Cheyenne Rowe

There are some stark changes in the Netflix adaptation from the book that’s left a sour taste in my mouth after watching. Firstly, in the book, it’s emphasized that the rabbits don’t even consider adding women to their ranks until they reach the down. They are so focused on survival that sex/procreation isn’t even on their minds. I think this is a testament to the dire straights they are in. In the Netflix adaptation, one of the first things one of the rabbits say when they are escaping is “Hey where are the women?” This is the first line that struck me as wtf… Secondly, in the book, once the rabbits reach the down they realize that they are all men and have no clue how to dig a burrow. Bigwig exclaims “Men can’t dig burrows!” To which Hazel replies “Can’t, or won’t?” So all the men go about working together and making a beautiful home for themselves despite not having the knowledge of making homes. In the Netflix adaptation, they gender swap Strawberry, one of the rabbits, to a female and she ends up digging the whole burrow. I can’t for the life of me figure out why this adaptation took the route it did. This book was released in the 70’s… The ideas presented in this book were progressive for the time, why make amendments to Richard Adams vision? They also destroyed Strawberry’s character in doing this. In the book, Strawberry’s lover was killed in a snare. He approaches the pilgrimage and asks to go with them. Someone snaps back “why don’t you go back to your lover?” To which Strawberry lets out an Eek. Nothing else more needs to be said, and Strawberry joins the group. This sad reality shows why strawberry stayed, and ultimately why he left… In the adaptation, Strawberry is gender swapped to a female and says “Hey can I come with you guys? We don’t make friends here 🤪” Strawberry’s whole character was diminished to nothing more than being an object of sexual appeal and someone to do “the women’s work”. To summarize my review, if you’ve read the book first, be prepared for some shocking and headscratching amendments to Richard Adam’s original vision. In my opinion, this adaptation disrespectfully works against some of the views/points the author had intended the reader to receive.