FilmJudge - The Water Horse

REVIEW

The Water Horse
2008
Certificate: PG | Runtime: 111 | Director: Jay Russell
Starring: Alex Etel, Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin

During WWII, a lonely Scottish boy named Angus MacMorrow (Etel) made a quite remarkable discovery. He found a mysterious egg which he cared for until it hatched. Except this was no ordinary egg - it was the egg of a 'water horse' - a legendary creature of which only one can exist at any one time. As Angus cares for the creature, who he names Crusoe, he find his increasing size a more and more difficult problem to conceal. After handyman Lewis Mowbray (Chaplin) finds out about Crusoe, the decision is taken to move him to the nearby Loch - Loch Ness. But what will happen to Crusoe when the army turns up? A mysterious elderly man (Brian Cox) will tell us the tale.

Call me a pessimist, but there are certain flaws that are almost predestined to inhabit films aimed at children. These tend to include bad performances by young actors, poor cosmetics, overly simplistic storylines and characters, and various things of that ilk. Surprisingly - or maybe not so, since the film is based on the book by the beloved Dick King-Smith of Babe fame - The Water Horse offers none of these familiar failings. It's a film with solid characters, good acting across the board, and handsome production design elements. Instead, the film's weaknesses are more general, relating to pacing, atmosphere and direction.

Perhaps above and beyond all other things, there is one element of The Water Horse that needed to work if the film was to succeed. That thing is Crusoe himself. It's not often a visual effect is so central to a film's story, but when it effectively provides the emotional stimulation for the main character, it needs to look like the sort of thing someone is capable of forming a mental bond with. Thankfully, the chaps at WETA Digital have done an impressive job. I've seen better CGI, but for this sort of film Crusoe is a hugely impressive beast. His young form is cute and disarming, and his older one more fierce and imposing. But as a creature he has weight, presence and a certain character that is all down to the animators and designers.

To the real people now, and the cast are universally dependable. Some of the Scottish accents do occasionally seem a trifle forced, but there's something undeniably engaging about all of them. Etel is a sympathetic lead, nicely conveying the loneliness Angus experiences now that his father has gone to war. We get a real sense of the joy Crusoe brings him. Watson is suitably matronly as Angus's mother, but there's a glimpse of a kind and warm heart there too. Chaplin, David Morrissey (as snooty Army Captain Hamiliton) and Cox are also all fine.

There's an almost old-fashioned tint to the film, even beyond the period setting. After a scene in which Crusoe burps, I was convinced he'd now do that time and time again to get cheap laughs, but my worry never materialised. There's something vaguely Lassie-esque about its wholesome slant. But there is also an undeniable feeling of elongation and repetitiveness to the film. Crusoe gets chased by a dog for what amounts to about 5 or 6 minutes of runtime; Angus goes for a ride on his back for an equal amount of time. Sequences like this often seem unnecessarily long, and there are pointless little subplots that pop up left, right and centre. For some reason Hamilton seems to have a real problem with Mowbray, but this little story either fizzled out or I didn't care enough to notice its conclusion. All these elements rather get in the way of what is a pretty darn enchanting central story.

However, flaws aside, I was impressed with The Water Horse. It avoids a lot of the pitfalls that are so often associated with such films, and should provide enough warmth, entertainment and spectacle to keep viewers of all ages happy.

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