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SYNOPSIS:
When a lonely young boy named Angus discovers a large, mysterious
egg along the shores of Loch Ness, no one is prepared for
what lies within. He soon discovers, that the strange, mischievous
hatchling inside is none other than The Water Horse, the loch's
most mysterious and fabled creature. But with the Water Horse
growing ten times its size every day, Angus finds it increasingly
difficult to keep his new friend a secret.
MOVIE
REVIEW
In every decade, there will always be at least one
movie that defines the true meaning of friendship. Remember
“E.T.”, “Free Willy” and “The
Sixth Sense”? Okay the last one might not qualify as
one but still it’s hard to beat a boy and his ghostly
confidante.
In
2007, we have a movie called “The Water Horse: Legend
of the Deep” which chronicles the relationship between
a boy and his pet, the Water Horse aka Loch Ness Monster named
Crusoe. Set in the midst of World War II, the young protagonist,
Angus played by Alex Etel (“Millions”) is a lonely
boy who pins for his lost father and has problems communicating
with her mother, Anne (Emily Watson). One day, a strange looking
egg which Angus found, hatches into an even stranger creature
and thus developed an unusual bonding between the two.
The
storyline is highly predictable. Boy-found-creature, Boy-bond-with-creature.
Boy-lose-creature and blab blah blah…it’s like
a rehash of “Free Willy” but instead of a whale,
you get a gigantic CG Loch Ness. To please the younger audience,
“Water Horse” has its slapstick moments in the
beginning particularly Crusoe’s antics with Churchill
the Bulldog. And to please the parents of the younger audience,
director Jay Russell (“Ladder 49”) and screenwriter
Robert Nelson Jacobs (“Chocolat”) cough up a clunky
love affair which has a Captain (David Morrissey) and handyman
(Ben Chaplin) vying for Anne.
I
don’t belong to either of the above category so I got
to fix my eyes on the convincing visual effects conceived
by Weta Digital and the lush cinematography of New Zealand
(which replaced Scotland as the main shooting location). I
was mildly entertained in the end but it could have been better
if Russell has weaved more urban legends about the Loch Ness
into the tale just for the kick of it.
Adapted
from the original Dick King Smith’s children novel,
“The Water Horse” is an undying tale suitable
for family home entertainment. If you ask a kid what he or
she wants for a pet? I wouldn’t be surprised they spurt
out the word “Crusoe”.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
“The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep”
DVD comes with a number of features including eight
deleted scenes. None of them deserved to be in the
final cut but still worth a peek.
In
“Myths & Legends”, the original ancient
Celtic legend in which Loch Ness is derived from is discussed
and some interesting anecdotes are also shared by Naturalist
Adrian Shine and also an interview with a man who actually
lives by the sea hoping to stake out the Loch Ness creature.
Unbelievable but true.
The
cast members, producer and director talks about how the movie
came about and more in “The Story”
featurette.
In
“The Characters”, Jay Russell and the
various key cast members such as Alex Etel, Emily Watson,
Ben Chaplin talks about their interaction with each other
during the shooting process and their onscreen characters.
The
movie was shot mostly at Queenstown, New Zealand. It’s
not just a place where Hobbits roam but also the Loch Ness.
“Setting the Scene” will show
you that.
“Water
Works: Creating the Water Horse” shows you
how Alex in actual fact has to bond with some bluish looking
equipment and bluish looking men in a water tank for most
of the time.
Throughout
the whole movie, Crusoe was created digitally by Weta Digital
but Weta Workshop did built a weird looking puppet onset to
interact with the actors in some sequences. “Creating
Crusoe” also shows you how the designs of Crusoe
came about in this 14 minutes feature.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Despite a couple of night scenes which feature
Augus interacting with Crusoe, the visual is surprisingly
crisp and the colour scheme is never too dull.
Presented
with a choice of English, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai 5.1,
the bass at times might be too strong for the younger kids
during scenes of ‘peril’. The dialogue on the
other hand is crystal clear with much of the cast speaking
in a charming British accent.
MOVIE
RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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