No horsing around

Following the pattern of recent years, “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” is more of the same cutesy children’s-book-adaptation fodder that we’ve come to expect from Hollywood. And Walden Media (“Chronicles of Narnia” series, “Bridge to Terabithia”) shows us once again why these movies keep getting made: They can still represent well-made and captivating tales of childhood fantasy and adventure.

This film tells the “true” story of the Loch Ness monster, as seen through the eyes of an old man, Angus MacMarrow (Brian Cox). He tells the story of his childhood adventures in World War II-era Scotland to some tourists visiting the loch. As a child living in Scotland, played by Alex Etel, he finds an egg in the water. He takes it home and it hatches into the mythical water horse, which legend states is the rarest creature in the world.

Shortly thereafter, a regiment of British soldiers shows up to be billeted at the MacMarrow’s large estate and protect the loch from German submarines. The rest of the story centers around the boy trying to raise the water horse (which he names Crusoe) in secret, without the trigger-happy soldiers finding out. The creature effects are fantastic, and Crusoe blends in seamlessly with the rest of the film.

“The Water Horse” has a story that starts out predictably but leads to an unexpected but fully fleshed-out conclusion, without relying on a cheap twist ending. The performances are good all-around – nothing spectacular, but serviceable. There were several times where it seemed the movie would have been improved by more gifted actors in certain roles. (Liam Neeson would have been great as the softhearted general.)

The special features were extensive on the two-disc special edition, with everything except a commentary track. It had features on every aspect of movie production and a fascinating documentary on the legend of the Loch Ness monster. Worth watching and worth the money for an extra disc.

For all its faults, “The Water Horse” has its moments of fun, magic and tenderness. It wasn’t deep or sophisticated, but it was exactly what it attempted to be: an enjoyable film for all ages.