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The Sea Beast

The Sea Beast

Disney veteran Chris Williams weighs anchor and invites us on a brisk sail of ambition and refreshingly folksy storytelling in Netflix's big summer effort.

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Animated films have certainly come a long way since Toy Story took its first tentative steps into the digital unknown, and Chris Williams' latest addition to the genre bears testament to this. From the first scene to the last, The Sea Beast is packed with what just a handful of years ago could be considered an animator's worst nightmare. Oceans of water, complex hairstyles and a cast almost entirely made up of human characters.

But with over twenty years of industry experience and box office hits such as Big Hero 6, Frozen and Moana behind him, Chris Williams confidently navigates the medium's perilous waters and brings this adventure sailing into port with plenty of treasures tucked away in the hull to admire. Beautiful animation, a compelling story and a rich cast of characters permeate this ambitious tale that is as much about the joy of discovery as it is about empathy and understanding.

The Sea Beast
The film can be really beautiful at times.
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The Sea Beast tells a familiar story with anti-colonial undertones, where people live in constant fear of the beasts that move beneath the waves and threaten the ever-expanding kingdom. For generations, the inhabitants have learned to hunt these beasts during perilous sailing trips on the rolling seas, with the most famous ship of all being The Inevitable manned by the legendary Captain Crow and his loyal crew.

The adventurous little girl Maisie Brumble has dreamed all her life of becoming part of the crew of The Inevitable and avenging her parents, who were killed during a hunt many years ago. She tries doggedly to convince Jacob Holland, a man Captain Crow regards as his own son, to take her aboard. Something he obviously refuses, but Masie is determined to become one of Crow's crewmen and smuggles herself aboard in a barrel.

The Sea Beast
Main characters Jacob and Masie.

Her presence is only discovered when the ship is far out at sea and, much to Jacob's chagrin, Crow decides to allow her to stay. But Maisie soon becomes aware of the horrors at sea and through a series of unfortunate circumstances, both she and Jacob are eaten alive and captured by the sea monster that the ship was sent to kill. Pretty soon, however, the two become aware that these great creatures are not at all particularly vicious, in fact quite the opposite.

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Slowly, a friendship begins to form between the three, who must now work together to stop Crow and The Inevitable, but also convince the rest of the world that the monsters are not dangerous at all and that the history of the kingdom is based on a lie. No the story is nothing we haven't already read or seen before and borrows several of its elements from Chris Sander's How to Train Your Dragon in particular. Something that ultimately also helps prevent The Sea Beast from reaching the height of its full potential.

The Sea Beast
The sea monsters are really mighty.

Which is a great pity, because there is a lot to enjoy in this adventurous sailing trip. Visually, it's impressive, and the salt-spattered ships cutting through the waves and the clashes with the monsters are exciting as well as entertaining. The dynamic between the two main characters, Masie and Jacob, is also consistently brilliant. They both have distinct and well-written personalities that interact well with each other even if the legacy of Disney is constantly making itself felt, for better or worse.

The Sea Beast, in fact, has a tendency to never really want or dare to go out on a limb and stand out from the crowd. Something that is mainly evident in its flawed portrayal of Captain Crow. In his role as the film's main antagonist, he is simply neither interesting nor charismatic enough to ever feel like a threat. The final showdown with him leaves much to be desired and feels both incomplete and ill-conceived. I get the feeling that Chris Williams could never quite decide who or what would actually be the film's big villain.

The Sea Beast
Design-wise, the characters leave a lot to be desired.

In addition, we have several minor threads in the film's script that are left hanging a bit strangely. Stories that are started but forgotten, characters that are introduced but relegated to the wings and the script would definitely have benefited from a little tightening up. Ambition is fine but not when it comes at the expense of everything else, and The Sea Beast with its nearly two hour running time feels a little too bloated and suffers as a result.

But when it comes down to it, despite its several obvious problems, Chris Williams' salty adventure is both magnificent, beautiful and engaging. It's straightforward, safe entertainment that works equally well for kids and adults as long as you can stomach its long running time, formulaic characters and somewhat predictable story. Definitely one of Netflix's better animated efforts and a pleasant surprise in the summer heat.

07 Gamereactor UK
7 / 10
overall score
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The Sea Beast

The Sea Beast

MOVIE REVIEW. Written by Marcus Persson

Disney veteran Chris Williams weighs anchor and invites us on a brisk sail of ambition and refreshingly folksy storytelling in Netflix's big summer effort.



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