Kirpianuscus it is an oasis. or, maybe, an isle. for memories and emotions and dreams. for a profound portrait of solitude who discovers the friendship as the great sense of expectations. a boy. and an egg. and the myth who becomes a lovely story who redefines CGI as tool, not as axis or purpose/cage. a film who must see. for small gifts. for delicate images. for the powerful emotions . for the return to the inner child. because, like many films for young public, The Water Horse is a film especially for adults. the first scenes are the basic pledge for this. the special end is the second reason . it is real simple. like the real good films. because it mix the flavor of a land, the situation of a modest family and the grow up of a child who discovers the meaning of life .

Armand the magic is the purpose in this case. not only the magic of images but , more important, the magic of relationship. an old legend, a meeting, a story. nothing too complicated but seductive at all. because it represents just a modern fairy tale. because it has good actors and a credible young character. because it is a war story. different by many others. but useful for the crumbs of clichés who are keep in right places. a film about friendship. in many nuances and attitudes and choices. the delicate British spirit, the not bad job of Alex Etel, a sensitive manner by Ben Chaplin to do the hero traces. short - a lovely film. full of magic.

Jackson Booth-Millard I knew this film was something to do with the myth of the Loch Ness Monster, having seen posters and heard about the plot, and it is based on the book by Dick King-Smith (The Sheep Pig, aka Babe), I was looking forward to it, from director Jay Russell (My Dog Skip, Ladder 49). Basically an American tourist couple go into a bar, they see the famous faked photograph of what was called the Loch Ness Monster, and they meet an old man (Brian Cox) who tells them the story of the mythological creature, this when the film flashes back. In 1942 Scotland, on the shores of Loch Ness lives Angus MacMorrow (Millions star Alex Etel) in a large mansion, with his mother Anne (Emily Watson), his sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi), a maid, and an old game keeper, the family are joined by handyman Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), and Angus cannot accept that his Royal Navy sailor father may be dead, he want missing following the sinking of his ship in the war. One day, while collecting seashells in the tide pools, Angus comes across what looks like a large mysterious egg, he takes it home and hides it in his father's shed, and when it hatches it contains an unknown creature, he names the creature "Crusoe", after Robinson Crusoe. Angus decides to keep this creature a secret, until his sister and Lewis find out about it, Lewis says he recognises the creature, from books he has read, he says it is a "Water Horse", it could be a boy or a girl, that it lays one egg, then dies before it can see it hatch, but the three of them will have trouble hiding as he is growing larger very quickly. The house is soon full of troops from the 12th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery, commanded by Captain Thomas Hamilton (David Morrissey), the troops have set up camp at the house, and are also stationed near the lake as defence against possible hiding or attacking German U-Boats, including placing an anti-submarine net at the mouth of the lake. One night Crusoe manages to break free and roams around the house, with the cook's bulldog chasing him, he runs through the dining room, but the dog gets the blame for the mess, while Crusoe spends the night in the fountain feeding on the fish, Lewis finds that he has grown so big, he and Angus know they have no choice but to let him roam free in the loch. Captain Hamilton persuades Argus's mother to let him teach her son some discipline and make a soldier of him, but the boy escapes and returns to Loch Ness to find his much larger friend, who lets him ride on his back, including diving underwater, aquaphobic Angus does eventually learn to enjoy this and overcome his phobia of the sea. This peace for the creature cannot last though, the troops fire a Victoria cannon as a firing demonstration, and Crusoe is shocked the blasts, and getting hit by one of the shots, Angus destroys the cannon to save Crusoe, Hamilton is enraged and Anne slaps her son and punishes him sending him to his room for a month. Two fishermen are amazed by the sight of the monster in the lake, they try to take a photograph to become rich, but with the firing of the cannon and other demonstrations going on they know they cannot capture the real thing, so they create an imitation model, this results in the real-life faked picture of The Loch Ness Monster, also known as "The Surgeon's Photo". The hoax photograph is put in the newspaper, and it does spark the interest of some of the soldiers who venture out on the lake to find the creature and kill it, and they have the bulldog to help locate it, Crusoe still in shock capsizes the soldier boat, but Angus tries to calm him down, only to fall and sink into the water, Crusoe rescues him. Captain Hamilton and Anne see Crusoe for themselves also, but for his own shelter and safety the creature must get away, somehow getting past the anti-submarine net, he manages to crush it with his weight and escape the lake, Angus never saw the creature again, ending his story the old man says that many people have claimed to see the Loch Ness Monster, or "Nessie", over the years, he reveals himself to the couple to be Old Angus, and at the end of the film a little boy is seen on the beach picking up a new mysterious egg. Also starring Marshall Napier as Sgt. Strunk, Joel Tobeck as Sgt. Walker and Bruce Allpress as Jock McGowan. Etel is a good choice as the little boy hiding the mysterious creature, and the adult stars Watson, Chaplin and Morrissey are good choices also, the special effects CGI to bring the creature to life are fantastic, I can see the similarities with E.T., and there was a hint of Free Willy, but the story does not have clichéd sentimentality, it is sophisticated with its approach to wartime events and paranoia, some small sequences may make children shiver, but otherwise all the family watching can enjoy this magical journey, a terrific fantasy adventure. Very good!

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain A real family that deals with friendships in a realistic fashion. The Water Horse isn't just a cute little creature. It starts off that way, with a number of comical scenes involving a baby monster. It soon turns a lot darker, where the monster is truly a wild creature and capable of great harm. The film holds up as we wonder if the friendship between Angus and monster will hold up. A lot of the film was rather slow, as it took a while to get anywhere. We are given some repetitive scenes, such as baths for the monster, and at least 2 chases involving the monster and dog. I also wasn't a fan of the movie being told as a story. It gave off a creepy vibe from Brian Cox, like he just sits in the pub all day rambling on. The CGI creature is very consistent, and the action scenes do have some dread to them. A nice watch for families, that doesn't patronize nor embarrass.