O Cavalo d'Água (2007)

A lonely boy discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend.

Director:

Jay Russell

Writers:

Robert Nelson Jacobs (screenplay), Dick King-Smith (book)

Stars:

Emily Watson, David Morrissey, Alex Etel

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Allpress	...	Jock McGowan
Geraldine Brophy	...	Gracie
Eddie Campbell	...	Hughie (as Edward Campbell)
Ben Chaplin	...	Lewis Mowbray
Peter Corrigan	...	Jimmy's Buddy #1
Brian Cox	...	Old Angus
Carl Dixon	...	Gunner Corbin
Alex Etel	...	Angus MacMorrow
Nathan Christopher Haase	...	Male Tourist
Craig Hall	...	Charlie MacMorrow
Ian Harcourt	...	Jimmy McGarry
Rex Hurst	...	Jimmy's Buddy #2
William Johnson	...	Clyde
Megan Katherine	...	Female Tourist
Elliot Lawless	...	Beach Kid

Storyline

A boy finds an interesting egg. His curiosity leads him to protect it and want to figure out what will come out of it. He didn't realize that it would turn into something magical. The boy and the Water horse grow a strong relationship together in this wonderful story.

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Plot Keywords:

scottish highlands | bathtub | war widow | single mother | scotland | 

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Taglines:

How Do You Keep A Secret This Big?

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

M/6

Details

Official Sites:

Sony [United States]

Country:

New Zealand UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2008 (Australia)

Also Known As:

O Cavalo d'Água

Filming Locations:

Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£760,340 (United Kingdom), 10 February 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,385,644, 23 December 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$40,412,817, 10 February 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,636,188, 18 May 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios,Walden Media,Beacon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two actors from King Kong (2005) Geraldine Brophy and William Johnson appear in this film.

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Goofs

When Angus's mum is looking at Angus, Gracie and Hughie through a window in the door, the camera seems to just see them through the window, but when we see Angus's mum looking through the window, the window is obscured or cracked.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female Tourist: What is that?
Male Tourist: It's a famous picture of the monster. But it's fake.
Female Tourist: How do you know it's fake? It looks real.
Old Angus: Oh, it's fake alright.
Male Tourist: Of course it's fake. Everyone knows that.
Old Angus: We'd know, son. There's more to that photo than meets the eye.
Male Tourist: Oh ho, really.
Old Angus: Well, if you'd like to know the real truth.
Female Tourist: Yeah, I wanna know. Come on, it'll be fun.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

No Sea Monsters were harmed during the making of this film.

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Connections

Spoofs O Tubarão (1975)

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Soundtracks

If I Had a Talking Picture of You
Written by Lew Brown, Buddy G. DeSylva (as Buddy DeSylva) and Ray Henderson
Performed by Gracie Fields

User Reviews

The right balance . . .

CGI—of course: You can't depict the Loch Ness monster with just the putative photo of the famous myth. But after you accept the clever graphics, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is just plain ol' good story telling, fit for pre-adolescent kids and their young-at-heart parents.

Narrator Brian Cox (his character is not identified) tells of WWII era in Scotland at the famous loch, where young Angus MacMorrow finds an egg at the shore and nurtures the lovable monster until he has to go to the loch to survive. The Scottish regiment occupying the home and the new handyman, Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), complicate life and endanger the elusive monster. Although the usual clueless mom (Emily Watson) and dangerous thugs are here to further the horror genre staples, the challenges Angus faces are instructive about the collision of reality and fantasy for an adolescent.

WWII looms large, a fitting embodiment of the challenges the unknown and potentially dangerous can be to the stability of the world. The fantasy world, centered on the monster, who becomes his best friend, collides with the reality of people who want to destroy the monster and the boy's imaginative life.

Mix in all this with the father who has been away to war, never to return, and you have a child's romance with the right balance of love and hate, certainty and uncertainty, illusion and reality. It's all much less sophisticated than Shrek, and more like Whale Rider, also filmed in New Zealand. In the latter, a girl rides a whale as an embodiment of the country's hope; in Water Horse, the boy rides the monster to expunge his own fear of water and elude the malignant forces of the adult world. Pretty heady stuff, that.