Prime Day deals may be upon us, but not even a big sale can stop the gears of a great streaming device. The latest movie to hit the Netflix charts is the animated feature The Sea Beast, whose first weekend ends in slot #2.
The Karl Urban-led film proved to be a huge hit with audiences and critics alike. The movie is currently swinging a 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (Opens in a new tab)The audience gave it a 92% rating. And unlike Urban’s other big streaming project, The Boys, this is something the whole family can enjoy.
What is a sea monster?
The Sea Beast is a Netflix Animation movie set in a world infested with sea monsters. It is common, in fact, that there is an entire industry of monster hunters whose sole objective is to track down and kill creatures and prevent ships from being lost at sea.
The most famous monster-hunting crew is led by the legendary Captain Crow (Jared Harris), his first mate Sarah Sharp (Marianne Jean Baptiste) and Crow’s adopted son Jacob Holland (Karl Urban). Unfortunately, the crew is set to lose their royal funding, after a failed attempt to kill Red Bluster – the worst beast to roam the seas.
After getting one last chance, the crew finds orphaned girl Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) hiding on the ship. Things obviously go wrong, and deception occurs when Jacob and Macy get separated from the rest of the crew during the Red Blaster’s attack.
What do critics think of the sea monster?
Several recent Netflix films, including the likes of Persuasion and The Man from Toronto, have been teased by critics – but not The Sea Beast. In addition to Rotten Tomatoes’ impressive scores from professionals and viewers alike, it has IMDB score 7.1/10 (Opens in a new tab). Yes, those numbers are likely to change as more people watch and rate the movie, but it’s nonetheless a great start for The Sea Beast.
Critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes sums it up as “an original animated story that’s often as bold as its characters,” and continues that “The Sea Beast sends audiences on a journey well worth taking.”
Brian Telerico Roger Ebert.com (Opens in a new tab) It awarded the film 3 out of four stars, declaring The Sea Beast one of the film’s biggest surprises of the year so far. He noted the similarities between Moana and Pirates of the Caribbean, with a dash of How to Train your Dragon.
Ross Bonaim in collider (Opens in a new tab)In the meantime, he gave the film a B-, saying that The Sea Beast “may not become the huge animation success that Netflix is hoping for, but it certainly looks like the tide is starting to turn in their favour.” Kevin Maher in The Times (UK) (Opens in a new tab) Note that the movie’s cute title doesn’t do it justice, and the only flaw was this “wonderful spinning ambient.” In fact, he declared that the film was “easily out of Pixaring” and gave it a score of 4 out of 5.
Of course, not everyone agrees. Carlos Aguilar in wrap (Opens in a new tab) Note that the film appears to be “first-class in detail and realism” but proves inadequate in other areas. Lena Wilson in New York times (Opens in a new tab) He criticized the film’s “steadfast ability to predict”, noting that “lessons are learned and enemies are fought, but nothing too surprising happens between them.”
Outlook: Should you watch a sea monster?
From the sounds of things, yes you should. These days, it’s as if the opinions of critics and the public are increasingly at odds, which means it’s always worth checking something out when they agree. Not only that, but high-quality animated adventures suitable for the whole family aren’t exactly as popular, so if that’s what you’re after, this definitely sounds like one to consider.
The sea monster is only 2 hours long, which should come in handy for keeping the kids calm for some time. But from the sounds of things, this is not a children’s movie as such, and adults should find a lot to like in The Sea Beast as well. Plus, now that The Boys is over, we have to get our Karl Urban fix somehow.
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