Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (also known simply as Mee-Shee) is a British-German family film shot in New Zealand in 2002 and released in 2005. It stars Bruce Greenwood, Rena Owen, Tom Jackson and Daniel Magder. The film is based on the Canadian folklore water monster, known as the Ogopogo. This folklore started with Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and while the film was in production complaints from one Aboriginal chief about cultural appropriation caused the film and its title monster to be renamed "Mee-Shee". These complaints and the renaming drew media attention and generated controversy. The film itself received some good reviews. Some critics praised the performances, although evaluations of the special effects were mixed. In Canada, Mee-Shee was only released on DVD and never played in theatres.
Plot A U.S. oil company loses a drill, intended to do work in the Arctic while flying over a Canadian lake. Company employee Sean is contacted to go to Canada to find it; however, he has to cancel plans to take his son to Walt Disney World. Although his son, Mac, is disappointed, he agrees to go with his father to Canada. Once in Canada, they meet a local native named Custer who helps Sean and another employee on their mission. They visit the lake using a submarine, and after taking pictures of the bottom of the lake discover incredibly deep giant rivers. The legend of Mee-Shee says that the rivers lead to the ocean. Sean and Mac rent the home of Mrs. Coogan, a kindly lady whom Sean refers to as "Mary Poppins". Mac, Sean, and others see vague images of Mee-Shee that spark their curiosity. Upon meeting Custer's daughter Pawnee, Mac goes with her to a cave where local native woman "Crazy Norma" feeds Mee-Shee. This is where they first meet the unique creature. Mac runs back to the house to tell his father, but Mrs. Coogan warns that Mee-Shee's life could be endangered if the outside world knew of it. Meanwhile, saboteurs Snead and Watkins, agents of a rival oil company who pose as Greenpeace representatives, destroy Sean's equipment and search for the drill themselves. Their first time under the water, they see Mee-Shee and shoot him with a harpoon. When Mac finds him again in the cave he removes the harpoon and tells environmental ranger Laura about it. Events lead to a search for Mee-Shee and conflicts with the saboteurs. The saboteurs capture Mee-Shee and attempt to kill him, but an even larger Mee-Shee appears, meaning that the one in the net is a baby and the larger one is an adult. Enraged, the mother attacks the saboteurs and kills them. Out of gratitude, the baby Mee-Shee retrieves the drill but they decide that they don't want it and throw it back. All of a sudden, eight more members of Mee-Shee's family appear out of the water, both old and young (showing that there's more than one).
Production
Background According to regional folklore, the Ogopogo is a creature that lives in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. It has been compared to the Loch Ness Monster, another supposed water creature in Scotland, or with a plesiosaur. Aboriginal peoples have claimed that belief in the Ogopogo is a part of their culture, although they called it Niataka or N'ha-aitk, and the name "Ogopogo" was invented by a board of trade in 1926. The folklore has also been commercialized, inspired merchandise, and drew tourism for the Okanagan. With this commercialization, one reporter found it natural that the Ogopogo would also inspire a film, saying that "Eventually movie makers were bound to sit up and take notice, and movie makers did". Canadian screenwriter Barry Authors wrote the screenplay for Mee-Shee after reading about the Ogopogo in a magazine. It was written in 1996, and originally entitled Loch, a Scottish Gaelic word for "lake", but not filmed until six years later. Authors resided in Britain at the time but eventually opted for a more Canadian feel and renamed his work Ogopogo. Authors also wanted to portray his film as a "showcase for Canadian talent and storytelling" and "a cross between Free Willy and E.T.".
Filming The film version was directed by John Henderson, who had previously directed Loch Ness (1996) about similar folklore in Scotland. They first made plans to film the story on Okanagan Lake, the rumoured domain of the Ogopogo, but had troubles with the scenery and relocated to Lake Winnipeg. US actress Whoopi Goldberg was initially going to play a Native Canadian, which would require makeup since Goldberg is a US black woman. However, due to concerns that Lake Manitoba might experience a winter, the project was moved to New Zealand. Goldberg was unwilling to travel there and left the project. Authors' son Jeff Authors, who had worked on the White Fang TV show, had suggested New Zealand, saying "New Zealand can double for Canada. Not only is it beautiful, but it looks just like Canada in all the remote spots you want, and you'll probably find a more remote lake there". The creature itself was created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop using both CGI and puppetry and modeled after the late US actor Walter Matthau. The film cost $40 million. The filming in New Zealand took place on Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown in 2002. Authors remarked it was nice to work in New Zealand because "The crews were very, very keen to do anything that was required... New Zealand had just done Lord of the Rings, and they had a taste of major motion pictures". Other filming was done in England with a water tank, and the computer work was carried out in England between 2003 and 2004.
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