Susan Granger’s review of “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” (Columbia Pictures)
In a pub in a small village in coastal Scotland, an old man (Brian Cox) is explaining a photograph of the so-called “Loch Ness monster” to two curious travelers.
According to his tale, back in 1942, 12 year-old Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel), a wee lonely lad whose father is off fighting in W.W. II, finds a mysterious object on the beach that he lugs home in a pail. It’s a giant egg from which hatches the most magical creature. Not a reptile, not a mammal, it’s a legendary Celtic water horse that he names Crusoe. Angus hides the mythical creature in a shed but Crusoe soon outgrows his confined quarters and his appetite seems insatiable. There is no choice but to release the water horse into the sea, where Crusoe must learn to survive unexpected perils.
Meanwhile, Angus’ mother (Emily Watson), the housekeeper of a large estate, is coping with an enigmatic new handyman (Ben Chaplin) and the unexpected arrival of troops led by arrogant Captain Hamilton (David Morrissey), who commandeers the Manor House to billet his English officers. They’re on the lookout for German submarines that may be in the area.
Based on a novel by Dick King-Smith, cleverly adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs, it’s filled with the enchantment its predecessors, “E.T.” and “Free Willy,” to which director Jay Russell (“My Dog Skip,” “Ladder 49”) adds some exciting maritime chases.
Weta Workshop, the computer-graphics company responsible for effects in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Chronicles of Narnia,” created Crusoe, who resembles a giraffe-seal-horse-like dinosaur. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” is a sweet, escapist 7. It’s a whimsical fantasy-adventure for the whole family.
