The Sea Beast (2022)
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A sea-monster hunter and a young orphan girl form an unlikely bond while discovering the truth behind the creatures they were taught to fear.
The story
For centuries, humanity has hunted sea beasts that wreak havoc on the oceans. The legendary Captain Crow leads the most successful crew of hunters, but they face obsolescence as the Crown favors modern naval vessels. To prove their worth, Crow's crew enters a contest against the modern fleet to hunt the elusive 'Red Bluster.' During the voyage, a young orphan girl named Maisie Brumble stows away, inspired by her parents' legacy as hunters. When the crew encounters the massive beast, a series of events leads to the girl and the boatswain being separated from the ship and cast into the sea.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In a world where sea beasts are hunted for the Crown, Captain Crow's crew of the Inevitable seeks to prove their relevance against the modern naval vessel Imperator. They enter a contest to hunt the 'Red Bluster,' a beast that took Crow's eye years ago. During the hunt, Maisie Brumble, an orphan girl, stows away and joins the crew. When the Inevitable attacks the Red Bluster, Jacob Holland allows Maisie to free the beast to save the ship, but they are subsequently swallowed by the monster. They end up on an island where Maisie befriends the beast, naming her Red, and realizes the monsters are misunderstood. Meanwhile, a grieving Crow seeks a poison-tipped harpoon to kill Red. Jacob and Maisie eventually reach Rum Pepper Island, where they discover the Crown's propaganda regarding the beasts. After a series of battles involving the Imperator and the Inevitable, Maisie and Jacob expose the Crown's deceptions. They convince the people to renounce their beliefs, and Maisie, Jacob, and a small beast named Blue begin a new life together as a family.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Williams
- Writers
- Chris Williams · screenplay; Nell Benjamin · screenplay; Chris Williams · story
- Cast and characters
- Karl Urban · Captain Crow; Zaris-Angel Hator · Maisie Brumble; Jared Harris · Jacob Holland; Marianne Jean-Baptiste · Sarah Sharpe
- Genres
- animated; fantasy; adventure; comedy
- Themes
- Propaganda; Misunderstanding; Family; Tradition vs. Modernity
- Tone and mood
- Adventure; Cinematic
- Premise and plot tags
- Monster Hunting; Sea Adventure; Orphan; Quest
- Source material / true-story basis
- Original story by Chris Williams
- Franchise connections
- The Sea Beast
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim and became one of the most-successful Netflix original animated films, garnering 165 million hours viewed over its first five months.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 74 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Awards and nominations
- Best Animated Feature · Academy Awards · 95th · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film's look was inspired by the artwork of N. C. Wyeth and Caspar David Friedrich.; A new camera tool called 'Sea Legs' was developed for characters balancing on moving surfaces.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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