The Water Babies (AKA Slip Slide Adventures) was a 1978 partially animated film directed by Lionel Jeffries based upon the children's book by Charles Kingsley. The film was unusual in it's interspersed scenes of animation and live action. More than half of the film takes place underwater and is represented by animation, while all the scenes taken above the water use traditional camera and film media.

The Water Babies broke a lot of ground in terms of what could be done in a western children's film. Perhaps the most important element was that suicide was seen by the main character as an acceptable solution to a problem after he had weighed all options. It is unlikely this will be repeated in modern western children's entertainment so that in many ways Water Babies has entered the tracts of cult film.

The film centers around a young boy by the name of Tom, apprenticed to the cruel taskmaster Mr. Grimes and his lackey Masterman. While the three are ostensibly chimney sweeps they actually make their living stealing. Tom resents what he is being forced to do but is powerless against the violent Mr. Grimes, who in one of the opening scenes drags him through the town pummeling him with savage blows. Tom is followed around everywhere by his small terrier, Tobby.

Grimes takes the group to clean the chimneys of a local manor. He forces Tom to climb one of the chimneys up to the roof, as was usual among chimney sweeps in the 1850s. When Tom has to come down again he accidently picks the wrong chimney and emerges in one of the bedrooms of the manor. At first Tom is thunderstruck by the room, which is cleaner than any he has ever seen. Bumbling around he wakes up the occupant of the room, the daughter of the lord of the manor, Ellie, who is roughly his age.

As he stumbles backwards out of the door he notices Grimes on the landing putting several objects into a sack. The girl pursues Tom out onto the landing and also notices what is going on. Seeing that he has been spotted Mr. Grimes throws the sack at Tom and lets out a cry that he is stealing. Startled Tom makes a run for it and is soon pursued by all able hands in the manor, including Grimes and Masterman.

At last he comes to the end of a path above a pool. There is no other way around and the pursuers are almost upon him. Cursing his foul luck Tom decides to put an end to things once and for all and leaps into the pool intending to drown himself. The chasers come up to the edge of the pool but Tom does not resurface. The gameskeeper morosely comments about the poetic irony of Dead Mans Pool and they depart back for the manor.

Tom now finds himself underwater, and animated very badly to boot. He is at first at a loss as to how to move around in this strange new underwater world. A passing fish and his wife approach and begin the first of many songs, whose aim is to encourage him to "come on try" to swim. Tom fails to notice that the fish's voice and that of his wife are exactly the same as the voices of the lord of the manor and his wife.

When a group of passing weasels attacks, the fish flee. Tom manages to capture one of the weasels, who reluctantly tells him that if he wants to return to the surface he must seek out the Cracken, a being of great power. The only ones who can tell him exactly where the Cracken can be found are the Water Babies that live in the heart of the ocean. Tom and Tobby set out towards the sea.

Swimming along the two encounter a lobster with it's claw trapped in a lobster pot. The creature begs them to help it, gradually becoming more and more panicked as the chain connected to the lobster pot begins to be pulled at from a ship above. Tom frees the lobster, and the crustacean begins singing a strange song that basically explains what the cryptic phrase "high cockalorum" means to him. Apparently this phrase is very important and means different things to different people. The lobster quickly teaches Tom the chorus and they swim off singing it.

Further into the ocean the two come across a shipwreck. From within ghostly moans are heard and the lobster is sure it is haunted. However it turns out only to be a dour seahorse, who immediately proceeds to sing about what the mysterious phrase "high cockalorum" means to him, at great length. Having nothing better to do, the seahorse decides to accompany them to the Cracken and the Water Babies.

While passing through a forest of what look like grapefruits (they were probably supposed to be giant sea anemones or something) the walls start to close in on the characters. They are saved by a passing swordfish - a decidedly French swordfish. He explains that the grapefruits belong to the evil shark king, who enslaves those caught within. Then without further delay this fish launches into his own version of "high cockalorum" and what it means to him. Having finished he decides to accompany them to the Water Babies; who live nearby.

The group enter a long tunnel and swim forward. In the murky distance the face of Ellie materializes for a few seconds and then disappears. I suppose this was done to illustrate Tom's greatest wish and reason for wanting to return, though why he should want to return to this girl who he barely exchanged half a word with is hard to explain.

