11 Deaths In Kids' Movies That Made You Want To Cry Like A Little Girl
4. Hazel - Watership Down
Nothing says fun like fascism, or at least thats what somebody told the maker of Watership Down. Despite selling itself as an adventure film about bunnies, Watership Down is actually a violent cautionary tale about overpopulation and poverty. Admittedly these are lessons that we all need to learn, but whether they should be taught in a children's film in which all of the characters are rabbits is questionable. Surely millions have been traumatised by the viciously brutal and painfully existential quest that is Watership Down. There are quite a few quite sudden deaths in Watership Down, and the rabbit-on-rabbit violence has been well documented online. Despite this, Watership Down's most iconic death is neither graphic or horrific. Hazel is the central character of the film, and so he experiences a lot of the peril that the film throws at the rabbits. We think he's died a few times throughout the film, but his bravery makes him last until the end. Hazel dies in the epilogue of the film, having led the rabbits to Watership Down. He is told that the warren is in perpetual safety, and dies peacefully. Hazel's death marks a stark contrast to the infamous blood and chaos of Watership Down. As he dies, we see his spirit leaving his body, and the rabbit who endured so much finally lays to rest. Beautiful as this may be, watching his ghost floating to the sky is equal parts comforting and gut-wrenchingly sob-inducing. Though part of us knows hes going to a better place (all bunnies go to Heaven), the loss is still a heavy one.
