Very well executed

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Brilliant and touching

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

High! High! High! Cockalorum! La La la la la la! look 'Waterbabies' fans. if you want to put this movie up on a pedestal as a High! High! High! work of art, then you should know your 'Waterbabies' facts.i thought this movie was pretty good. i can't say i know the entire iconology or pre-production history of 'Waterbabies' like some of it's enthusiastic fan base, but i did think it had a lot of quality for a kiddie flick. good production values, a good cast, and high! high! high! standard hand drawn animation. can't say i ever heard of this film when i was growing up, but there was more to it than i would have guessed. i mean it had culture, it was based on Charles Kingsley's classic poem for babies.some people attacked the hand animation as being bad. come'on. anyone who knows good hand drawn ani. can look at this and tell it wasn't cheap. even the character design preceded stuff like 'A shark's Tail'.this movie was not ghastly or butt clenchingly bad, like some 'Waterbabies' haters would have you think. it was just gnaw on the chipmunk really weird. it did kind of freak me out a bit (i was really high! high! high! however) and the numerous reps of 'High Cockalorum' did make me want to run from my TV screaming. but this movie had high! high! high! production standards for a kiddie flick.basically 'Waterbabies' was about believing. in waterbabies that is. i mean they could exist couldn't they? maybe they're like loch nessie or that big foot thing. i personally think they are related to sea monkeys. sea monkeys are real right? i saw sea monkey's with me own eyes when i was little so i know they exist. i think i'll have another doobie and contemplate this. 'Baby' fanz sing! high! high! high! Cockalorum!

The 1978 adaptation had all the ingredients of a potentially wonderful film. It is based on an absolutely charming book by Charles Kingsley. It has a truly talented cast from the likes of James Mason, Bernard Cribbons and David Tomblinson, not to mention the vocal talents of David Jason and Jon Pertwee. There is also Lionel Jeffries, the director of wonderful classics such as The Railway Children and the Amazing Mr Blunden, and while the film is good on the most part, it was also a little disappointing. I had no problem with the performances, particularly those of Mason and Tomblinson as Grimes and Sir John Harriet respectively, and Tommy Pender and Samantha Gates are believable as Tom and Ellie. Billie Whitelaw is also intriguing in numerous roles, even if one or two of them are quite bizarre. The voice cast is also commendable, especially Jon Pertwee, voicing charming characters in their own right. I also liked the incidental music it is so haunting and beautiful, and the script was fairly faithful and in general well-written, particularly at the beginning. The characters, especially the Water Babies are very charming, and the villains are sinister and funny at the same time, I loved the part when Tom and his friends help the Water Babies escape, seeing the shark chasing the electric eel with an axe was very funny. However, I will say the film does look dated, especially the animation sequences, the live action parts weren't so bad, if you forgive the rather dark camera-work. The character animation was rather flat, and the backgrounds sometimes were a little dull, though there were some nice moments, like the scene with the Krakon and of course the first meeting with the Water Babies. I also had mixed feelings about the songs, the Water Babies's song was beautiful, but I found the first song forgettable, when Tom ends up underwater. Hi-Cockallorum is an example of a song, that is like marmite, you either love it or hate it. I personally don't know what to make of this song, it was fun to listen to at first, but once it's in your head, it is perhaps annoying. As much as I like Lionel Jeffries and his films, his direction just lacked the wonder and the magic it usually does. All in all, certainly not a terrible film, but could have been better artistically. 7/10 Bethany Cox.

I remember watching this film in 1981, when I was 7. It was absolutely brilliant! I found the DVD just a couple of months ago. I was nearly jumping up and down with glee!! I bought it and showed it to my kids. They loved it too. They asked what words the seahorse was singing (I didn't tell them, though, because I don't think telling the words 'gay' and 'ecstasy' to 6 year old kids is very good parenting). The songs are brilliant. I still remember them all. I'll still remember them when I'm 60! There, or near abouts. Tommy Pender is (was) such a brilliant actor. It's a pity he gave it up.If you find the film, BUY IT! You'll love it!

This is a movie that I watched when I was a young girl and never forgot. It is certainly not the best movie ever made, but there is something very special about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I LOVE it. I am the kind of person who likes everything explained to me though and for that reason alone this movie drives me crazy. Exactly what/Who is that mysterious witch-lady and what is her relationship with Tom? WHY and HOW did he become a Water Baby ... why was he raised on the earth? It is questions like these that are just eating at me! I thought if I read the book I would get answers, but I just read an article that the book from which this story is "based" is a lot different. So I guess I'll never know what the writer was thinking! I still love this movie though and I recently watched it with my two year old niece. She loves it too although she insists on calling it "Baby Water" for reasons unknown to me. She loves the part where he jumps in the water and then declares "I'm all clean." (You have to understand that my niece is the cleanest 2 year old in the world!) We watched that scene over and over. I am so glad that we can enjoy this film together! There should be more films like this. (But what is up with the gay seahorse??!!)