The Sea Beast – An Epic Animated Adventure (Early Review)

The kind of films that leave impressions with audiences for the most part are ones that create feelings of awe and appeal to audiences’ imagination, especially animated films. It’s all about having a moment or moments to remember long after the credits have rolled. That being said, this formula isn’t necessarily a secret as countless films and series since the beginning of time have attempted that formula with the most successful hitting it. As time has gone by, that success rate has consistently dropped but nevertheless, popular media keeps trying. While The Sea Beast is an animated film that may not reinvent the wheel by any means, it delivers an epic adventure despite being a touch too long. Despite being more befitting for a big screen experience (it admittedly did receive a limited theatrical run), it is nevertheless a streaming film courtesy of Netflix. Regardless of the platform where one may be watching the film, it is still one that is well worth the watch as it is more than likely to hit the right spot with the viewers that matter which are children. Older viewers maybe not so much.

The Sea Beast takes place in a world where the seas were rampant with larger-than-life monsters. Meanwhile, hunters of these monsters were viewed as heroes amongst the masses, sailing on reinforced vessels. This biggest one of those monster hunters was a man named Jacob Holland (Urban), the First Mate on an infamous monster hunting ship known as Inevitable, captained by Captain Crow (Harris). Despite being a successful monster hunting ship, monster hunters were still being phased out by the British government. However, the Inevitable and its crew are given one more chance when they are tasked by the government to track down a bright red creature given the moniker of the Red Bluster. Little did they know, they would not be alone as they were joined by a young stowaway named Maisie Brumble (Hator), an orphan of famed monster hunting parents with dreams of joining in their footsteps.

The film may deliver an epic adventure but The Sea Beast also excels as a coming-of-age story on the part of Maisie who comes into her own over the course of the film. Despite her young age and relative inexperience, she and Jacob form a bond that truly makes the film work as a fun watch. Her perspective in contrast with the mythology of the monsters and the history of the war between them and humans also made for a predictable arc and the messaging was obvious, however, the film’s forray into its world of monsters is awe-inducing. Boasting plenty of colorful fantastic monsters of many shapes and sizes, they were beautiful to look at while also offering plenty of personality. The dynamic between Jacob and Maisie was tested as the pair faced some adversity in trying to survive while finding themselves entrenched in the world of monsters from land and sea who maybe were not as vicious as they were made out to be. Prompting an existential crisis of sorts within Jacob as the universally agreed upon narrative about monsters established across history came under attack. Though that middle third of the film could easily have been trimmed down to cut down on its running time, these moments are sure to resonate with younger viewers regardless.

While the animation is stellar, as mentioned, in terms of human characters, monsters, environments, and action sequences, the best part of The Sea Beast was its performances. Urban and Hator as Jacob and Maisie were a delight to watch together and the supporting cast featuring the likes of Harris, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dan Stevens, and Kathy Burke helped round out the world nicely. What ultimately ties it all together is a strong script that balances heavy themes with heart.

At the end of the day, The Sea Beast is a winner and a nice surprise that carves out its own spot in the crowded animated genre.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.