Movie Review: The Sea Beast

Going all the way back to 1998, Chris Williams has had at least a hand in the creation of some of the most memorable animated features that Disney Studios released, most notably as the writer and/or director of The Emperor’s New Groove, Bolt, Big Hero 6, and Moana. His most recent project though sees him leaving the House of Mouse for Netflix and the end result is easily one of the year’s best animated films.

In the Kingdom of Three Bridges, sea monsters once roamed the coasts, frequently emerging to snatch innocent people from the land until groups of sailors began hunting them down, thereby reducing their numbers. Perhaps the best known of the ships is The Inevitable, helmed by Captain Crow (Jared Harris), along with his adopted son Jacob Holland (Karl Urban) and first mate Sarah Sharpe (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). While chasing after the elusive Red Bluster, they find themselves honorbound to abandon their chase and rescue a fellow hunter ship that’s losing a battle with another creature and find themselves in a perilous fight that nearly kills Crow.

Faced with his own mortality, Crow tells Jacob that he intends to hand control of The Inevitable to him once they finally catch the Red Bluster, and they sail home for repairs. In Three Bridges, the King (Jim Carter) and Queen (Doon Mackichan) inform them that they will no longer back the hunters’ ships and have instead commissioned a massive new vessel of their own, to be led by Admiral Hornagold (Dan Stevens). Crow is incensed by this but is calmed down by Jacob who proposes a challenge in which whoever can capture the Red Bluster will be in charge of monster hunting. The King agrees and the hunt is on, with runaway orphan Maisie Brumble (Zaris-Angel Hator) sneaking her way on board.

It won’t take a genius to figure out where the story is headed, though it does take a few surprising turns on its way there. Some of the side characters seem like they had their roles cut down in editing, as they are barely utilized (why pay to have Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens set up as an antagonist and then give him barely a paragraph of dialog?). The main cast though are used excellently and Jacob and Maisie in particular make for a fun pair to spend time with. The animation is consistently gorgeous throughout, with some absolutely stunning sequences and textures that are indistinguishable from the real thing. I was honestly awed by how beautiful something as ordinary as the water looked several times while watching and the more fantastical moments were even more striking. The action sequences are all thrilling (perhaps a little too much so for the youngest potential viewers), and while they are cutened-up a bit the monsters are capable of projecting a suitable enough amount of menace to instill a little megalophobia. For those willing to take the plunge The Sea Beast is a blast with a good message about not judging others just because that’s the way it’s always been, and exactly the sort of swashbuckling, kaiju-packed adventure we need this Summer. ★★★★★