21st January, 2008

DAVID ADAMS

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (PG)

In A Word: Rewarding

BEST OF FRIENDS: Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) takes a ride on the back of the water horse, Crusoe. "The Water Horse, which neatly solves the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster and provides the background to the most famous photograph of the same, is a charming tale filled with warmth and humour."

Amid the usual hype of the summer blockbusters, it’s refreshing to come across a simple, heartwarming story about a boy and his friend; a friend who just happens to be a mythical beast called a water horse.

Set against the backdrop of World War II amid the spectacular scenery of Scotland, The Water Horse is the story of Angus MacMorrow (played by Alex Etel), a solitary, serious boy who deeply misses his father after he went off to fight in the war.

Angus, who has a fear of water, finds a mysterious egg while playing amid rock pools. He takes the egg home to the stately home where his mother Anne (Emily Watson) is housekeeper and there hides the egg in his father’s old workroom.

Lo and behold, the egg hatches into a creature called a waterhorse. Angus is keen to keep the creature, which he dubs Crusoe, his secret in the knowledge that his mother won’t let him keep it but the fact that, ala the book A Fish Out Of Water, the creature grows very large, very fast, means he is soon forced to share his secret with his sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi) and a mysterious handyman, Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), who arrives at the home and takes over his father’s workshop.

The tale receives a complication when English Captain Thomas Hamilton (played by David Morrisey) arrives with a troop of men whose task is to ensure the Germans don’t invade Britain via Scotland’s lochs. They’re billeted in Angus’ home and mayhem ensues as he tries to keep his secret, in particular from the troop’s bulldog mascot, Churchill.

The Water Horse, which neatly solves the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster and provides the background to the most famous photograph of the same, is a charming tale filled with warmth and humour. While, at times, it can be a little frightening for younger members of the audience, The Water Horse will prove a satisfying experience for all the family.

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