Judy
It was very cute, I thought i was going to see the beast that is filmed in Africa, by mistake got the wrong ticket. If I had my grandson of 7, I would have enjoyed it more with him.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
09/04/22
Full Review
Jay W
"The Sea Beast" is a 2022 Netflix animated film. In the film, the sea is full of sea monsters and our main character, Jacob, is a "hunter", a pirate that specializes in killing sea beasts. The parts of the story that focus on Jacob and the other hunters is really engaging, exciting and unlike the typical animated film. I give this film credit that it feels like it earns that "PG" rating, the action is rightfully intense, and the characters have a decent edge to them. I particularly like the relationship between Jacob and Captain Crow. The captain is a good fleshed out multi-dimensional character. It would have been easy to make him the obvious captain Ahab obsessed about revenge character, but the movie does give him scenes to show that he legitimately cares about Jacob. If the movie was to just focus on these characters, we would have had a real great swash buckling adventure.
But then the movie adds in a few other elements. Some work, some don't. They introduce the other main character of the story, a young orphan named Maisie. Doing this does make the film seem a bit more like your typical kids' movie, making an orphan child the P. O. V. Character. That being said, Maisie is a fun character. She has spent her life reading the tales of the hunters and is always excited to participate in the adventure.
But the movie then adds on another element that is totally unnecessary. They add in a villain. Now don't get me wrong, a villain can be a great thing in an animated film. Heck, I have been wanting Disney to give us another great villain for years. But this film didn't need one. The King and Queen decide that hunters are lame, and they don't need them anymore. A snooty captain then claims he can kill sea beasts better than Captain Crow. So, a competition is proposed for who can kill the big red sea beast first. You could cut out this whole subplot from the movie and save yourself 10 minutes of runtime.
When the movie is a sort of Pirate/Moana story it is really good. When it becomes a discount "How to Train your Dragon" it becomes pretty standard stuff. The whole lesson about not judging others based on appearance or what people say about them is good. The problem is that same message has been done to death by dozens of other animated films. And what's worse, the movie tries to blame all prejudice in their world on a single person. The movie becomes very heavy handed towards the end. They had a great ending that visually showed their moral, but then the characters get up on a soapbox and tell the audience what the moral is. While at the same time passing the buck for all prejudice in the world onto one person.
There is also another storyline with Captain Crow that goes absolutely nowhere. Once again it could have been cut and nothing would have been missed. This movie is nearly 2 hours long, and it could have been trimmed down.
It may sound like I am being overly harsh on this movie. It is just that I really enjoyed the parts it did well, that is what makes the parts it falls short all the more frustrating. It is still a good movie I recommend you Sea it for yourself.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/01/24
Full Review
Wendy C
Weak storyline. Agenda shaming about history of whaling. Disappointing.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
11/24/24
Full Review
Nick R
A fun adventure flick with great animation and excellent voice acting.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
11/04/24
Full Review
Kyle M
There’s been a growing misconception, in a form of a double-edged sword, surrounding the animated medium for film. Production-wise, it’s about deliverance and fun connections with continuous passions of artistic opportune expressions. A palpable, admirable gesture felt when watching the product, however particular demographics would say otherwise: there’s underlying genericity in subtextual thematic messaging being rather told obviously as the story’s main prompt, thus the freestyle approach is mere eye candy to divert children. Certain animated classics remain enjoyable between nostalgic and entertaining extents, with attractive style becoming another factor right next to a compelling story with potential ambition injected in writing. It doesn’t apply as much as it used to, but it became a formula that led a lesser ratio of digitalized canvases to high acclaim and pleasant welcoming. Alas, more or less of those get underestimated and aren’t added onto watchlist radars unless further persuaded to realize that there could be probable enjoyment. Chris Williams, who has a creative hand across many Disney animation till his exit in 2018, seems to be knowledgably equipped when he helmed Oscar nominated “The Sea Beast”.
Canonically taken inspiration from the “Moby Dick” legend, then mimic those notable live-action feats that contains such battle against a monstrous encounter of nature (i.e., “Dead Man’s Chest” comes to knowledgeable mind). Another inspiration Williams took to jumpstart the narrative is treating the mythical sea creatures’ confrontations under attempted sympathetic depth as similarly witnessed in “How to Train Your Dragon”. Both films show generationally nurtured hunters battling out with their predators, unexpectedly joined by one youthful soul who’ll turn the historical tide upon opening a newfound perception no one yet see or even bother to acknowledge, leading up to unveiling the true antagonistic force at play. Agreeably so, viewers don’t consider this endeavor anything special in the narrative nor worthwhile further engagement understandably in the medium, contrast to the critically acclaimed originality it beholds. Perhaps the similarities are unavoidable from frequently noted eyesight, but the originality stems from the significant reactive heft, building up to provoked subtexts that fits nicely.