They emerge into a vast underwater playground. Little children are swimming everywhere singing one of the more infectious songs of the film that is guaranteed to echo on in the viewers head for years after, if not decades. Tom finds to his astonishment that he knows all their names, but fails to notice that one of the them has the same voice as Ellie and is even animated to look like her. The Water Babies offer the group beds in one of their mushroom houses and they go to sleep for the night.

They are awakened by the Water Baby who looks remarkably like Ellie, who tells them frantically that the others have been tempted down a nearby tunnel (that had a big "keep out" sign next to the entrance) by a strange light and enslaved by the shark king and his eel servant. Tom and the others go down the tunnel to seek the aid of the Cracken and rescue them.

On the way down the tunnel they run into a ladder leading upwards to the domain of the Cracken. The ladder leads above the water onto an ice pocket in some glacier. The other creatures cannot breath air and Tom and Tobby must proceed alone. They meet up with a polar bear and a walrus, both of whom are intent on stopping them from meeting the Cracken because he is a "very busy" person. Tom outsmarts the two and runs into an elevator that takes him to the Cracken's chambers.

Emerging on a vast dark expanse Tom is confronted by a huge glass ball that rolls in front of him. The mighty voice of the Cracken echoes around, telling him that it is known by many names - among them Neptune: God of the Sea and Poseidon. The Cracken asks Tom why he has come and is flabberghasted when Tom says he has come to ask two things. The Cracken tells him he may have only one. If he makes the right choice both wishes will effectively be his, but if he makes the wrong choice he will remain in the underwater realm forever.

The Cracken shows him two images in the glass ball. One image is of the Water Babies being herded by sharkmen towards Shark Castle. The second image is of Ellie with dramatic flowing hair. Tom has some trouble making up his mind, but finally decides that friends come before personal concerns and tells the Cracken to free the Water Babies.

The Cracken bluntly refuses. He tells Tom that he must free the Water Babies himself, though he may make use of the friends he has made along the way. Tom morosely departs.

Together with the polar bear, the walrus, the lobster, the seahorse, and the swordfish he holds a council of war. They launch an attack on the castle, during which Tom fails to notice that the shark king has the same voice as Mr. Grimes and that the eel has the same voice as Masterman.

The battle won and the Water Babies freed the group get together with some penguins for a friendly singalong of "high cockalorum," with the polar bear and walrus discoursing on what it means to them. Following the musical the Cracken appears and tells Tom he has made the right choice in deciding to free the Water Babies. He has thus received both wishes and can return to the surface world. Before he leaves, Tom demands a literal translation of "high cockalorum," to which the seahorse replies that it means "keep your chimney clean." With this rather unsatisfactory explanation Tom leaves.

Holding Tobby in his arms he surfaces soaking wet in the center of the lake. A few short steps take him to land. He makes his way through the forest, intent on getting back to the manor and turning himself in but fate intervenes. Mr. Grimes grabs him and roughly drags him to a small shack in the woods where Masterman is waiting. They feed him a strip of leathery meat and tell him they plan to break into the manor that night. Grimes wants Tom to climb in through a small window and open the front door for them.

That night they sneak up to the manor. Tom goes in through an upstairs window and upsets a trolley full of silver, but it doesn't seem to disturb anyone. Descending the stairs he opens the front door and then ascends again with Grimes and Masterman behind him. Desperate for some way to stop them he grabs a heavy suit of armor and cries aloud the magic words he has learned, "high cockalorum!" This strange incantation seems to give him superhuman strength and he easily flings the armor down upon the two. The shout also wakens the houshold who come out armed with rifles.

At this point Ellie comes to Tom's rescue by relating what took place earlier. The two thieves are arrested and Tom is adopted by the household. A dinner is held in his honor and many important people are invited.

At the dinner a toast is called, following which Tom is asked to relate just how he survived Dead Man's Pool. Tom begins to talk about what happened to him underwater and the friends he met, but the adults scoff at this and begin mumbling about how he "must have hit his head." Miserable that no one will believe him Tom runs out of the house.

