The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (stylised on-screen as simply The Water Horse) is a 2007 American-British-New Zealand family fantasy drama film directed by Jay Russell. The screenplay, written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's children's novel The Water Horse. It stars Alex Etel as a young boy who discovers a mysterious egg and cares for what hatches out of it: a "Water Horse" (loosely based on the Celtic water horse) which later becomes the fabled Loch Ness Monster. The film also stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, and David Morrissey. The film was produced by Revolution Studios and Walden Media, in collaboration with Beacon Pictures, and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Visual effects, which included the computer-generated imagery of the water horse (named "Crusoe" by Etel's character) were completed by the New Zealand-based companies Weta Digital and Weta Workshop—visual effects companies who worked with Walden Media before on the productions of The Chronicles of Narnia films. The Water Horse was released in the United States on December 25, 2007 and in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2008. This was the last film done by Revolution Studios before their film division was shut down.
Plot:
In present-day Scotland, an American tourist couple go into a bar where they meet an old man who tells them a story about the Loch Ness Monster.
In 1942 Scotland, a boy named Angus MacMorrow lives in the large manor house of Lord Killin on the shores of Loch Ness with his mother Anne MacMorrow (the housekeeper), his sister, a cook, a maid and an old gamekeeper. Later, they are joined by Lewis Mowbray, who comes to work as a handyman in the manor. Angus' father Charlie —Killin's former handyman— is now a sailor in the Royal Navy and has been missing since his ship was sunk in the war a year ago; Angus is unable to accept that it is unlikely he will ever come home.
One day, while collecting seashells, he discovers what appears to be a large mysterious egg in the sand, which he leaves it in his father's shed. When he returns later, an unknown creature hatches (which he calls 'Crusoe' after Robinson Crusoe) that becomes the fabled Loch Ness Monster. Angus keeps the creature a secret, but eventually tells his sister and (reluctantly) Lewis about it. Lewis explains to Angus that it is a genderless "Water Horse" that lays one egg, then dies before it hatches.
The next day troops of the 12th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery arrive at the house, commanded by Captain Thomas Hamilton — a friend of Lord Killin, who is serving with the Royal Air Force. An artillery battery is set up near the lake as defence against possible attacking or hiding German U-boats and the troops set up camp on the grounds of the house. An anti-submarine net is also raised at the mouth of the lake to prevent the possible entrance of German U-boats into the lake.
At sunrise with his mother, Angus finally accepts his father's fate as they watch Crusoe's departure from afar in the open sea. It is implied that Anne is also ready to move on, having fallen in love with Lewis, himself an honorably discharged veteran (whom Hamilton earlier accused of being a deserter or coward, considering himself a superior suitor and father figure).
Over the years, several people claim to have seen Crusoe, but Angus never saw it again. The tourists ask the old storyteller's name, which he reveals to be Angus MacMorrow. Outside the pub, a mother calls out to her son, who is walking down the beach and spots a rock, which has an iridescent shell beneath just like Crusoe's, hinting that Crusoe has died, leaving a descendant behind to become the next Water Horse.
Cast:
- Alex Etel
- Emily Watson
- Ben Chaplin
- David Morrissey
- Priyanka Xi
- Craig Hall
- Brian Cox
- Erroll Shand
- Joel Tobeck
