The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep: Critic Reviews

The star of this Scottish fable, about the mythical Loch Ness monster, looks like a raw chicken breast with teeth when he hatches.

Many lonely children yearn for a pet to call their own. In The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep based on a novel by Dick King-Smith, a boy finds not only that, but a best friend as well.

Parents, forget about those warbling mischievous chipmunks. If you want to take the kids on a delightful animal adventure that you will enjoy as much as they do, go see The Water Horse.

A rich, mostly tender fairy tale.

The Water Horse moves along at a dutiful clip, engaging us without transporting us.

The best kiddie picture of the season -- and, along with Ratatouille, of the year.

It's a little corny and somewhat overlong, but a sweet sensibility and stirring adventure scenes make The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep a welcome gift for anyone looking to keep kids entertained over the holidays.

It declines to take itself seriously, yet manages, sometimes simultaneously, to be exciting, instructive, cheerfully absurd and genuinely affecting.

The film is a triumph of empathy.

Like most British family films, Water Horse doesn't dumb down its young characters or insult the intelligence of the audience. It has a lot of sly humor.

A sweet, familiar story, beautifully filmed and lovingly told.

Director Jay Russell grounds the fantasy in serious drama, with enough slapstick to keep it from getting too scary for tots.

...the film looks grand. A little too grand for the sappy proceedings.

The film is what family entertainment ought to be, but so rarely is: a ripping good adventure, a parable about childhood and maturity, and a romp.

No surprises, really, just a nice-looking movie with good digital effects and a cute kid.

Though it strikes some predictable coming-of-age notes, this moving, well-wrought adventure should appeal to fans of E.T. and Carroll Ballard.

The average 12-year-old will find it slow and predictable.

Maybe the best thing about this cute pet movie is that the kids won't be able to talk you into picking one up on the way home from the theater.

A tepid, CGI-enhanced family movie that should delight 6-year-olds with a lap full of popcorn.

Adapted with charming dispatch from the Dick King-Smith story.

The story is clever and heartwarming enough for the film to work on some level for adults and children (although it skews younger). Plus, the CGI work is competently done.

Family films that won't make adults gag are always in short supply, so a pleasing British fantasy, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, is a welcome addition to the holiday season.

In an era when pop-culture onslaughts are more fashionable, family movies of this quality are hard to find.

What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in execution.