Watership Down political sensibilities of the 1990s when it was published. In 1978 Martin Rosen wrote and directed an animated film adaptation of "Watership Down". The voice cast included John Hurt, Richard Briers, Harry Andrews, Simon Cadell, Nigel Hawthorne, and Roy Kinnear. The film featured the song "Bright Eyes", sung by Art Garfunkel. Released as a single, the song became a UK number one hit. Although the essentials of the plot remained relatively unchanged, the film omitted several side plots. Though the Watership Down warren eventually grew to seventeen rabbits, with the additions of Strawberry, Holly, Bluebell, and three hutch rabbits liberated
Watership Down (film) and disturbing imagery should have resulted in at least a 'parental guidance' rating. Some places like Quebec have given the film a G rating as well; however, in places like the United States, Australia, and Ireland, the film was rated PG due to the film's violence and disturbing imagery. A picture book of the animated film was also produced, titled "The Watership Down Film Picture Book". Two editions of the book were published, one a hard-cover, the other a reinforced cloth-bound edition. The contents include stills from the film linked with a combination of narration and extracts from the script,