First in on the secret is Angus’ older sister, and then the new handiman, a discharged veteran. When he eventually finds out about the creature, he wonders if it isn’t a water horse, a legendary creature that lays one single egg and then dies, so it is born an orphan.

If this movie were entirely Disneyfied, it wouldn’t work, but alongside its kid-level, slapstick humor there are some deep undercurrents and cleverly drawn relationships. The children’s mother is obviously attracted to the handyman, and at the same time jealousy arises as the officer in command sets his cap for her, too. This is a story about families and their secrets, sadness and loss, as well as of a little boy finding his first friend in a very long time.

Meanwhile, the little water horse grows so big that it can no longer be contained in a bath, pond, or anything man-made, and is smuggled down to the loch. The trouble is, the army is practicing its submarine-bombing methods there, and has strung a net right across the water. The water horse is driven wild with the bombing, and a great deal of trouble ensues.

I gather from the credits that some of this movie was filmed in New Zealand, but I know that at least some was at Loch Ness. Urquhart Castle is a little hard to forge! The scenery is lovely, of course, and just adds icing to the cake of this enjoyable, gentle piece of cinema. :)