Not as successful as The Railway Children, which was actor Lionel Jeffries' first stab at directing, this still-charming story, adapted from Charles Kingsley's children's classic about the underwater adventures of a chimney sweep, is part-animated. The (Polish) animation is not particularly inspired, but the performances of James Mason and Bernard Cribbins and Billie Whitelaw provide compensation. Young children will be entertained but anyone over eight years may be less than gripped. On the whole, disappointing.

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