Ring of Bright Water

Absolutely one of the films that defined a generation - Ring Of Bright Water was a huge success worldwide and is considered by many to be the best animal film.

The true story of a divorced insurance actuary who trades London and the 9-5 for Scotland because he bought an otter from a pet shop is simply brilliant. Based on Gavin Maxwell's excellent autobiography it translated very successfully to film.

Director Jack Couffer already a long career making classic animal films for Disney and had obviously never heard W C Field's famous line about never working with animals of children...here he adapted to a British sensibility and we end up with a film that is not sappy but rather genuinely magic. The cinematography by Walter Suschitsky is outstanding. Suschitsky went on to film the original Get Carter (....And not a lot of people know that ) The humans are great, but the otter (and other wildlife: the geese!) are truly amazing and lift this from ordinary to extraordinary. Maxwell actually bought the otter back from Iraq and it was discovered to be new subspecies which named by the London Zoological Society in his honour Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli.

If you vaguely remember seeing this first time round you'll definitely want to see it again, if you haven't I promise you'll see something you won't easily forget - it is charming in the best sense with Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna at their understated British best. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking: it is the otter and the beautiful settings that you'll remember.

One of our favourites ever.

I saw this movie at five and have never forgotten it. I thought the otter's name was "mitch" and had no clue what the movie title was, but I managed, after renting four or five otter movies to find it again. I found it just as memorable the over 3 decades later. The scenery is quite amazing. The movie is a great snapshot of 1960's England. I did find the sound to be low; the narrator's speaks so softly it is hard to hear him sometimes.

You can judge the ending from other posts, but at 5 years old I was totally devastated. I have no idea why children's movies tend to be so traumatic.

I was surprised to see that the main characters were the same two actors in Born Free.

I saw this in grade school with our entire school in our hall. Although the movie is a delight for the most part especially falling in love with Mij. However, I'm 56 years old and have never rewatched this film or showed it to my kids when they were small. I must have been 8 and was deeply affected by the ending of this movie.

Like other reviewers, I first saw this film when I was a child. I was totally absorbed by the story and the antics of Mij the otter. I saw it again on video recently and it had lost none of it's charm. I remember the stunning cinematography of the wild country where it was filmed,best seen on a true big screen. Bill Travers and Virginnia McKenna ( Born Free - An Elephant called Slowly ) are well cast as Mij's friends. Any child with an interest in animals will enjoy this film , but there is enough adult interest to make it fun for all. The ending may seem somewhat brutal/bitterwseet ( although not shown in graphic detail ) but we often underestimate childrens abilities to understand what is happening around them and as I recall being a child when I saw it, the film was more memorable because it had a gritty ending and not a "warm fuzzy" throw away end. Enjoy !

Ring of Bright Water is a truly wonderful film. This story of an englishman and his otter reminded me of a wonderful childhood oddessey I experienced myself. On a waterborne journey along the british columbia coast we stopped at a fjord that had a house very much like that of Graham Merrill's. They themselves must have been great fans of Gavin Maxwell's book as they too had a free ranging pet otter. It was astonishing and wonderful to swim with one of these little mammals. I hadnt heard much about the film before I watched it so it was a wonderful surprise. I'd heartily recommend it for children and adults. It has some suprisingly realistic scenes but nothing that a child wouldnt understand. It is a very touching story. I plan on listening to the audiobook of the book the film was based upon immediately.