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Magic in the Water is a 1995 American family adventure fantasy film directed by Rick Stevenson and starring Mark Harmon, Joshua Jackson and Sarah Wayne. The plot follows a radio psychiatrist and divorced father who takes his children on a vacation to a remote Canadian town where the siblings discover that its lake is said to be a home of a mythical lake monster. The film was distributed by TriStar Pictures and produced by Triumph Films.

Magic in the Water
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rick Stevenson
Screenplay by	Rick Stevenson Icel Dobell Massey
Story by	Ninian Dunnett Rick Stevenson Icel Dobell Massey
Produced by	William Stevenson Matthew O'Connor
Starring	Mark Harmon Joshua Jackson Harley Jane Kozak Sarah Wayne
Cinematography	Thomas Burstyn
Edited by	Allan Lee
Music by	David Schwartz
Production companies	Triumph Films Oxford Film Company
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date	August 30, 1995 (1995-08-30)
Running time	101 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Languages	English Dutch
Box office	US$2.68 million[1]

Plot

In Glenorky, British Columbia, a drunken man named Frank sits on a dock near the lake while drinking beer, but is suddenly abducted by an unseen force in the water.

in Seattle, Washington, 10-year-old Ashley Black is depressed because her father Jack spends all his time focusing on his job instead of her and her older brother Joshua because his divorced wife told Jack to spend quality time with them. One day, Jack takes his children to a remote Canadian lake that was popular with tourists due to a myth about an aquatic monster named Orky. Once they arrive Glenorky, Jack and the children rent a cabin next to an elderly First Nations man who uses a wheelchair. Jack meets a local psychiatrist named Dr. Wanda Bell, who is trying to aid local men to claim that they have been possessed by Orky. When Ashley runs away, Jack also has the same experience while looking for her. Ashley climbs a rickety ladder of a tree house to sleep for the night, but the ladder starts to break, causing Ashley to fall, but Jack (possessed by Orky) manages to catch her in time.

The next day, Jack felt a mild concussion after breaking Ashley's fall, he ends up in a hospital where Joshua and Ashley visit him with Wanda. Meanwhile, Jack becomes strangely more devoted to his children, but in the latter, Jack feels ill and sick. The old man, Kipper, shows Ashley and Joshua about Jack and helps him to hike in the woods, where they find a totem pole of Orky, revealing that Jack is a messenger for Orky and that the reason why he is possessing people is to try to tell them that he is dying because an evil businessman is dumping toxic waste into the lake. With the help of Hiro, the son of Japanese monster seekers, they infiltrate the businessman's corrupt factory, to expose his illegal dumping. The kids sneak into a submarine to sabotage the scheme but it backfires and sinks to the bottom of the lake.

Beneath the lake's surface, the kids see the businessman's two henchmen in scuba-suits but they suddenly swim away. Ashley, Joshua, and Hiro caught a glimpse of the real life Orky, and carried the sunken submarine to his underground cave, where Ashley and Joshua find Jack in the cave and realizes that is actually a home where Orky lives. The group finally discovers Orky, however, still dies from the poisonous waste, leaving Ashley and the group despondent. They are rescued from the hole of the cave, but Kipper summons a lightning bolt which enters the hole and covers the sand on top of it.

The next day, Jack encourages Ashley to believe and bring Orky back, Ashley and Hiro stay on the dock overnight and leave some cookies out. When Ashley realizes that the cookies have been eaten, Ashley screams with joy which suggests that Orky is still alive, or reincarnated.

Cast

• Mark Harmon as Jack Black, a radio psychiatrist and father of Ashley and Joshua.
• Joshua Jackson as Joshua Black, Ashley's older brother and Jack's son.
• Harley Jane Kozak as Dr. Wanda Bell, a psychiatrist like Jack who is trying to aid local people.
• Sarah Wayne as Ashley Black, Joshua's younger sister and Jack's daughter.
• Willie Nark-Orn as Hiro, a Japanese kid who is the son of monster seekers.
• Adrien Dorval as Wright Hardy, Mack's right-armed henchman.
• Mark Acheson as Lefty Hardy, Mack's left-armed henchman.
• Anthony Towe as Taka, a businessman who is dumping illegal toxic waste into Orky's lake.
• Morris Panych as Mack Miller, Taka's corrupt business assistant
• John Procaccino as Frank, Wanda's patient who witnessed the possession of Orky.
• Tom Cavanagh as Simon, Wanda's patient.

Reception

Magic in the Water received generally negative from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 21% based on 24 reviews.[2]

Critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book that "All the magic must be in the water; there's certainly none on the screen. Routine family film feels like recycled Spielberg."[3] Roger Ebert criticized the film's special effects, describing the creature Orky as an "ashen Barney". He also notes that Orky barely appears in the film at all.[4]

At the 16th Genie Awards, the film won for cinematography and sound.

See also

• Loch Ness (1996)
• Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (2005)
• The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)

Remake

In September 2022, it was announced that TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing would produce a remake of the film. The film is expected to be directed by Frank Marshall and a screenplay would be written by Marshall and Joshua Grullard, and starring Tom Cruise as the main role of Jack, alongside Kingston Foster and Joshua Grullard. A new character for the remake, Becky, is the daughter of the Canadian monster seekers and Joshua's love interest.

References

External links

• Magic in the Water at IMDb
• Magic in the Water at Box Office Mojo

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