you always been a fan of the novel? How important was it that Richard Adams gave his blessing to the adaptation?

A friend actually introduced the novel to me. I did not grow up with the book, but immediately fell in love with it. Unfortunately, Mr. Adams passed away in 2016. I could only wish that he could have been here to see the completed series. Both Adams and his daughters were a seminal and important part in adapting this new version to the screen.

The cast list reads like a who's who of acting royalty. Tell us a bit about how you approached casting. Which characters were the most challenging to cast?

We were so incredibly fortunate to gather such an impressive group of actors. Thanks to the prominence of the novel everyone was already very familiar with the material. There wasn’t much of an approach because it was so easy to get great talent to say yes, get excited and be passionate about working on it. It is such a beloved story, they were all eager to be a part of it. I do remember specifically when deciding how to cast The Black Rabbit we thought about how there aren’t many, if any, female voices in a god-like role and Rosamund Pike did a fantastic job with it.

Fiver (Nicolas Hoult), Hazel (James McAvoy) and Bigwig (John Boyega)

The original film arguably scarred a generation of kids with its blood-soaked bunnies, but this adaptation promises to be less brutal. How did you strike a balance between depicting the darkness which is at the heart of the book, while toning down the overt horror?

Relying on graphic violence felt unnecessary; we didn’t want to take the easy way out. Watership Down’s brutality and darkness are inherent in the events of its story, regardless of the amount of gore and on-screen brutality that is shown. In the end we found a balance where we were able to feature menacing villains, harrowing moments and high stacks drama without being gratuitous.

General Woundwort (Ben Kingsley) marshalls the troops

The new film also gives great prominence to the female characters. Tell us a bit more about them.

It was important to us from the early stages that we give the female characters a much more integral and pivotal role throughout the series. In our version of the story, Strawberry is female. Thanks to a screenplay by Tom Bidwell and Olivia Coleman’s wrenching performance, we were able to reimagine the character and gave her greater agency within the narrative. Strawberry isn’t simply a doe looking for male rabbits to rescue her. We took similar care in crafting our entire cast of characters, including the female rabbits like Clover and Hyzenthlay, both of whom shine in some of the most critical moments in the mini-series.

Strawberry (Olivia Coleman)

Richard Adams famously pooh-poohed all religious and political interpretations of the book, insisting it was 'just a story about rabbits' - but the themes explored in the book feel very relevant to today's turbulent times. What message do you hope viewers take away from the film?

The beauty of his ‘story about rabbits’ is that it explores various themes and scenarios that echo our everyday lives and current events without pausing to preach a message, agenda, or moral lesson. Just because it doesn’t announce its intentions, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have one. I hope that viewers will connect with these characters and recognise some real-world parallels, while hopefully also uncovering their own meaning along the way. That’s how good art is supposed to work.