Gallant Captain, The (DVD)

The Gallant Captain is about a little boy facing up to one of life's big challenges: dealing with the loss of a loved one – in Will's case his father, a sailor lost at sea.

Will sets out on an imaginary journey to retrace his father's last voyage, taking with him his beloved Cat as first mate and a precious talisman: a ship-in-a-bottle that his father made.

Storm clouds soon gather and a vast, brooding pirate ship appears – the embodiment of Will's grief. Initially daunted, our brave lad rises to the challenge and sends the pirate ship to the bottom – victory! But a bigger test lies in store. Back in the real world his little boat is sinking …

As he labours vainly to bail out the boat, his father's bottle-ship slips out of his pocket, over the side of the dingy and begins to float away. He reaches out, desperate not to lose it, but Cat is meowing pitifully as the dingy begins to go down – she is terrified. Will must make a decision.

He lets the bottle-ship go and sets about saving Cat, every bit the Gallant Captain.

It turns out the water is only knee-deep (the reality of one's fears often turns out to be manageable despite perceived hopelessness) and Will and Cat both end up back on the pier, bedraggled and a little crestfallen though unquestionably relieved to be together and alive.

But something has changed. Will, in his moment of trial, has chosen to let go of the past and deal with the present. Now, as he and Cat look out from the end of the pier, taking in their bittersweet adventure, we see the bottle-ship bobbing away into the sunset. As Will watches, the bottle dissolves, and the fond memory of his father sails off into a golden past, leaving Will free to look to the future.