The Scottish legend of Nessie is given a twist in family film The Water Horse, Legend of the Deep. Narrated by Brian Cox, it's pleasant enough to watch and probably just the thing for the half-term hols.

It's 1940s Scotland. Fresh-faced youngster Angus is on a beach with his mother (Emily Watson) and sister (Priyanka Xi). Angus's father has gone off to war. Angus is searching for crabs on the beach when he comes across a large, heavy, round object covered in moss which he puts in his bucket as he hurries off to catch up with his mother.

Sci-fi fans may see similarities with Alien as Angus later realizes this is no unusual stone but is in fact a living organism in egg-form. Director Russell neatly builds up suspense at this point and doesn't immediately reveal what emerges from this egg-shell, but this being family fare, it's luckily no face-hugging parasite and in fact is a baby swimming horse that quickly grows until he's splashing around in the bath and becoming a guilty secret for Angus, his sister and the newly hired house hand (Chaplin). Angus's mother is the one they're all fearful of telling about this strange aquactic secret.

Meanwhile, an army regiment have moved into the family house and are setting up a big gun on the hillside in case of German naval attack. A neat sub-plot develops as both the likeable odd jobs man (Chaplin) and the snooty army colonel become rivals for mother Anne's affections.

On the plus side, the performances here are fine. Alex Etel is excellent as Angus, Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin add able support and the special effects make this version of Nessie entertaining as a baby grows into a much bigger pet (there's a lovely scene when the water-horse ends up in a pond full of fish and virtually doubles in size overnight).

On the minus, the illusion falters when Angus ends up on the horse's back and a) seemingly doesn't get his hair wet even though the horse is gliding at full pelt through the water and b) when the water horse goes underwater with Angus still on his back, Angus must hold the world record for holding his breath given they're exploring the depths for a good 5-10 minutes and Angus is none the worse-for-the-wear when he emerges again.

If you can suspend belief however, you'll enjoy this feelgood rites-of-passage comedy-drama designed for young impressionable kids in the 7-11 age group. It should keep them fairly well amused for most of its length. It's wholesome fare that won't offend anyone with a pleasing and uplifting ending.