The Sea Beast

Directed by Chris Williams is this old fashioned pirate adventure animation. The world still lives in fear of what lies beneath the sea in fear of sea beasts. Great monsters who, has the tales of history tell, would come on land and grab unsuspecting humans. However, that fear has gone thanks to the hunters. Who for generations have fearlessly gone to sea to kill the beasts for their King’s and Queens. The greatest of all the hunter ships is The Inevitable, under Captain Crow (Jared Harris) and his trusty crew, led by Joseph (Karl Urban) and Sarah (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). On their greatest hunt for the ultimate beast they head to uncharted waters. But when they discover a young stowaway, Maisie (Zaris Angel-Hator), onboard, their views of the world are changed for ever.

The first thing to say about The Sea Beast is how it looks. It is stunningly beautiful. The quality of the animation is often breathtaking, the scenery, the way the sea and sky are realised for example is a real feast for the eyes.

The story itself is enjoyable and works on a number of levels, there is the gorgeous realisation of the beasts and cute baby ones for the younger audience, fun and adventure for those a little older. For those wanting more depth it also challenges the way history, if not looked at critically, can dictate the future in unhealthy ways by those who created the version of history we follow.

The voice cast works fine and has fun with over the top old school pirate adventure dialogue. The story perhaps lacks some of the emotional depth that the very best animation even if its animation is as good as you’ll see.

Maybe the only pity for me, was I saw it on Netflix because this would be such a treat on a big screen.

The Sea Beast looks absolutely incredible and it’s full of fun and high quality animated adventure. There is a well layered story which has something for audiences from eldest to youngest. It’s available on Netflix, but would be a real feast for the eyes on the big screen.