He goes down to a little pond in the front lawn and gazes sadly into it. In the water his friends appear and say their final farewells. Turning Tom sees Ellie who has run out after him. She tells him that she too has seen the creatures in the water and now knows that his story was true. At the entrance to the house the old housekeeper smiles as she watches the two by the pond.

Trivia:

- It is strongly implied throughout the film that the old housekeeper is some kind of witch who causes Tom to go through his underwater adventures. She perhaps does this to build up his character for his eventual inevitable encounter with Grimes back on land.

- All the characters from the land are turned into representations of themselves in Tom's underwater world.

- The Water Babies aired in Israel in 1983, subtitled in Hebrew. Israel was also the last country in the world to air the film, in 1995, something which mirrors what happened with Tripods.

- A close look at the cast and crew reveals some unusual facts. Almost every one of the actors is dead or retired despite their superb performances in the film, and an actor by the name of Jon Pertwee starred in this film, perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of the Dr. in the BBC sci-fi series Dr. Who.

- In 1981 Edward Scaiffe won an award at the Fantafestival for Best Cinematography on this film.

- The Water Babies is now available for $10 from Amazon thanks to a recent decision to bundle it with a number of other animated features. Who knows when and if it will ever be available again after this release ends.

Cast and Crew:
Mr. Grimes - James Mason
Masterman - Bernard Cribbins
Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby - Billie Whitelaw
Lady Harriet - Joan Greenwood
Sir John - David Tomlinson
Tom - Tommy Pender
Ellie - Samantha Gates
Sladd - Paul Luty
uncredited - Jon Pertwee
uncredited - Olive Gregg
uncredited - Lance Percival
uncredited - David Jason
uncredited - Cass Allan
uncredited - Liz Proud
uncredited - Una Stubbs
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Directed -Lionel Jeffries
Writing credits - Charles Kingsley (book) and Michael Robson
Produced -Ben Arbeid and Peter Shaw (III)
Original Music and Songs -Phil Coulter and Bill Martin (III)
Cinematography -Edward Scaiffe
Film Editing -Peter Weatherley
Art Direction -Herbert Westbrook
Costume Design -Phyllis Dalton
Makeup Department:
Hair Stylist - Bobbie Smith
Production Management:
Production Supervisor - Bruce Sharman
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director:
Assistant Director - Ray Frift
Art Department:
Construction Manager - Albert Blackshaw
Property Master - Tommy Ibbetson
Set Dresser - Jack Stephens (I)
Sound Department:
Sound Recordist - Cyril Collick
Sound Editor - Mike Le Mare and Jim Shields (I)
Sound Recordist - Otto Snel
Other Crew:
Wardrobe Supervisor - Betty Adamson
Animation Editor - Brian Bishop (I)
Supervising Designer and Animation Director - Tony Cuthbert
Continuity - Penny Daniels (II)
Assistant Animation Director - Leszek Galewicz
Camera Operator - Neil Gemmell (I)
Location Manager - Philip Kohler
Additional Animation Dialogue - Denis Norden
Chief Electrician - Albert Reuben
Storyboard and Animation Director - Jack Stokes
Animation Effects Camera Operator - Roy Turk (II)

Credits taken from IMDB, availability information taken from Amazon.

A wonderful Victorian children's story, as popular once as The Wizard of Oz in the 20th century, or Harry Potter is now. It tells of a child chimney sweep named Tom who is employed by a terrible man named Grimes. Tom falls down a chimney and meets a girl whose cleanliness and neatness make Tom realize, for the first time, his own filth. After being chased out of the house, he falls into a river and is magically transformed into a "water baby", a gilled creature only four inches long.

The book evokes Alice in Wonderland and Oliver Twist, and it has a scientific twist that separates it from other children's literature.

Young readers did not realize that the book, written in 1862-3 by a preacher named Reverend Charles Kingsley, had been intended in part as a satire of Darwinian science and as a serious critique of the closed-minded approaches of many scientists.

In the book, for example, Kingsley argues that no person is qualified to say that something that they have never seen (like a human soul or a water baby) does not exist.

How do you know that? Have you been there to see? And if you had been there to see, and had seen none, that would not prove that there were none . . . And no one has a right to say that no water babies exist till they have seen no water babies existing, which is quite a different thing, mind, from not seeing water babies.

