Alex Etel in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Columbia)
Dick King-Smith was a farmer for twenty years and turned to writing fairly late in life. He writes what he refers to as "farmyard fantasy," hence such children's books as Babe: The Gallant Pig, The Golden Goose, Harriet's Hare, Martin's Mouse and A Mouse Called Wolf. Babe was successfully made into a movie in the 90s, and now a film adaptation of King-Smith's The Water Horse (opening Christmas Day throughout San Diego) hits the screen. But The Water Horse is more than a mere farmyard animal and the story represents a shift to a much larger scale fantasy for King-Smith.
