WHAT'S that Lassie? There's a boy trapped in the well? Yes, yes we all know the American version of Lassie the rescue dog. But what about the real Lassie the good old British rough collie from Eric Knight's classic novel Lassie Come Home?

She may be clever and exceptionally brave for a dog of this breed but rest assured there's not a daring rescue in sight.

Rather, this is a simple tale of a dog's love for her young master and vice versa.

Set in a Yorkshire mining town just before the outbreak of the Second World War, Lassie is owned by Joe, played beautifully by nine-year-old Jonathan Mason. Joe is a working-class lad whose dad scrapes a living in a coal mine.

When the mine closes, Joe's parents (John Lynch and Samantha Morton) sell Lassie to the Duke (Peter O'Toole) who takes her to Scotland. And it is here Lassie's adventure really begins.

Our furry heroine battles her way across the Highlands and around lochs to find her way back to Yorkshire in time for Christmas. She even makes one or two friends along the way.

Personally, I found the film to be a little too long there are only so many shots of a collie atop a rocky outcrop I can take and I love dogs!

But this doesn't mean the film's young target audience won't be enthralled. At the performance I saw, children whooped when wily Lassie outwits the bad guys and cried at poor Toots' demise to be honest, it wasn't only the children who had tears in their eyes at this point.

Still, there are in my view some scenes which do little to further the plot. The fox hiding in the mine shows us how caring Mr Carraclough is but we know this already. In American Lassie, the mine would have caved in and Lassie and her foxy friend would save the day alas, no such drama here.

Perhaps most parents prefer it this way.

Apart from this, the solid performances from the cast (both human and animal) make this into a pleasant enough family film.

Young Jonathan Mason is not at all irritating (as so many child actors can be), Peter O'Toole is suitably hammy and Peter Dinklage is a joy to watch despite a dodgy accent at times.

Lassie and pals including a certain loch-dwelling monster will keep young viewers entertained.

But older audience members may find themselves hankering after the Elizabeth Taylor version or The Incredible Journey the original film of course which are just a few paws ahead.