Having read the fairly traumatic book in my youth, I've finally tracked down the film adaptation, which often scores higher than it's more famous stablemate Watership Down.

Imagine Watership Down but with all the fleetingly positive parts taken out and you'll not be far off the mark. It makes Grave of Fireflies look positively light hearted. The soundtrack and source material are arguably weaker than Watership Down in my opinion but there is a haunting beauty to this tale of endurance.

Alas, I'm concerned that the days have gone when mainstream animation can broach such challenging subject matter in such a direct manner.