Personally, I wouldn’t take a toddler (unless he was the son of Tarantino) to this intermittently, legitimately terrifying tale of a boy and his Loch Ness monster. But everyone else should blow off "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and show up for the best kiddie picture of the season -- and, along with "Ratatouille," of the year.

Well-told fanciful tales aimed at children but appreciated by adults are a rarity, and The Water Horse should be savored for the exuberantly entertaining ride it offers.

While it boasts a lower profile than many other Christmas releases, it might catch on with parents who want to take their kids to a movie that the entire family will actually enjoy. Nifty special effects and a first-rate British cast elevate this production.

Though it strikes some predictable coming-of-age notes, this moving, well-wrought adventure should appeal to fans of "E.T." and Carroll Ballard.

It declines to take itself seriously, yet manages, sometimes simultaneously, to be exciting, instructive, cheerfully absurd and genuinely affecting.