Walden Media - the production house that underwrites the “Chronicles of Narnia” movies - presents this family film with origins in the United Kingdom. The “Water Horse” isn’t epic like “Narnia”, the filmmakers trying instead to convey a more simple and personal story of a boy and his creature. The movie doesn’t have the emotional impact it should have. It has all the puzzle pieces of a touching story - a lonely boy, family problems, a historical backdrop during wartime, and a cute fantasy animal but the director can’t piece it together well enough to make the picture work.
Angus is a young boy who lives on a Scottish estate with his mother and older sister. It is World War II and the master and mistress of the house are away, with its care being left to Angus’s mother, Anne (Emily Watson; “Miss Potter”). The child’s father is off fighting the war, leaving the boy lonely and eagerly awaiting his return. Angus is deathly afraid of the water, not willing to go farther than the shoreline. He finds an egg hidden in a tide pool. When it hatches, a cute but wild sea creature comes out. As English soldiers take control of the property, to be an outlying base in case of Nazi incursion into Scottish waters, the chances of the creature being found out increases. Angus must do his best to raise the monster during hard times and hope the creature will remember his kindness.
The soldiers become a distraction to the real story of the boy’s relationship to the mystical creature. The director makes the viewer distrustful of the soldiers from the beginning, without any evidence of malice or bad intent. The mother also comes across as unnecessarily cold and harsh to her son, especially regarding his concern for his missing father. It is understandable why Angus would turn to the creature for comfort and companionship. The story is bereft of humor, which it could have used to lighten an otherwise dark mood. For older viewers, there are points in the story which require the suspension of disbelief. Supposedly, the boy can ride the creature without the danger of falling off and being able to hold his breathe for long periods of time. This, from a boy who started the movie being too scared to even go into the water.
The story runs its course by three-quarters of the way in, with the last twenty minutes being unnecessarily violent and scary, especially for a family film. If the film were truly aimed at a younger audience, it would have emphasized the creature more and the soldiers and their activities less. I wanted to be transported into the moment and feel something for the boy and his Scottish sea creature, but all I was left feeling is cold.
Rated PG for some action/peril, mild language and brief smoking.
