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The Sea Beast is a story revolving around a group of pirates, a young girl and sea monsters. It is based in an intriguing fantasy world ruled by monarchs and inhabited by sea monsters along with humans. The basic plot and the characters might remind the viewers of movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and How to train your dragon, but the sea beast has lot more to offer than any generic coming of age adventure film.
The pirates are established very early in the film through a spectacular asction sequence involving giant sea monsters. The protagonists Jacob and Maisie do meet till the end of the first act. But from their very first meeting you can sense a really nice chemsitry between the two of them. The side characters are also relevant to the story but not many of them get proper arcs. The monsters are also designed extremely well and always establish superiority and fear whenever they appear on screen.
Chris Williams completely pulls you in the story through innovative sequences and creative direction which gets the viewer completely invested in the fun and exciting world. The story and screenplay is never confusing and is very linear. The decisions of the characters at every point are justified and believable. Another strength of the film is its music and score, which will never let you get distracted. There is also light humor regularly throughout the story.
The sea beast plays with different genres at different points in the story. It can go into adventure, coming of age drama or an all out epic fantasy action flick. The animation is spectacular throughout with brilliant color grading. The length and pacing is also appropriate. The film also has a deeper message and talks about war, deceit, honor and meaningful bonds.
The Sea Beast is a compelling tale which has the right balance between action, emotion, humor and an important story. The film is visually spectacular and also has an important underlying message. This one is definitely worth your time. Definitely one of the best animated movies of the year.
Rating – 8.5/10
