Key Details
- Director: Chris Williams
- Animation Studio: Netflix Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Country of Origin: United States of America
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 8 July 2022 (On Netflix)
- Trailer: Click here
Introduction
Yarr, fellow explorers! Blaziker here, and it is time we set off for yet another animation adventure, and this time, we are setting sail to the seven seas to find our next animated movie. That’s right, we’re catching The Sea Beast!
Directed by Disney veteran and director of Disney hits like Big Hero 6 and Moana, and animated by Netflix Animation (with help from Sony Pictures Imageworks), it stars Karl Urban as Jacob Holland, a crew member on the monster hunting ship “The Inevitable”, led by Captain Crow (Jared Harris). The ship specialises in regular voyages to the seas to hunt sea monsters, but one day, as they prepare to catch a terrifying red beast as a competition against the royalty, a young girl named Maisie (voiced by Zaris-Angel Harter) stows onto the ship and the hunt for that red beast went awry, Jacob and Maisie found themselves stranded on an island, presumed by Crow and the rest of the crew to be dead as the competition between Crow and the royalty continues with the duo.
With Netflix’s reputation as an animation powerhouse in tatters, will The Sea Beast be a great catch that Netflix desperately needed, or will it be Netflix’s turn to sink below to Davy Jones’ locker as they lose ground on the animation streaming market for good?
The Review
Story and Characters
First off, regarding the story and writing, given that The Sea Beast centres around sea monster hunting during the old times, it is pivotal for the creators to execute the world-building to the T and to say they delivered would be an understatement.
Having built the worlds of San Fransokyo in Big Hero 6 and the Pacific Island of Motunui, directors Chris Williams put his past Disney experience to good use and created a sea-faring world that is grand in scale. From the seaside-based island of Three Bridges with stark contrasts between the royalty and the commoners, to the legacy and adventures of Captain Crow and his crew at “The Inevitable” and the distinct personality of each island we venture to. There was something exciting about every part of the movie, but with style, the movie also covers substance. Every part of the adventure has purpose, and it all crescendos at the finale, which may be one of the best animated movie endings of the year so far.
Speaking of the story, the writing covers an extensive amount of lore, but the delivery cuts down on the exposition and focused on the action in key scenes, only adding the exposition and lore at key moments. Sure, there are some predictable moments in the movie, but the writing checks all the boxes when needed, and did not step beyond what it has accomplished. The comedy, while subtle, acts as a breather from the tension throughout the movie between Jacob and Maisie, and then Jacob and Crow.
As for the characters, when talking about character dynamics, particularly between Jacob and Maisie, and Jacob and Crow, the writers nailed their motivations and beliefs, and develop these main and supporting characters well enough that makes them unique and dynamic.
Jacob is an experienced sea monster hunter, raised by Crow as a child, and knows it all, until the innocence, kindness and bravery of Maisie (plus her perception towards the monsters and the stories she grew up with), even if he does not want to be with her, changed him for the better. As for Crow, his backstory and relationship towards Jacob, as well as the legacy of his bloodline, plays as a well-developed contrast to Jacob and Maisie’s personality, which cumulated in a final act where their personalities clash in an epic last duel.
Animation
Talking about the animation, since this is about a sea monster-hunting ship and crew, we expect the animation to be top-notch. Coming off the disgusting, uncanny and unfinished animation witnessed in Netflix’s previous animated movie before this (Marmaduke), Netflix needed to hit it out of the park with The Sea Beast.
Again, they destroyed the high bar of expectations viewers expected.
The setting of the movie, from the seas to the contrast between the rich and the poor in Three Bridges and the surroundings, The Sea Beast has their background animation to the T. Every scene felt like it came out of a well-designed storybook, because the animation is one of the most beautiful-looking movies of the year. Everything about the looks of the movie, from the detailing of “The Inevitable”, to the contrasting designs between the royalty and the commoners and of course, the designs of the various monsters inside the movie, whether it be Red Blister, or the cute little Blue.
There is something else that I witnessed in the movie that I feel more animated movies is the scale and proportion of the elements in the movie. There are a lot of scenes where the gigantic scale of the sea monsters come to play with the human characters looking tiny. This was especially the scene during one of the opening scenes between Crow and a monster “The Invincible” was hunting. This may be one of the best animated movie scenes of 2022 so far.
The movements of the animation from both the humans and the monsters felt dynamic and realistic, and the climatic scene in the movie felt like something straight out of a live-action duel. It goes to show that it is possible to blend stylised animation with some realism animation, something I thought would never happen in a mainstream animated movie. I am glad this angle of animation is possible.
One more thing before we move to the Special Sauce segment, and it is the excellent usage of dark-coloured skin tones between Maisie and the second-in-command of “The Inevitable”, the pegged-leg Sarah Sharpe. Having diverse representation in a movie is a bonus, but to see this movie pulling of two different dark tones with poise is a bonus of the already excellent animation and design.
Special Sauce
And with that, the special sauces The Sea Beast possesses:
- Sound mixing: I found out that the sound of the movie has two different forms: one in Dolby Digital and one in Dolby Atmos. Indeed, when I watched the movie on Dolby Atmos (since I’m using a Samsung phone with Dolby Atmos on during my second viewing), the movie felt atmospheric and sucked me into the world of The Sea Beast. I really wanted a bit more impact with the sound mixing, but apart from that, the sound mixing does the job.
- Soundtrack: Milan Records (the same music label who worked on the soundtracks for various dramas, including the highly acclaimed HBO drama “Succession” and Netflix’s “The Witcher”) worked on the soundtrack, and they, as usual, got the pirate-themed score just right. Paired with the Dolby Atmos, it is a good homage to the score of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack that is iconic to this day.
- Free Marketing: Netflix, as per usual, did little to promote the movie, but thanks to awareness from the social media sites and animation websites, the community band together to promote the movie as much as possible so that ordinary onlookers notice this movie’s existence. Director Chris Williams appreciated the amount of viral marketing for his movie and was respectful towards their feedback.
Conclusion
It is such a shame that even with their backs against the wall, Netflix did little to promote the movie. However, the constant word-of-mouth from the community ensured viewers get the chance to watch yet another fantastic animated movie from Netflix.
The Sea Beast is the desperate shot in the arm Netflix needed to stay in the animation game. Such a gorgeous-looking animated movie, with amazing monster action and world-building, complex character dynamics that play well with each other and an ending that is worth seeing this movie alone. This movie also holds many themes that hold very well from start to end, and the score is swash-buckling good. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this epic voyage of a lifetime.
Well, that is all from me and coming up, we’re heading off to the wild, wild west to a town not resided by cowboys, but by cat samurais. It is an animated movie that is years in the making, so stay tuned for my review of Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. I will see you on the next adventure and until then, k thanks bye!
Rating
- Story and characters: 5/5
- Animation: 5/5
- Special sauce: 5/5
- Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
