Angus loves the water, but is too scared to go in because of an incident when he was little. His Dad, who is away fighting in the 2nd world war, used to take him there and he would collect shells. On this day though, he finds what turns out to be an egg and hides it at their home where it hatches.

Angus, his Mum and sister are surprised when a regiment of soldiers turn up on their land requiring shelter and food. They reluctantly agree to let them stay. The commander believes that he has been stationed there due to the threat of invasion from the germans through the nearby Loch Ness.

Meanwhile Angus and his new pet, that he names "Crusoe", try to work out what he is exactly and once the newly hired handyman catches sight of him they work out that it is a legendary Water Horse.

But as Crusoe groes exponentially each night, they soon need to put him in the Loch, where Crusoe attracts unwanted attention.

Unlike many family/childrens films, Crusoe isn't potrayed as a cute-lovely creature all the time. In fact, at times he could be pretty scary, especially for younger viewers, but then after all he is a wild animal and reacts like one. Even so, you quickly feel an affection for the scamp that doesn't dissipate even when he becomes the legendary Loch Ness Monster - who is largely just misunderstood.

This film has some good animation, some even better acting from Angus' mother and certainly avoided becoming just another cheesy children's flick. It had far more depth than I had anticipated and way more action, but without becoming needlessly dark and still keeping some comic relief.

Not bad at all.

see also:
Arthur Christmas, Up, Flushed Away, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

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photo © Sony Pictures.