By Megan P.
Movie Mama Rating: 3 stars out of 5 Starring: Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Alex Etel, David Morrissey, Geraldine Brophy The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is the tale of a young Scottish boy named Angus (Alex Etel) who discovers an unusual egg on the shores of Loch Ness during World War II. When the egg hatches, Angus discovers that the animal inside is a water horse--a legendary creature from Scottish lore. Naming him Crusoe, he sets out to raise the water horse while keeping him hidden from his mother, Anne (Emily Watson). But when a British regiment is stationed on the grounds where Angus and his family lives, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep Crusoe under wraps--especially since he begins to grow to the size of a tank! To protect him, Angus and the grounds keeper, Lewis (Ben Chaplin), hide Crusoe in Loch Ness. And the rest, as you may have already guessed, is history. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is visually captivating. What movie wouldn't be with the breathtaking landscapes of Scotland as its backdrop? Pair that with the fact that Angus lives in a spectacular Scottish castle and that he is lucky enough to find such a magical creature and you have a film that draws children and adults into an extraordinary world. But the film's slow pace might bore some viewers and the shallow plot, while good for a short story, is too flimsy for a two hour feature. PROS One major topic in this film is the absence of Angus' father who was killed while in active duty in the war. It's a timely theme since many of us have friends and family in Iraq. How Angus deals with his grief is admirable. Although Crusoe is a wild beast and acts like one every now and then, Angus shows unconditional love toward Crusoe on multiple occasions which makes Angus a very fine role model for young boys. Angus' fear of water, along with many other fears, are faced with courage throughout the film. CONS Since there is no real antagonist or "bad guy" in the film, the British regiment that is stationed at the castle becomes the adversary during Angus' quest to hide Crusoe. Although the regiment is there to protect the citizens, every decision they make borderlines on lunacy. It's very unbelievable that a regiment would behave in such ways as demonstrated in The Water Horse and I would hate for a child to come away from the film thinking that soldiers were idiotic and selfish nincompoops. And the thought that soldiers during the most horrific war of all time were frittering away their days chasing after the Loch Ness Monster is disturbing, to say the least. Although not shown, it is implied that Crusoe feasts on a bulldog belonging to one of the soldiers. There is quite a bit of violence in the film, Crusoe looks terrifying at times and he almost devours one of the soldiers, and there is a lot of loud gun fire and scary images that might upset small children. During one scene, the castle cook, Gracie, after a few drinks too many, flirts and kisses with one of the soldiers, then leads him off screen into a back room. There is quite a bit of drinking in the film. OVERALL Walden Media has produced many of the most family-friendly children's films of our day and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a good effort, just not their best. If not for writing this review, I would have already forgotten everything about Angus and his friend, Crusoe.
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