One of the greatest feelings in the world is when a movie lives up to its trailer. Trailers are often misleading and give viewers the wrong idea as to what a movie is about, leading to disappointment and confusion. The Sea Beast, however, is exempt from this. What you see is exactly what you get with this incredible animated adventure film, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint.
The Sea Beast is a tale about an orphan named Maisie Brumble (voiced by Zaris-Angel Hator), who wants nothing more in the world than to travel the seas with a group of seafarers called Hunters, who track and kill monsters stalking the deep blue sea. Stowing away on a ship, she meets the heroes from her book, including Jacob Holland (Karl Urban) and the famous Captain Crow (Jared Harris), and soon discovers that being a Hunter isn’t exactly all fun and games. When attacked by a sea monster, both Jacob and Maisie find themselves unlikely allies as they try to find their way back to the ship, all the while making new discoveries about themselves and choosing a different path than the people around them.
As a fan of creature design, admittedly the main “monster” does look and feel a lot like Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon. At one point, its silhouette in the water even resembles the loveable Night Fury. Whether or not this was intentional we may never know but I just find it odd that it resembles another creature that shares a similar dilemma. But apart from that, the sea monsters are very well made especially a little squishy looking one who I would gladly buy a plushie of because it’s too darn cute.
This film is a perfect blend of Pirates of the Caribbean and How To Train Your Dragon (even having a similar animation style and plotline). While it may be “family friendly” aka “for kids”, people of all ages can sit and enjoy this film. As mentioned earlier, the trailer gives you exactly what you need to know about the movie before watching it. There are no misleads or lies that could potentially confuse a viewer as to what is going on. From start to finish, it’s a swashbuckling fun filled adventure with a sprinkling of real life here and there (example: the power of the wealthy and how they use propaganda to control the poor) but the little ones wouldn’t know anything about that. Aside from some slightly more mature content, the movie is ultimately about using your voice and standing up to do the right thing, no matter how small you are; an important message for the youth of today.
Personally I think people of all ages will enjoy this film. Fans of HTTYD and PoTC alike will have a blast with it (maybe even introducing a new generation to the HTTYD craze). A phenomenal film with plenty of action and many laughs, I can safely say that this is an animation you won’t want to miss.
The Sea Beast is available to stream on Netflix July 8, 2022.
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