The Sea Beast review: An oak solid and sturdy yarn with an anti-imperialist message from Moana co-director

From the co-director of Moana comes a spirited new animated adventure yarn called The Sea Beast. Going solo this time around, Chris Williams mounts another oak solid and sturdy romp through the high seas. As he sweeps us into a world filled with titanic sea monsters, dogged hunters and nautical set pieces, he brings the same appreciable care and immersive detailing he brought to the Pixar feature. The story however may recall How to Train Your Dragon: humanity is forced to reconsider how they see fabled monsters when a young girl befriends the titular Moby Dick. Not uncharted waters for sure. But Williams still makes it a fun-filled frolic by rediscovering the joy that comes from seafaring and swashbuckling. Even if the action lags on the odd occasion, it stays afloat on the strength of its world-building and its voice acting talents. The cast is led by Karl Urban and Zaris-Angel Hator, who lavish a contagious sense of excitement that spreads across the deck.

In an era dubbed the “Dark Times,” two ecosystems collide as beasts of all shapes and sizes are said to stalk the coast of a human kingdom. Some can wreck a battleship with their giant horns; some can drag a battleship to the bottom of the sea with their slithery tentacles; some are also harmlessly cute. As befits a kid-friendly medium, the design for a lot of these beasts prize adorability over functionality. Take the Sea Beast of the title, aka the Red Bluster, which looks like a long-lost seaborne cousin of How to Train Your Dragon’s Toothless. Or the merchandise-ready tadpole Blue, who could end the reign of the Minions if Netflix marketed this movie well.

For generations, whenever these beasts surfaced, a gang of monster hunters drove them back to the sea or killed them for their horns. These hunters acting as the first line of defense have thus become the stuff of legends. For the children, there are none more legendary than Captain Crow (Jared Harris) and his seasoned crew on the Inevitable, who have bested so many monsters and ensured humanity’s dominion over the sea. For young Maisie Brumble (Hator), her hero is Crow’s right-hand and heir apparent Jacob Holland (Urban). There is one beast that still eludes the Inevitable: the Red Bluster, the White Whale to Crow’s vengeance-fueled Ahab. When Crow and crew embark on a fresh voyage to kill the sea beast, Maisie stows away on the ship. But the Red Bluster may not quite be the monster they imagine.

The relationship between Maisie and Jacob is the movie’s beating heart, as testy beginnings evolve into an unlikely bond. Jacob, like Maisie, is an orphan. The opening scene reveals he was found floating in the sea after a monster attack before being adopted by Crow. Just as the crew on the Inevitable became his family, so does he to Maisie as they embark on a voyage of learning about the sea beasts outside the Crown-sanctioned story books.

What makes this venture seaworthy are the nautical set pieces. In a spectacular sequence of combat choreography, the Inevitable crew hang from the side of the ship to fire harpoons at a beast. The Red Bluster and a Purple Crustacean engage in a kaiju-sized duel. As most of the action is set in the high seas, Williams brings all his CG animation expertise to get the background details and textures to precision: be it how the water reacts in the presence of monsters, or how the ropes on a ship react to the wind. The camera glides around to take in all the delights. Yet, there is a feeling this world is a lot larger than what we see on screen: that there are stories to be told and sea beasts to behold beyond the horizon.

As is common with these kinds of movies, there are teachable lessons aplenty for the young ‘uns. It urges them to always question received wisdom, counters the romanticised notion of death as an act of heroism, and reminds them that to the monsters, we could be the monsters. But its most compelling message is about how for those in power, the extended rewards of war making outweigh the losses. That giving the public an adversary overseas to villainize is a time-tested strategy to distract them from domestic failures.

Though The Sea Beast doesn’t quite achieve the textural elegance or visual majesty of Moana, it is still a rare triumph for Netflix’s animation division. With Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood, that’s two in two for the studio this year.

The Sea Beast is now streaming on Netflix.

Prahlad Srihari is a film and music writer based in Bengaluru.

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