I saw “Watership Down” in the theaters as a little kid, and I remember being both fascinated and utterly terrified by it. In the animated adaptation of Richard Adams’ journey of a small group of rabbits looking for a new place to call home, death isn’t just a hazard – it’s a major character. Death, known as the Black Rabbit of Inlé in the movie, leads the prophetic Fiver to his injured brother Hazel, while Art Garfunkel’s “Bright Eyes” plays in the background. It is one of the most beautiful yet saddest things I’ve ever seen in an animated movie. All I knew about death as a child is that I was afraid of it, and while that sequence completely freaked me out, it also left an indelible mark in my memory that continues to this day.

Of course, if they made this movie now, that scene, and a lot of other scenes from the 1978 original, would never see the light of day.

Now, let’s be clear about something: the people responsible for animated movies today are making some exemplary work. The Pixar movies are as good as (and often better than) anything coming out of Hollywood today (though yours truly was not terribly fond of “Cars”), and while they will occasionally venture into themes that some parents might consider too intense for their kids – the barracuda and shark scenes in “Finding Nemo,” for example – the movies are primarily safe as kittens. There is no death, no bloodshed, and there certainly is no bargaining with God, or Frith, or whatever deity is worshiped in a movie’s universe. I shudder to think what would become of Old Yeller if they remade it today. He would probably be saved by some mystical Indian vaccine that cures his rabies.

I may have been freaked out by “Watership Down” at the time, but when it ended, I felt like I had grown up a little. (Needless to say, I was thrilled to see Warner Bros. recently reissue the movie on DVD.) Yes, it’s occasionally scary, but isn’t that the point once in a while? My generation saw this and many other movies like it, and we turned out fine. The kids today are even smarter and savvier than we were, and in return, we’re wrapping them in plastic so, as Marlin says to Crush in “Nemo,” nothing happens to them. Crush’s response is something that all parents today would be wise to consider: if you don’t let anything happen to your kids, then nothing will happen to them. That’s a far worse fate than sheltering them from the Black Rabbit of Inlé. Show “Watership Down” to the 10-year-old in your life. They’ll be better off because of it.