The fantasy family film “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” was directed by Jay Russell, who previously directed “My Dog Skip.” And the script was based on the book by Dick King-Smith, who also wrote “Babe: The Gallant Pig.”
In other words, bring tissues that means you, moms and dads.
This extremely sweet tale of a lonely boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) who finds an egg on the shore and befriends its contents once it hatches a slimy, mischievous but irresistibly cute creature that can only be described as a baby water horse will tug at anyone. In era when pop-culture onslaughts are more fashionable, family movies of this quality are hard to find.
Sure, it borrows more than a little from “E.T.”
The facially expressive animal, whom Angus names Crusoe although it’s both male and female, makes squeaky and scratchy noises as it wobbles about causing trouble at the Scottish mansion the family runs during World War II. (The seamless special effects come from New Zealand’s Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, which also were responsible for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.)
Angus has a sister, Kirstie (Priyanka Xi), whom he swears to secrecy and a father who’s off fighting in the war. His mother, Anne (Emily Watson), is the caretaker of the estate and is too distracted to realize what’s going on. It’s obvious to everyone but Angus that dad isn’t coming back anytime soon. He’s still too vivid in the boy’s mind; as depicted in tender flashback scenes featuring Craig Hall, dad leaves his workshop to Angus and tells him he’s the man of the house now. Being a serious boy, Angus takes these responsibilities seriously.
Crusoe allows him to have fun again and gives him someone to care for and connect with, which he desperately needs. But as the creature eats and grows, it gets too big to splash about giddily in the bathtub, and must be moved to the more spacious loch nearby with the help of the family’s handyman (Ben Chaplin). Then the challenge is keeping it hidden from the British soldiers who have taken over the estate and used it as their base in hopes of blasting German submarines out of the water.
(This is meant as a fuzzy but amusing way of explaining the legend of the Loch Ness monster, with Brian Cox warmly providing modern-day narration to the events told in retrospect.)
Crusoe has one enemy, though a bulldog named Churchill who belongs to the Army’s cook, and who has an uncanny ability to sniff it out and chase it around the house. Crusoe, as a baby, can’t tell the different between Churchill and a plush toy that looks just like him in a cute sight gag. But Russell thankfully keeps the cute factor to a minimum; “The Water Horse” is never cloying or condescending, making it palatable for the whole family.
That holds especially true for the performances. The 13-year-old Etel, who starred in the 2004 Danny Boyle comedy “Millions,” carries every scene with poise and never comes off as precocious. Watson brings some vulnerability as his harried mom, and Chaplin gets a surprising chance to show off his range from comedy to drama to action.
Some scenes may be a bit too scary for the littlest moviegoers. As the creature reaches full height and comes to resemble a leviathan, the Army catches sight of it and perceives it as an enemy, firing at it in the water again and again. Making these moments even more potentially frightening, they take place during a thunderstorm at night.
In theory, though, kids will walk away feeling more moved by the lovely tale of loyalty and unexpected friendship they’ve just seen. It’s pretty hard not to be.
Now showing in theaters nationwide, “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep,” a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG, for some action/peril, mild language and brief smoking. Running time: 111 minutes. Three stars out of four.