The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

A visually attractive but highly derivative family film, director Jay Russell's adaptation of Dick King-Smith's YA novel The Water Horse—set in Scotland during World War II—kicks off when a lonely boy named Angus (Alex Etel) discovers a huge egg on the shore of Loch Ness that turns out to house none other than the offspring of the famous local monster, after which Angus raises the rambunctious “Crusoe” in secret. Although the boy/beast tale takes center stage here, various subplots involve other characters, including a moody handyman (Ben Chaplin) who works on the estate where the boy lives with his housekeeper mother (Emily Watson); an army captain (David Morrissey) heading up a contingent of troops billeted at the mansion in order to set up guns and nets designed to trap German subs in the loch; and an old man in a bar, who tells the entire tale in flashback to a pair of present-day tourists. Viewers will recognize any number of cinematic influences, with the most obvious being E.T., closely followed by Free Willy. Still, the cast is solid, the locations lovely, and the special effects are impressive (even if the CGI-fashioned face of the monster seems to have stepped out of a Dr. Seuss book). Ultimately, the old-fashioned virtues of The Water Horse are likely to please both children and their parents. Recommended, overall. [Note: DVD extras on this double-disc release include six behind-the-scenes featurettes focusing on “Myths and Legends,” “The Story,” “The Characters,” “Setting the Scene,” “Water Work: Creating the Water Horse,” and “Creating Crusoe” (77 min. total), eight deleted scenes (7 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a mostly engaging family film.] (F. Swietek)