42
Parents can trust that none of their wee ones will ask for a stuffed water horse for Christmas. The star of this Scottish fable, about the mythical Loch Ness monster, looks like a raw chicken breast with teeth when he hatches.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
88
Well-told fanciful tales aimed at children but appreciated by adults are a rarity, and The Water Horse should be savored for the exuberantly entertaining ride it offers.
90
Personally, I wouldn’t take a toddler (unless he was the son of Tarantino) to this intermittently, legitimately terrifying tale of a boy and his Loch Ness monster. But everyone else should blow off "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and show up for the best kiddie picture of the season -- and, along with "Ratatouille," of the year.
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Consider it "Free Willy" with the Loch Ness Monster. It's that kind of family-friendly movie - one that focuses on the friendship between a lonely boy and an animal.
80
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
It declines to take itself seriously, yet manages, sometimes simultaneously, to be exciting, instructive, cheerfully absurd and genuinely affecting.
80
Though it strikes some predictable coming-of-age notes, this moving, well-wrought adventure should appeal to fans of "E.T." and Carroll Ballard.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Crust
An enchanting tale of friendship and evolvingrelationships, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" engagingly grafts coming-of-age movie chestnuts onto Scottish folklore.
67
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
A family film in the best sense.
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold
Predictable but entertaining kid movie.