Legend of the Water Horse Movie

I had to see this movie because it has the same basic premise as my Sasquatch Summer novel and that is, a creature of legend and myth is a real creature.

A young Scottish boy finds an egg and it hatches. It is a Water Horse. In the end he must rescue the Water Horse aka the Loch Ness Monster, from those who would destroy it. I won’t tell you if he does or doesn’t, since you might want to see it.

The movie, and I haven’t read the book, also follows the boy as he comes to the realization that his father died in the war. He has been tricking himself into thinking his father will return at the end of his tour of duty. The way this is handled reminded me of Sharon Creech’s excellent novel Walk Two Moons, published in 1994 and winner of the Newberry Medal.

The girl in Walk Two Moons also thinks her deceased mother is going to return. Her grandparents take her on a trip to help her realize this truth. It is written in first person so that the reader discovers the ‘truth’ when the girl does. Much more effective than trying to portray that dilemma cinematically.

And because Walk Two Moons is about the girl and her grief and not about something else, the story resonates on an emotional level with the reader. On the other hand, Legend of the Water Horse movie focuses on the creature and its relationship with the boy, making the discovery of truth and the acceptance of loss seem almost a side note.

I recommend the movie as a good family movie. It is definitely for the age 8 and up crowd, as it is slow in parts. But also because of the complexity of the setting — World War II.