Others say...

"An Acceptable Diversion Because Of The Depth Of Story"
***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP has the look and feel of an overly cutesy flick with plenty of eye-candy, and that certainly is mostly the case. But it also has a lot of story behind it, too. And what I mean by that is it has several layers of varying stories all unfolding at the same time, something that goes a bit beyond the cute and fuzzy.

It is (no surprise to many) the story of Loch Ness and its infamous monster, but with a twist towards kids and a nod to ancient myth (which isn't very kid-like). The main thrust of the story is given over to a young lad named Angus MacMorrow (relative unknown Alex Etel) and his struggling family as they oversee a nice piece of property near the loch during WW II. Wandering around the shore one day, young Angus happens upon a strange looking stone that he picks up and brings home. Little does he know that what he's found is the rarest of the rare: an egg containing a water horse. He takes the egg into his father's shop (who is away fighting the war) and leaves it one night, only to discover it hatched the following morning. He tries desperately to hide this new creature from his mother, his sister, and an inquisitive but helpful handyman named Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chapin, The New World).

In the meantime we learn that the war is bringing a brigade of men to Angus' family's home; there to prevent German subs from entering the loch via the sea and threatening the Scottish countryside. Angus is forced to hide his new friend (yes, he becomes buddy-buddy with the water horse) from everyone but is eventually forced to release him into the loch as he grows at an incredible rate.

The dangers to the water horse are presented when he (it?) is mistaken for a submarine and is fired upon by artillery emplacements along the banks of Loch Ness. Dangers to the horse, Angus, his family, and everything they hold dear come crashing down as everyone learns (and sees) what Angus was protecting.

Probably most cutesy are the hugs and overly-friendly chumminess that Angus and his new dinosaur buddy have toward one another. But the special effects and scenery (I saw this on Blu-Ray disc) were fairly phenomenal. The colorful heather of the hills against the grayish skin tones of the water horse were impressive (noteworthy: Weta Digital did the special effects, the same company that did The Lord of the Rings trilogy).

Surrounding these fantastical events are very human elements. Angus' family hides from him the fact that his father won't be coming home from the war; a heart-wrenching event for Angus considering the closeness he had with his father, and this makes his friendship with the water horse all the more important to the viewer and Angus (who will obviously soon learn the truth about his father's death). There is also a short side-story about Lewis, the handyman who shows up to help the family. Hiding his scars from the war, Lewis doesn't get along with many people, least of all the British Army leaders who are camped alongside the loch. The audience wonders if he's AWOL from the war but soon learn a much more important element about him. There is also the story of a mother trying to protect her family from the horrors of war, even as it sits down right in her own backyard.

The ancient myth that presses itself into the story is in reference to something called a "kelpie", a malevolent beast of Celtic lore that would disguise itself as a horse to lure unsuspecting victims to it. Once mounted, it would drag him or her down to their watery death. Like I said, not very kid-like.

But it was nice to see these additions to what could have been a simple huggy-huggy, kissie-kissie flick. The depth was needed and that, accompanied with some outstanding visual effects, bumped it up to an acceptable viewing.

"SOLID ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS AND ADULTS!"
Watching the trailers for this film, I thought this was going to be a really bad movie.......I was wrong, 'The Water Horse' is a very solid family film that is not too sappy and will keep adults interested as well as the kids. The CGI FX are top notch and the Loch Ness setting is beautiful. It did remind me of 'Free Willy' a little, but it's a much better film. Don't be fooled by the trailers, this one is worth seeing!

"The Loch Ness Monster is asexual?!"
I've wanted to see "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" for a long time. The movie trailers made it look like a really cute take on the story of the Loch Ness Monster, and the monster itself (which is named Crusoe in the film) is absolutely adorable. However, I was left disappointed by this film. The plot is decent enough and the cast is pretty good, although Emily Watson's character was unbelievably annoying, and I'm usually a big fan of hers. In my opinion, Crusoe wasn't in the film as much as he should have been. The story was also kind of on the depressing side, which surprised me since it's supposed to be a movie for kids. The actor playing "Old Angus" and the two annoying teenage brats he shares his story with are also incredibly irritating, and I couldn't get past the fact that the Loch Ness Monster is supposed to be asexual, and that the filmmakers felt the need to go into detail about that in a children's movie. Finally (spoiler alert), I hated the end of the movie because we find out that Angus lives the rest of his life without ever seeing Crusoe again, and then we find out that the monster is dead! Sure, there's another water horse in another egg that's discovered by another cute, but who the heck cares?! Crusoe is dead! What a disappointing film.

"Excellent and sweet movie."
This movie is very refreshing with its focus on the friendship between a young boy and his newly discovered pet, none other than a waterhorse of Celtic lore. The tenderness between the two is touching and people of all ages will enjoy it. The movie is very well done. And appropriate for all ages.

"The Waterhorse"
Received DVD in a timely manner. There was only one spot on it that froze but I'm hoping after I clean it that will be resolved.

Thank you so much.

Regards,
Michelle