I am surprised I appear to be in the minority of disliking this movie. The premise was promising, the beginning of the movie very engaging, and the Crusoe was a delightfully rendered creature. The scenery was also breathtaking. However, the close up of the dead stag, dog being eaten, and clear portrayal of what should have constituted child abuse negated anything positive that might have been gained from the movie, and the ending scene of another child finding another egg and another story of abuse and unnecessary heartbreak made it even worse. Do yourself a favor and don't watch. It's not worth wasting the tears and tissue over it.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007): Dir: Jay Russell / Cast: Alex Etel, Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, Priyanka Xi: Compelling family film about those fascinating stories of yesteryear. Young Angus is afraid of water but discovers a rock while wading in the water that conceals a prehistoric creature. It hatches and predictably he befriends this creature while trying to conceal it, just as seen in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. This arrives at a climax that somewhat borrows from Free Willy yet still works. This creature grows to massive size yet maintains a liking to Angus until soldiers arrive and begin firing cannons at it. Set in 1942 with the war in full steam director Jay Russell follows similar patterns that he demonstrated in My Dog Skip. Alex Etel plays the boy who faces his fears in the name of friendship as his miniature pet increases in size to the point where keeping it in the bathtub is useless. Emily Watson plays his mother who yields to the military until she feels that her family is under threat. Ben Chaplin plays a hired hand with military background who ends up helping Angus truck the creature to the sea side. David Morrissey plays the military captain who issues stern orders however the screenplay avoids clichés with an interesting positive side to this character when realizations surface. Priyanka Xi plays Angus's sister. Despite being often corny the theme brings life to the unseen. Score: 8 / 10

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.

It's the darkest days of WWII. Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) is a little boy living in Scotland waiting for the return of his father. He's afraid of the water but he finds an odd rock by the loch. It hatches into a tiny little creature. His sister Kirstie (Priyanka Xi) eventually finds out while they try to hide it from their mother (Emily Watson) who is the housekeeper for an estate. Complicating matters are the British troops under the command of Capt. Hamilton (David Morrissey) and the new hire Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin) who are staying at the estate. Then there is the hunt for Nazi submarines.It's a fine little children's movie with a slightly darker edge. It's not a cartoon or particularly silly. Nobody will look for a stuff animal from this movie for a gift. It's not that cute. Little Alex Etel is the cute one in this movie. Basically this children movie hasn't been Disneyfied for both good and bad. The accents and old manor set may put off the kids if they're not Brits. Also I don't think the modern day storyline is particularly useful.