Bernard Cribbins, Billie Whitelaw, David Tomlinson

What happens when a young boy named Tom, apprenticed as a chimney sweep, gets framed for theft in 1850s England? Even though a young girl named Ellie knows the real thieves' identities and tries to cl...( read more  read more... )ear Tom's name, Tom's desperate escape run lands him right in the middle of Dead Man's Pool. Assumed to have met certain death, Tom gets sucked into a magical underwater world. Tom befriends the creatures he meets beneath the sea, and they accompany him on a journey to the land of Water Babies, where he intends to ask the all-powerful Cracken to help him return to the world above the water. Tom encounters many difficulties along the way, but he eventually arrives in the world of the Water Babies, only to watch an evil shark and eel capture his new friends. Cracken forces Tom to choose between his own return to the world and the freedom of the Water Babies. Tom wisely chooses the Water Babies' freedom, winning his own return in the process. Life is far from idyllic when Tom returns to land, but eventually the quick-thinking boy clears his name, traps the real thieves, and wins a place in Ellie's affluent family. Many adults possess fond memories of seeing this 1978 movie as children. The land portions of this 85-minute musical feature live-action footage, while the water sequence is fully animated. To a fresh, modern audience, the abrupt change from one format to the other is somewhat disconcerting, as is the choppy, older animation style. The story, based on the classic children's book of the same name by Charles Kingsley, is an intriguing look at both Victorian culture and the fantasy world. (Ages 4-8) --Tami Horiuchi

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67% liked it

1,293 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Lionel Jeffries

Release Date: December 31, 1978

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DVD Release Date: February 4, 2003

Stats: 74 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (74)


  • September 13, 2007
    I remember seeing this years ago when I was very young. I don't remember much about it but i'd say it must of been pretty bad.
  • August 5, 2007
    i have seen this movie 4 along time so i dont remeber how it goes!
  • July 26, 2007
    loved this as a kid.
  • April 25, 2007
    It was interesting to see this film again like 20 years after the first time. It is pretty outrageous. A scruffy chimney sweep is abused to work for some robbers, but is saved by a rich family. On the way there he goes underwater and meets talking fish characters that can only b...( read more)e imagined whilst on drugs. contains the line 'you may know me as' which I'm 100% sure the Mighty Boosh have stolen and all in all this looks like the kind of film that inspired them completely.
  • April 11, 2007
    Loved this when I was a kid and now my kids love it.
  • March 16, 2007
    "Lots of irresistible songs in this one"
  • January 9, 2007
    1 of those films u cnt get enough of as a kid
  • December 3, 2006
    I would like to see this, i think...

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