The Water Babies 1978

Tom [Tommy Pender] is a 12-year-old orphan living in York in the mid-19th century. He is taken under the wing of Grimes, a roguish chimney sweep [James Mason] who sees in him a chance to climb into the chimneys and make a living. One day, they leave town and head for Harthover Hall, a vast country house set in expansive grounds. Grimes rides a donkey while Tom and Grimes’ assistant Masterman [Bernard Cribbins] walk alongside.

At the house, Tom gets lost in a maze of chimneys and appears in a young girl’s bedroom, Elly [Samantha Gates]. Meanwhile, Grimes is passing silverware out of the windows to Masterman. When discovered by the housekeeper, Grimes blames the crime on Tom, who makes a run for it with his dog Toby. They are pursued across the estate and end up at Dead Man’s Pool, a deep pool in a fast-flowing river. Although the young girl protests his innocence, Tom jumps in with the dog.

The film then shifts into a fantasy animation of speaking sea-creatures. Here he must help rescue his new friends, the Water Babies, from enslavement by sharks. This section includes multiple musical sequences, featuring Jock the Scottish lobster, Terence the English seahorse, and Claude the French swordfish. The story moves to a cave in Antarctica where they join forces with Cyril the Walrus, a group of polar bears, and a flock of penguins; they also encounter the sea king Kraken, known to many as Neptune and Poseidon.

In the end, Kraken returns Tom and Toby to their world for self-sacrificing for others instead of choosing their own needs. Back on their world, Tom proves his innocence and helps capture Grimes. He is then adopted by the family who had sheltered the young girl.