Kingsley was a proponent of the theory of degeneration, the notion that evolution does not necessarily imply progress. (He is entirely correct about this, no modern scholar of the subject would suggest that new species are better than old ones, merely that they were able to out-compete them under prevailing conditions.) In The Water Babies, Kingsley tells of a group of children who do "whatever they like" and gradually lose the power of speech. They degenerate into monkeys are are shot by the African explorer Paul de Chaillu.

The Water Babies at various times refers to "Sir Roderick Murchison, Professor [Richard] Owen, Professor [Thomas Henry] Huxley, [and] Mr. Darwin", and thus they become explicitly part of the story. In the accompanying illustrations by Noel Paton, Huxley and Owen are caricatured, studying a captured water baby.

Delightfully, in 1892 Thomas Henry Huxley's five-year-old grandson Julian saw this engraving and wrote his grandfather a letter asking

Dear Grandpater -- Have you seen a Waterbaby? Did you put it in a bottle? Did it wonder if it could get out? Could I see it some day? -- Your loving Julian.

Huxley wrote back a letter that is, to me, as wonderful as the New York Sun's "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" letter, which it somewhat resembles. It is a blessing from a great scientist to a young boy whom he hopes will some day be a scientist too.

My dear Julian -- I could never make sure about that Water Baby.

I have seen Babies in water and Babies in bottles; the Baby in the water was not in a bottle and the Baby in the bottle was not in water.

My friend who wrote the story of the Water Baby was a very kind man and very clever. Perhaps he thought I could see as much in the water as he did -- There are some people who see a great deal and some who see very little in the same things.

When you grow up I dare say you will be one of the great-deal seers, and see things more wonderful than the Water Babies where other folks can see nothing.

Julian Huxley did go on to be a scientist. In the 1940s, he was a driving force behind the development of the synthetic theory of evolution.

Richard Milner points out that Julian's early scientific work involved the axolotl, an animal that never matures past its gilled stage. It is therefore a real-life vision of Kingsley's imagined Water Babies.

The book does not hide merely scientific messages; it also questions the morality of enforced child labor and the treatment of the poor in England.

The Water Babies is too long to include here in its entirety, but I have printed the first paragraph. The text is out of copyright and you can find it at http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/30/991/frameset.html and many other websites.

Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep, and his name was Tom. That is a short name, and you have heard it before, so you will not have much trouble in remembering it. He lived in a great town in the North country, where there were plenty of chimneys to sweep, and plenty of money for Tom to earn and his master to spend. He could not read nor write, and did not care to do either; and he never washed himself, for there was no water up the court where he lived. He had never been taught to say his prayers. He never had heard of God, or of Christ, except in words which you never have heard, and which it would have been well if he had never heard. He cried half his time, and laughed the other half. He cried when he had to climb the dark flues, rubbing his poor knees and elbows raw; and when the soot got into his eyes, which it did every day in the week; and when his master beat him, which he did every day in the week; and when he had not enough to eat, which happened every day in the week likewise. And he laughed the other half of the day, when he was tossing halfpennies with the other boys, or playing leap-frog over the posts, or bowling stones at the horses' legs as they trotted by, which last was excellent fun, when there was a wall at hand behind which to hide. As for chimney-sweeping, and being hungry, and being beaten, he took all that for the way of the world, like the rain and snow and thunder, and stood manfully with his back to it till it was over, as his old donkey did to a hail- storm; and then shook his ears and was as jolly as ever; and thought of the fine times coming, when he would be a man, and a master sweep, and sit in the public-house with a quart of beer and a long pipe, and play cards for silver money, and wear velveteens and ankle-jacks, and keep a white bull-dog with one gray ear, and carry her puppies in his pocket, just like a man. And he would have apprentices, one, two, three, if he could. How he would bully them, and knock them about, just as his master did to him; and make them carry home the soot sacks, while he rode before them on his donkey, with a pipe in his mouth and a flower in his button-hole, like a king at the head of his army. Yes, there were good times coming; and, when his master let him have a pull at the leavings of his beer, Tom was the jolliest boy in the whole town.

Sources:
Richard Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution, 1990
Bibliomania (http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/30/991/frameset.html)