Our young heroine Maisie Brumble ran away from her orphanage to live adventurously, presumably in the stories she idolizes and frequently tell her fellow orphans’ fueled excitements. The bedtime stories she gives her roommates speak of the legendary Inevitable crew roaming the seas hunting down terrifying monsters that wreak havoc against humankind. While celebrated as heroes and doing their best in following the codes with their fellow hunters, the crew, led by Captain Crow and his fearless first mate Jacob Holland, has set their eyes to take down the mightiest of all: the Red Bluster. However, stakes have been set up against them when royalty decided to deem them irrelevant over their supposedly inadequate pursuit for such, despite their previous captures filling up the trophy hall. Time couldn’t be better when they find Maisie, whose late-parents were too hunters, stowed away onto their new voyage, which Crow admires though Jacob feels responsible since she encountered him earlier showing her fanatic admiration. Later, they finally encounter the Red Bluster, a confrontation that shall divide where they stand: Crow’s forced to go unprecedented lengths to bring the creature down under newfound vengeance; while Maisie displays differential thought process that Jacob eventually comes around after observing a newfound insight onto uncharted territories, about to make history.
When Williams visualized “The Sea Beast”, the underlying ambition is the storytelling experience itself effectively crafted as the attractive peak. He’s committed in providing outstanding animated fare amongst the ocean of many that didn’t imaginatively push, with certain some easily garnered favorable momentum. Though he didn’t muster enough steerage way from the formulaic structure as the narrative’s rather instinctual in developmental buildup, he acknowledged the challenging landscape by showing his palpable grace in the entertaining approach, which is an additional similarity to “Dragon”. What this film does weigh more than the other is applying certain apparatus onto its canvas to evoke exhilaration in the cinematographed framework of action sequences that actually replicate how they’re usually done across genetically-shared blockbusters. That particular feat is impressive at best as it’s uncommon for computer animation to flawlessly execute under certain circumstantial realism (“Raya and the Last Dragon” remains the best in that intensity), thus fashioning a subtle referential testament to other well-known cinematic adventures being as dimensional as the conceptualized scope.
As you have visual storytelling being the animated significance, the soulful heart’s the usual enrichment that exhibits the screenplay’s strength. Jared Harris as Crow is as gritty and mindful as you’d expect for a characterized conflict being the toughest to gesture towards the possibility regarding a changing realization that would initially anger him greatly, positioning him as the active antagonistic antihero besides crooked royalty. Harris voices Crow at the matching pitch of edgy sea captains performatively embraced, including vocally tuning pensive nuances. Karl Urban (“Star Trek”, “The Boys”), at his first voice role, ranges freely as an energetic fearless explorer through Jacob, literally coded with loyalty genuinely paced, reactive amusement that would humorously sour his overall charisma burdened protectively, and fun spirited momentum. Zaris-Angel Hator truly brings Maisie out soulfully with youthfully advanced conviction when empathizing with not only the character’s adventurous seeking but also the gritty passion when standing up for what she cares about, therefore becoming the generic messenger the film cleverly delivers like an obligated element that needed to be spoken.
“The Sea Beast” may be glanced then passed as an animated fare with its own particularly certain demographic direction, it’s worth a watch. To describe the film’s entertainment value is ranking it as a tier beneath “How to train Your Dragon” with the difference being the latter’s greatness scales the former to decent exceptionality. Engaging characterization remarking the fun-filled veins, especially how behaviorally similar the Red Bluster is to Toothless designed as a sea beast, while the animation innovatively attempted to mimic the genre’s transcendences. Yes, attracted, or diverted, children will share Maisie’s perspective as a seeming buildup into the genre’s substantially-increased endeavors, while intrigued adults could appreciate in wonder over the art’s form, layered heart and recognized humorous antics, with partial gratitude towards its messaging deliverance. Chris Williams excelled his objectives, and he ain’t done with the story yet as months later after the film’s release he’s announced a sequel, which should be more interesting to see how it could move forward in distancing from a starter’s similarities. (B+)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
09/23/24
Full Review
Wyatt E
Was a really great movie, great story, great characters, and great animation.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/08/24
Full Review
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