The Sea Beast is a beautifully animated adventure story of discovery and change from Netflix and Producer/Director Chris Williams. Set in a fictional world of ocean and islands that mirrors the romantic era of cannon-laden, three-masted sailing vessels that dared to explore and conquer the high seas, The Sea Beast follows a hunting ship named The Inevitable. The film explore the lives of three people and an unexpected new friend at a time when their paths cross and their worlds turn upside down.
Surprisingly, The Sea Beast is one of the longest animated feature films in recent history, but its nearly two hours never lags — it moves relentlessly forward in a beautiful balance of startling revelations, intense action sequences, tender exposition, and frightening purpose. And like any story worth telling or hearing, there is real life meaning to be found. Even for audiences that have come to expect an unprecedented level of excellence in the art of animated film, The Sea Beast is satisfying from start to finish.
Steady as She Goes
Netflix
The beauty of pure animation is the ability to visually augment a story without limitation. This ability is wonderfully written and visualized with the heroes of the film, the impossibly competent harpooner Jacob Holland (voiced by the versatile Karl Urban of The Boys) and his impossibly charismatic shipmate Maisie Brumble (voiced by Zaris-Angel Hator). Jacob is able to gratifyingly defy the laws of physics and the odds of mortal combat in the way we expect animated heroes to do — and in the same ways we would want to if we could — while Maisie is able to delightfully finesse her way into new understandings and discoveries, ultimately winning the war, not just the battle.
Great Animation Above and Below Deck
The vast world of The Sea Beast is one of elaborate visual detail that compellingly draws the viewer in. Although much of the imagery is rooted firmly in our familiar world of sun and sky, wind and water, we are also whisked away to places beyond anything we could have imagined: Have we ever before seen a view looking out from the inside of a monster’s nose? The exquisitely balanced framing of the impressive computer animation follows both the intense and the intimate action in unexpected ways that are simultaneously stunning and practical. The music and sound design float above and below it all, helping the audience feel the drama of the moment, from the height of each victory to the pain of each setback.
These high quality elements of production and the painstaking attention to detail in every scene are what transports us into a new world of adventure to make new friends, marvel at new wonders, and become part of a gripping story. Sony Pictures Imageworks teams up with Netflix yet again after their incredible work together on The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and they deliver astounding animated visuals yet again. The excellence of its character design and the design of The Inevitable and the ship’s surroundings (brimming with bright, sparkling colors and a really textural depth) in The Sea Beast enhances its story better than a live-action film could.
The Sea Beast Has an Important Message
But make no mistake, it’s the story itself — a well-told tale of adventure, betrayal, and change involving characters we truly like, maybe even love — that pulls us forward like a beast we’ve managed to harpoon as we tremble and cheer in excitement during the ride. We become quickly caught up in the many special moments woven throughout the story. We smile when the crew discovers a clever and irrepressible stowaway. We breathe a sigh of relief when the Captain chooses rescue over revenge. We find ourselves holding our breaths when our heroes are plunged deep into the sea during a battle. Before we know it, we’re not only in the world of The Sea Beast, we’re involved in the story.
Another thing that makes this particular story special is its message. At the risk of swimming through spoilers like a swarm of stinging jellyfish, there is a lesson to be learned in The Sea Beast that is common to our real lives. The great animated movie cleverly analyzes the way people so often scapegoat certain communities, and often justify the endless cycle of violence and hatred based on misinformation or cultural influence. After her first encounter with Blue (a decidedly friendly and adorable little beast), Maisie experiences her first doubts about something she’s been taught her entire young life, and asks Jacob, “What if them things ain’t as bad as they say?” Jacob dismissively responds, “We kill them because they kill us.”
But as the evidence mounts, even Jacob — whose identity is built entirely on the narrative that the humans are righteously defending themselves against the evil of the sea beasts — eventually has to ask, “But if that ain’t true, how are we supposed to know what is?” That profound question may not be able to be answered by this or any two-hour animated film, but at least it’s getting asked, and we may walk away from The Sea Beast pointed in a better direction, a little wiser as well as wonderfully entertained.
It’s also wonderful to see our heroes using mind and heart more than muscle and firepower to solve even the most monstrous of problems. This is a story not about overwhelming an opponent with physical force or louder threats, but an appeal to listen, to value truth and kindness over selfish ambition, and to foster compassion and understanding where none has existed before. In the end, for The Sea Beast, it is reason that wins the day.
Chris Williams and a Great Cast Elevate The Sea Beast
Within the world of animation, there lies a strange and unique veil. The lead actors, artists and technicians who bring animated films to life seem to be more disassociated from their work than those who create live action films. Ask most students if they know who Elsa is, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t. Ask the same students if they know who Idina Menzel is, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who did. Perhaps that’s just the nature of animated film, which creates a more directly immersive world for audiences and whose actors and directors are rarely seen.
Director Chris Williams is far from a household name, but perhaps he should be. In addition to The Sea Beast, his directing credits include Big Hero 6 and Bolt. His writing credits, in addition to The Sea Beast, include Mulan, The Emperor’s New Groove, Bolt, and Moana. The films he’s credited with helping animate include The Emperor’s New Groove, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Tangled, Frozen (he’s even the voice of Oaken), Zootopia, and Ralph Breaks the Internet. That’s an impressive resumé, and as he recently told Screen Daily, he doesn’t miss the pressure that came with the big-name animation studios he has worked for. Well done, Captain Williams! The Sea Beast is a treasure. We hope your future films are ‘Inevitable.’
