User Reviews

A menacing and murderous monster threatens human life, forcing us to hunt it down; however, someone eventually develops a bond with the beast, and fights to protect it from bloodthirsty humans. I'm sure some great movie came to your mind with this synopsis, but that's exactly the main plot of "The Sea Beast", a new Netflix animation.

Ok, the story doesn't have a fresh plot, and it's actually quite predictable, but that's where you (and I, at first) are wrong. The Sea Beast takes an overused premise and gives it a life and personality.

Maisie, a girl sneaks into the ship of a great sea monster hunter, Jacob. Together, they begin an epic journey through uncharted waters. The main objective of the "bloodthirsty humans" (that I mentioned earlier) is to find and kill a red giant marine beast, however, after almost crossing out this objective of their To-Do's, our protagonist duo are forced to release the beast in order to save the crew; Captain Crow is unforgiving and wants to end Jacob and Maisie's fate, but the red beast swallows them before that. It is obvious that the monster had no bad intentions and ends up creating bonds of friendship with our main duo.

Even if the main plot is nothing special, it's impossible not to be dazzled by the visual created for this film. An animation worthy of a Pixar classic, some breathtaking action sequences and a delicious story to follow, without ever stalling or getting boring.

I loved the subtext that monsters have been hunted for centuries due to false stories planted by the region's monarchy, thus causing the working class to venture into the sea to "keep the peace and ensure safety", while filling their pockets with money coming from spoils brought by the hunters. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.

The Sea Beast is an almost mandatory animation for anyone who likes the genre, and a magical experience for everyone looking for a family-friendly adventure. Go check this out ;)

As others put it: the plot is standard, sure.

However, despite being same'ol' plot, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Perhaps because the sheer diversity in the cast. Black, yellow and white (rough terms but I think you'll get my point).

Or perhaps it was the story and the fatherly/brotherly love to protect the little runt (the sweet little girl).

The movie dragged me in from the get go and kept me there - enough that I by the time the spear was thrown to save red against the crab, I was thrusting my fist in the air in triumph without even realizing it. Needless to say, I was hooked (no pun intended).

There was a very clear Captain Ahab seriousness set up against the sweet How To Train Your Dragon vibe throughout.

I liked it. Very much so.

Visuals and acting are a 9/10 probably - what absolutely destroyed this movie was the reveal and conclusion.

The backstory was excellent. We have monsters that will come and wreak havoc on civilization except for the rough and rebellious hunters who slay them. It's dangerous work for the hardest people. Our protagonist is a spirited girl who wants to be part of the hunter crew. We also find out the king and queen pay good money for killing the sea monsters. This is how the kingdom is well maintained. I did wonder how the king and queen are able to afford paying these mercenaries such massive sums but that wasn't important I guess.

The conflict introduced is the king and queen are going to make the hunters obsolete by building a massive warship which will be commanded by the kingdoms navy. The king and queen set forth a competition to see who can slay the biggest sea monster of all. This is a brilliant plot conflict point - the symbolism is technology + soldiers versus rugged hunters. Can society get rid of the proverbial gargoyles and still keep out the evil? So many great directions we can go from here.

But actually - the sea monsters are just nice massive animals that don't want violence.

But actually the war between hunter and monster is the product of state created propaganda.

But actually the massive war ship and military are basically nonentities that are wiped out the second time they show up on screen.

But actually the king and queen pay hunters to kill monsters because....because...well we aren't actually sure why.

So what's the moral of the story kids? The state is tyrannical just because. Monsters at the end of the world are only evil because the state tells you they are. If you just overthrow the powers that be, then you can make friends with monsters and live in peace and harmony with your pals.

Terrible story telling - so much potential wasted. The movie was pretty though. At least we didn't the see the return of the "men are stupid idiots" trope from Moana - the sexes were well represented in this one.

A visually tasty mash-up of Moby Dick and the Dragon movies. Down to the sea beasts having the same faces as the dragons.

I only saw it because my 4 year old grandson desperately wanted to see it but was a scared by the monsters and needed someone to protect him

The colours of the beasts, characters and backdrops are stunning, as are the tall ships, rolling waves and underwater scenes. I was fascinated with the look and graphics, and ignored the flaws in the plot, script and dialogue.

Hollywood finds safety in recycled cliches, in this case the principle beast implausibly falls for a young girl despite she is part of the crew of the ship that harpoons it and we end up with the usual enemies become friends Sorry about giving away that surprise ending.

Ollie soort of liked it despite not understanding what happened and why.