YouTubeChannel 5 has come in for some pretty heavy criticism after deciding to show brutal animated nightmare Watership Down on Easter Sunday.
It seems that not all parents remember just how disturbing the bunny-themed movie can be to some children, reports The Independent, as a nation of chocolate filled kids settled down for an afternoon dose of blood soaked horror.
It wasn’t long before angry parents took to Twitter to express their collective unhappiness, with the scheduling choice branded a huge ‘inappropriate’ no-no.
Many parents were decidedly unimpressed with the ‘upsetting, traumatising, hideous and horrifying’ scenes of bloody, slaughtered rabbits making their way into their unsuspecting living rooms.
Someone at Channel 5 has a brilliantly twisted sense of humour for putting Watership Down on for Easter Sunday. It's a horrifying film.
— Mark Dowling (@ChronMark) March 27, 2016
Watership Down: traumatising children since 1978 #Channel5 #EasterSundayProblems pic.twitter.com/0i3eNIiEQy
— Rebecca Howard (@rebhoward1) March 27, 2016
Ah, good to hear Watership Down is still traumatising generation after generation #BunnyOfDeath #FieldsOfBlood
— Aron Smith (@TheBruthaVoodoo) March 28, 2016
Watership Down described as 'adventure-thriller' has made my day.
— Parker Foye (@parkerfoye) March 28, 2016
I caught the last minute and cried – again – at Hazel's death. El-Ahrairah is still disturbing as hell! #watershipdown
— Rachael Eyre (@Alrightpunk) March 28, 2016
Based on Richard Adams’ brilliant allegorical novel, the 1978 animation follows a group of rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and try to begin a new life.
However, not everyone had an angry reaction to the broadcast. In fact, many people praised Channel 5 for showing the film and criticised parents for being too protective of their children.
Watership Down is one of the finest of children's books & a good film. Far better for developing kids than chocolate bunnies.
— barefootmower (@barefootmower) March 28, 2016
Watership Down – Yes it's brutal, but nature is. Watched that and The Animals of Farthing Wood as a kid and I'm alright.
— Sam Hodkin (@SamHodkin) March 28, 2016
You'd expect the parents complaining about #watershipdown would've seen the film in the past. Pathetic. Can't believe this is trending.
— C.J. Paterson (@cjpaterson) March 28, 2016
https://twitter.com/minimike86/status/714367477505982464
Watership Down earned a whole host of positive reviews from critics when it was released and also features Art Garfunkel’s number one hit Bright Eyes.
Personally, there’s a whole host of TV shows I think are more disturbing than Watership Down. It’s got to be better than having to sit through Songs Of Praise on a Sunday afternoon.
