The Water Horse

Those looking for a family film should consider the Water Horse. Set in World War 2 Scotland, the movie concerns an introverted boy who finds a strange egg. Soon the rapidly growing Water Horse, which is clearly the Loch Ness monster, bond withs Angus and helps Angus come out of his shell. Crusoe, as he is known, becomes a challenge for young Angus to hide and the hiding is the main plot for most of the film. Complicating matters is the arrival of a British Army unit and that of a mysterious handyman. While the trailers show quite a bit in the way of hi-jinks, there are a number of scary moments that sent one of my kids under the seats for quite a few minutes at a time.

It will be obvious to those who have read the book that the film differs in a number of ways. Written by the author of Babe, the book is a gentler tale with much less of the touched upon adult themes. The book is set in the 30s and the movie moves the story to the war. In the book the father is away on a merchant ship, while in the movie his naval ship was sunk and he was lost although the boy won't accept it. There is also a romantic triangle that is handled appropriately, but is presumably there for the parents.

If the kids don't mind some scares, including danger to both the boy and the Water Horse, then this would be of great entertainment value.