Watership Down viewers had one big problem with the new rabbits

The first episode of the BBC and Netflix’s Watership Down reboot, which retold Richard Adams’ classic tale of a tribe of rabbits searching for a new home and facing deadly dangers, had one big problem according to a lot of viewers – the characters didn’t actually look much like rabbits at all.

Instead, many thought that Hazel, Bigwig et al (played by James McAvoy and John Boyega among a massive, starry cast) looked a lot more like hares, particularly in their stance and the way their ears stood up, and took to Twitter to share their confusion.

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https://twitter.com/Sonic_Screwup/status/1076562534977757184

https://twitter.com/richpfarmer1/status/1076554641838620672

https://twitter.com/dbow_75/status/1076560467768852482

https://twitter.com/SallyTarpy73/status/1076556765855186944

https://twitter.com/ChrisCbailey111/status/1076555732336734210

https://twitter.com/MarkSmithDevon/status/1076572591219986433

And if that wasn’t enough, plenty of other viewers also cast a critical eye over the new adaptation’s animation style, described by some as like a video game cutscene and inferior to the iconic 1978 version of the story – while others noticed other issues with the broadcast as well…

https://twitter.com/eddbot/status/1076555278651453440

https://twitter.com/panicdragon8784/status/1076555160858607616

https://twitter.com/BigAlexJones/status/1076559208181612545

https://twitter.com/MrAlecDeacon/status/1076554515271335936

https://twitter.com/HAUTECULTURELDN/status/1076555723864268800

https://twitter.com/BakerBrotherTV/status/1076565959840808962

https://twitter.com/ellardent/status/1076565804982956032

https://twitter.com/HollyfromHyrule/status/1076573829617586179

Still, not everyone was as negative, with some enjoying the new version of the story as much as the original cartoon adaptation with particular praise for Peter Capaldi’s performance as injured seagull Keehar.

https://twitter.com/marshcaps/status/1076578389769814016