The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie Review

Under the Sea

Reviewed by Michael Reuben April 1, 2016

The Water Babies is a 1978 film adaptation of a 19th Century novel by Charles Kinglsey. Screenbound Entertainment has newly remastered the film for Blu-ray in a region-free edition that is also available in the U.S. through Best Buy and Amazon.

The film's young hero is an orphaned chimney sweep named Tom (Tommy Pender). Apprenticed to the odious Mr. Grimes (James Mason) and Mr. Masterman (Bernard Cribbins), Tom accompanies his masters to the country estate of Sir John and Lady Harriet (David Tomlinson and Joan Greenwood), where there are enough chimneys to keep them working for weeks. But Grimes and Masterman prefer to rob the manor, and when their ineptitude gets them caught, they blame everything on Tom. Fleeing the scene, the lad plunges into a nearby lake, where he is magically transformed into an animated creature who can survive underwater. He acquires a band of friends that include a lobster, a sea horse and a swordfish, and together they help save the race of sprites known as "Water Babies" from the predators led by a killer shark (which is voiced by Mason).

The underwater scenes are the work of Polish animation studio Film Polski. They're no competition for Disney (or, for that matter, Hanna-Barbera), but they're whimsical enough to appeal to young kids. The live-action sequences have aged badly, despite the quality of the acting talent. Kingsley's book was a social critique, and the film seeks to blend a Dickensian morality tale with kids' entertainment through caricature performances so broad that they would be more at home in a holiday panto.

The Water Babies would be entirely forgettable if not for the saving grace of the great English stage actress Billie Whitelaw, who appears in multiple roles that are connected by magic. Although she plays five parts, Whitelaw doesn't have many lines, and that may be why she's so effective. Unburdened by the leaden script (credited to Michael Robson), she energizes the narrative by the sheer force of her mysterious and unsettling presence.

The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

According to Screenbound, The Water Babies has been newly remastered at 2K. Although the film was originally released with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, Screenbound's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray has been formatted at 1.33:1. Excessive headroom in numerous shots suggests that this is an "opened frame" presentation of a film that was intended to be matted. Aside from the aspect ratio, however, the transfer has picked up considerable detail from the original 35mm photography, which primarily benefits the live-action scenes. Flesh tones are often ruddy, but this may reflect the original photography. The film's palette is relatively tame, except in the animated sequences, where brighter and more varied colors prevail. The average bitrate of 19.99 Mbps is on the low side, but the expansive pillarbox bars framing the image appear to have facilitated good compression.

The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's mono soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD MA 2.0, but lossless treatment can do little for a mix with compressed dynamic range and weak fidelity. The songs and orchestral score fare worse than the dialogue, which may be too heavily accented (and mannered) for contemporary ears. Unfortunately, no subtitles are included.

The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The sole extra, "James Mason in Yorkshire" (576i; 1.78:1, stretched; 40:52), does not directly relate to the film. In this undated travelogue, presumably made for TV, actor Mason revisits his hometown of Huddersfield and provides a guided tour. (Note that this feature is encoded as PAL and may not play on all Region A players.)

The Water Babies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Screenbound's choice of aspect ratio may reflect the fact that so many viewers know The Water Babies from TV viewing. The Blu-ray is strictly for those with fond childhood memories, but they may be surprised to discover the clunkiness of the period melodrama framing the animated hijinks.