When I saw the cartoon as a kid after reading the book I remember how oddly ambivalent I was; an oddly cuddly presentation of a basically very gritty story.With this version the fit was (or, rather, could have been) much better. There are some hair raising flaws but all in all this replicated the mood of Adams' work.
The flaws were many. The voice acting is generally sloppy; even ridiculously so at times. This is where the original cartoon excelled over this one. On top of that, the detail animation was far from perfect. There were scenes where the rendering was spot on and animation incredibly beautiful, particularly in the full shots and especially in those from above, not to mention Fiver's visions which where incredibly cool in their stylistic simplicity. In medium shots and close-ups there were many horrible flaws. The leash on the dog hovering ever so slightly above the ground, for instance, as it was sleeping.
The worst flaw, however, in my opinion was lack of ambient sound. There were a few insects and a few incidental noises, but generally the scenes sounded utterly dead.
The first cartoon showed an edge of sorts by using an almost Disneyesque drawing style, effectively contrasting the violence and despair. This version could have had its edge in the realism (rabbits, after all, are super cuddly) but failed somewhat. On the other hand, it told the story incredibly well despite these issues and I do think that Richard Adams' story really does shine here. If you haven't read it, do yourself a favour and get a copy.
