★ 5 / 10
The Water Babies - 2.5 out of 5
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The Water Babies - 2.5 out of 5 stars The Water Babies is a British live-action/animation hybrid from 1978. It is based on an 1863 story by Charles Kingsley…
The Water Babies - 2.5 out of 5 stars
The Water Babies is a British live-action/animation hybrid from 1978. It is based on an 1863 story by Charles Kingsley (apparently the first British "children's novel"), which I haven't read, but apparently, it has a very didactic and moralistic approach. This is mostly toned down for the film, but the for all the changes to the source material, the core concept remains the same.
"The Water Babies" is set in the Victorian era, and follows Tom (Played by Tommy Pender), an orphaned chimney sweep used as an "apprentice" (read: slave) by the tyrannical Mr Grimes (Played by James Mason) and his sidekick, the alcoholic Mr Masterman (Played by Bernard Cribbins). Grimes and Masterman drag Tom to work at a mansion in Yorkshire. There, Tom strikes up a friendship with a girl named Elly (Played by Samantha Gates), but things turn for the worst when Grimes and Masterman, who are using the assignment to steal silver from the house, frame Tom for their thefts. Tom runs away, and in his attempt to escape, he falls into a river. However, instead of drowning, Tom is now able to live underwater, where he can interact with the underwater life. In order to return to land, Tom has to find the "water babies" and rescue them from the King Shark and his eel sidekick (who resemble, and sound like, Grimes and Masterman). Tom is helped on his quest by a variety of undersea creatures, with a Scottish Lobster, an acting-obsessed seahorse, and a French Swordfish proving to be his three most important allies.
This story combines Live-Action and Hand-drawn animation, with the scenes on land being done in Live-Action and the Underwater scenes being animated. However, both the live-action and animation are generally very low-quality, fuelling the belief that the makers of this film lacked the money to bring their story to life. In the live-action sections, we get some lovely shots of the Yorkshire hills, but otherwise, you rarely get a sense of the Victorian time period which makes this story stand out, and the cinematography relies heavily on close-ups and feels limited - you never get a sense that this story is genuinely taking place in the past. The Animated sections are not very impressive either - they rely on a very flat, ugly animation style which was probably dated even in the 1970's.
Limited animation and stagy camerawork don't necessarily lead to a bad film on their own, but they highlight the problem with "The Water Babies". It's very easy to tell that this film is based on a classic work of children's literature - it tells the story of a "hero's journey", with elaborate fantasy worlds and messages about how virtue can yield wonderful rewards. However, whilst the story can be compared to works like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Peter Pan", "The Water Babies" fails in its attempts to become a classic children's film. There are some songs, but they are either boring, or (in the case of the endlessly repeated signature song, "High Lochalory") very annoying. Most of the characters are thinly-defined stereotypes with little personality or growth. None of these depictions are particularly offensive (though the effeminate character of the seahorse leans heavily on the problematic stereotype of the camp actor), but they still lead to very boring characters.
Only two of the characters in "The Water Babies" are interesting. They are Elly, who is depicted with enough passion and innocence to make her feel like a genuine, realistic child, and Mrs. Tripp (Played by Billie Whitelaw), a stern maid who is not nearly as cold as she seems. In addition to playing Mrs. Tripp, Whitelaw plays several female characters (An actress in a sideshow attraction, an old crone) who Tom comes across at different points during the start of the story, enhancing the film's fairytale feel. Several respected British actors appear in this film, such as David Tomlinson (Mr Banks in "Mary Poppins") and Jon Pertwee (who played "Dr Who" during the early 1970's), getting to participate in both the Live-Action and Animated segments (For example, Pertwee voices both the Lobster and "The Kraken" - the king of the sea - in the Underwater segments). They seem to be involved with this project based on the iconic status of the source material. As in the film of "The Wizard of Oz", many characters from the Underwater world bear a close resemblance to those from the real world, but as so few of them are memorable, this does not really improve the story very much.
Overall, "The Water Babies" is the sort of film that airs on TV early in the morning during the Christmas Holidays. It has enough charm and positive messages to ensure that it is suitable for children, but it feels like a time-waster. This film has its moments, but there is a reason why this film is not regarded as essential family viewing.
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★ 5 / 10
This is a fairly typical family film of
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This is a fairly typical family film of its time (the late 1970s). It'd be fair to say there are some perhaps crass stereotypes provided by way of certain…
This is a fairly typical family film of its time (the late 1970s). It'd be fair to say there are some perhaps crass stereotypes provided by way of certain characters - in the animated segments, there's a Scottish lobster (with his tam o'shanter hat) and a, I assume gay seahorse character (with a dickie bow), plus a French swordfish (with accordion music played in the background and a fair few 'haw-he-haw's uttered). This may or may not bother you(?). There are some frustratingly catchy tunes present and its an easy and light watch. An ok film, this is worth a watch if you're looking for something suitable for most families, yes but if the generalisations would bother you then maybe you'd prefer to look elsewhere? I can't really think what else to add. I suppose it had the feel of a feature-length TV show made into a film - it doesn't exactly scream big budget but of course it is over 40 years old. For what it is, it's ok - the animation is quite good, given it must have been made on a relatively modest budget, I'd have thought. The audio levels aren't great - its a bit noisy, or so I thought anyway. I wouldn't outright recommend this as such, its pretty average for what it is and with some cringey moments but its alright, that's all I'll say.
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I was able to download the file, no problem. Took a little while but it looks complete to me (1080p).