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| The Water Horse - Legend of the Deep (Two-Disc Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Jay Russell
Actors: Alex Etel, Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, Brian Cox
Studio: Columbia Tri/Star
Category: DVD
List Price: $28.96
Buy New: $5.94
You Save: $23.02 (79%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  (98 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1518
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 112 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: COLD18456D
UPC: 043396184565
EAN: 0043396184565
ASIN: B0012IWO0I
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 It's a very cute movie! highly recommended! November 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I like this movie, very good for kids to watch especially for boys, it teaches friendship, courage, and the love of animal. Good movie!
 weeeee November 9, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
it was good. it was freezeing in parts. but when pick full it didnt. thats why i put 3 stars
The Water Horse November 3, 2008
Set in Scotland, this is a very enjoyable movie. A boy finds an egg by the sea, then when it hatches he tries to keep the creatures hidden.
The Water Horse - Legend od the Deewp October 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this DVD for my grandchildren and they really like it and watch it over and over.
An Acceptable Diversion Because Of The Depth Of Story October 21, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
***CONTAINS SPOILERS***
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP has the look and feel of an overly cutesy flick with plenty of eye-candy, and that certainly is mostly the case. But it also has a lot of story behind it, too. And what I mean by that is it has several layers of varying stories all unfolding at the same time, something that goes a bit beyond the cute and fuzzy.
It is (no surprise to many) the story of Loch Ness and its infamous monster, but with a twist towards kids and a nod to ancient myth (which isn't very kid-like). The main thrust of the story is given over to a young lad named Angus MacMorrow (relative unknown Alex Etel) and his struggling family as they oversee a nice piece of property near the loch during WW II. Wandering around the shore one day, young Angus happens upon a strange looking stone that he picks up and brings home. Little does he know that what he's found is the rarest of the rare: an egg containing a water horse. He takes the egg into his father's shop (who is away fighting the war) and leaves it one night, only to discover it hatched the following morning. He tries desperately to hide this new creature from his mother, his sister, and an inquisitive but helpful handyman named Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chapin, The New World).
In the meantime we learn that the war is bringing a brigade of men to Angus' family's home; there to prevent German subs from entering the loch via the sea and threatening the Scottish countryside. Angus is forced to hide his new friend (yes, he becomes buddy-buddy with the water horse) from everyone but is eventually forced to release him into the loch as he grows at an incredible rate.
The dangers to the water horse are presented when he (it?) is mistaken for a submarine and is fired upon by artillery emplacements along the banks of Loch Ness. Dangers to the horse, Angus, his family, and everything they hold dear come crashing down as everyone learns (and sees) what Angus was protecting.
Probably most cutesy are the hugs and overly-friendly chumminess that Angus and his new dinosaur buddy have toward one another. But the special effects and scenery (I saw this on Blu-Ray disc) were fairly phenomenal. The colorful heather of the hills against the grayish skin tones of the water horse were impressive (noteworthy: Weta Digital did the special effects, the same company that did The Lord of the Rings trilogy).
Surrounding these fantastical events are very human elements. Angus' family hides from him the fact that his father won't be coming home from the war; a heart-wrenching event for Angus considering the closeness he had with his father, and this makes his friendship with the water horse all the more important to the viewer and Angus (who will obviously soon learn the truth about his father's death). There is also a short side-story about Lewis, the handyman who shows up to help the family. Hiding his scars from the war, Lewis doesn't get along with many people, least of all the British Army leaders who are camped alongside the loch. The audience wonders if he's AWOL from the war but soon learn a much more important element about him. There is also the story of a mother trying to protect her family from the horrors of war, even as it sits down right in her own backyard.
The ancient myth that presses itself into the story is in reference to something called a "kelpie", a malevolent beast of Celtic lore that would disguise itself as a horse to lure unsuspecting victims to it. Once mounted, it would drag him or her down to their watery death. Like I said, not very kid-like.
But it was nice to see these additions to what could have been a simple huggy-huggy, kissie-kissie flick. The depth was needed and that, accompanied with some outstanding visual effects, bumped it up to an acceptable viewing.
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