Watership Down science fiction writer and conservative social commentator writing in the "National Review", declared that the novel was "pleasant enough, but it has about the same intellectual firepower as Dumbo." He pilloried it further: ""Watership Down" is an adventure story, no more than that: rather a swashbuckling crude one to boot. There are virtuous rabbits and bad rabbits: if that’s allegory, "Bonanza" is an allegory." John Rowe Townsend notes that the book quickly achieved such a high popularity despite the fact that it "came out at a high price and in an unattractive jacket from a publisher who had hardly been
Watership Down (film) an 82% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Aimed at adults perhaps more than children, this is a respectful, beautifully animated adaptation of Richard Adams' beloved book." The film was nominated for Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1979. In 2004, the magazine "Total Film" named "Watership Down" the 47th greatest British film of all time and it was also ranked 15th in the "100 Greatest Tearjerkers". Investors in the film reportedly received a return of 5,000% on their investment. Despite its success at the UK box office, the film underperformed at