Film review: The Sea Beast has a sense of adventure underpinned by serious themes
THE SEA BEAST - Zaris-Angel Hator as MAISIE BRUMBLE and Karl Urban as JACOB HOLLAND. Cr: Netflix © 2022 for declan burke caroline delaney
(PG) is a rollicking seafaring yarn from the makers of Moana, in which young Maisie (voiced by Zaris-Angel Hator) escapes from her orphanage and stows away on The Inevitable, a sailing ship captained by the legendary beast-killer Captain Crow (Jared Harris).
Determined to have his revenge on the sea-beast known as Red Bluster, which long ago gouged out his eye, Crow sets sail for uncharted waters, where he quickly realises he has bitten off more than he can chew. What follows is a stonking adventure that owes a considerable debt to Moby-Dick as The Inevitable and its crew of hunters – which includes the swashbuckling Jacob (Karl Urban) – do battle with all manner of exotic sea creatures that are derived from the great leviathans and krakens of myth. Beautifully animated from its opening shots of a blazing shipwreck (the underwater sequences are particularly impressive), the film is also superb in its attention to nautical detail.
But while the emphasis is very much on derring-do and life-or-death adventures, there’s a serious theme of conservation, and humanity’s responsibility to the planet, underpinning it all. All told, it’s terrific stuff. (Netflix)
