On the off chance that any readers, or even Corner writers, have children who are tugging at their arms, saying, “enough about politics, what about me? ” I want to put in a plug for The Waterhorse. I saw it last night with my nine and half year old daughter — and a theater full of parents and kids between, maybe, 6 and 12. It was everything you want in a children’s movie.

The plot is pretty similar to E.T. — but your 9 year old didn’t see that (in theaters, anyway). A lonely boy, with a busy and unhappy single mother finds an unusual creature, and … things happen — leading inevitably to big showdowns between nature and the forces of the adult world. In this case the mom is single because the dad has gone off to serve in WWII. And the Scottish backdrop is more romantic than L.A.. But the film captures core emotions perhaps even better than it does the special effects — which are great.

In the entire course of the movie, which kept the whole audience riveted, there was not one cringe-worthy or smarmy moment — which is more than can be said for any recent Disney movies. And if you are lucky, your child may actually want to know more about WWII.

Or you can turn the channel.