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This sounds kind of like Caravan of Courage. From what I remember in that one, there is a ceremony where each character is given a magical item, and the boy complains that he received only a rock, but there was no explanation given on how it would be useful. Later in the movie, the same boy is trapped under the surface of a magical pool of water, and one of the ewoks has to use a stick to get him out.
Edited by FerrousFaucet

Adventure movie where a group has to rescue someone. There is a ceremony were each character receives a magical item. One of the characters is mad because they only got a useless stick. The group sets off in the daytime. At some point during the adventure someone is stuck under water and only the useless stick can reach through the water and save the person trapped underwater.