The Sea Beast (2022)
Directed by Chris Williams
When a young girl stows away on the ship of a legendary sea monster hunter, they launch an epic journey into uncharted waters — and make history to boot.
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10 films that influenced The Sea Beast
What critics say influenced The Sea Beast
Williams and company have borrowed heavily from the likes of DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon to classics like Moby Dick, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mutiny on the Bounty, Master & Commander and Pirates of the Caribbean to even Williams’ own Moana.
Sure, hardened cynics could argue that the premise of “The Sea Beast” borrows heavily from “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010) with another brave youngster teaching Medieval adults not to fear the unknown, this time replacing Toothless with a sea monster named Red and an adorable sidekick named Blue that acts a lot like “Lilo & Stitch” (2002).
It helps that the beast's design evokes memories of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon , and it's just as adorable and characterful.
His nemesis isn’t a great white whale but the mighty Red Bluster, a humongous beast with a manatee-ish shape, a rhino-reminiscent horn, a wide mouth of incisors that recalls the animal faces in How to Train Your Dragon , and expressive yellow feline eyes.
The story however may recall How to Train Your Dragon : humanity is forced to reconsider how they see fabled monsters when a young girl befriends the titular Moby Dick.
The similarities to DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise will be lost on no one.
The Sea Beast, which channels Treasure Planet more than The Secret Life of Pets, is swashbuckling fun for kids and adults.
There’s a sharp visual style that is reminiscent of what Williams created in Moana, while increasing the attention to the animated texture, invoking the style of Miyazaki (Think Howl’s Moving Castle ), and the classic look of Disney’s Peter Pan .
No matter, these are minor nits to pick compared to the brilliant character work by Williams and co-writer Nell Benjamin, who joined her husband Laurence O’Keefe to adapt “Legally Blonde” for Broadway in 2011, then adapted “Mean Girls” for the stage in 2018.
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Plunging us into the photorealistic waters of a sunny, sea-faring kingdom — picture 18th century British colonialism if the monarchy had permanently moved its headquarters to a floating Caribbean fortress city inspired by “The Phantom Menace” — “The Sea Beast” begins hundreds of years into a war between pirate-like hunters and the Godzilla-sized monsters that patrol their shipping lanes.
It makes sense that The Sea Beast channels that all-ages entertainment value, as the film is Williams’ solo directorial debut after co-directing two of Disney’s best films of the last decade: 2014’s Big Hero 6 and 2016’s Moana .
While the film may lack the longevity of director Chris Williams’ previous films Big Hero Six and Moana (which he co-directed) The Sea Beast is still an impressive piece of animation.
Director Chris Williams, who co-wrote the pic with Nell Benjamin, is right in his wheelhouse here, poached from his previous Disney hits Moana and Big Hero Six.
For animated adventure The Sea Beast , Netflix poached director Chris Williams from Disney, where he had a creative hand in several biggies, including Big Hero 6 , Wreck-it Ralph , Moana and Frozen .
Director Chris Williams, who helmed “Big Hero 6” and co-directed Disney’s “Moana,” has a strong visual sensibility.
At first, the world of this film, directed by Chris Williams (“Moana,” “Big Hero 6”) and written by Williams and Nell Benjamin, seems comfortably didactic.
If anything, it’s one of those films that gives The Adventures of Tintin a run for its money in a world where animation runs very close to meeting live-action.
It makes sense that The Sea Beast channels that all-ages entertainment value, as the film is Williams’ solo directorial debut after co-directing two of Disney’s best films of the last decade: 2014’s Big Hero 6 and 2016’s Moana .
Director Chris Williams, who helmed “Big Hero 6” and co-directed Disney’s “Moana,” has a strong visual sensibility.
At first, the world of this film, directed by Chris Williams (“Moana,” “Big Hero 6”) and written by Williams and Nell Benjamin, seems comfortably didactic.
Directed and co-written by Chris Williams (the co-director of Moana and Big Hero 6 , among others), the movie has now sailed onto Netflix after being released in select cinemas.
Director Chris Williams whose previous works have all made an impact, winning the Oscar for Big Hero 6 , winning the world with Moana , and his underrated dog on a road trip movie- Bolt , cementing him as a major voice in the field of animation.
Chris Williams may not be a household name, but he directed some beloved Disney features such as Bolt and Big Hero 6 while having story credits for classics like Mulan and Moana.
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Her dialogue delivery and the design and animation of her character — provided by Hotel Transylvania and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse studio Sony Pictures Imageworks — blend together perfectly, allowing her to steal every scene, come off wiser than her years, and provide some of the film’s most cheer-worthy moments.
Chris Williams may not be a household name, but he directed some beloved Disney features such as Bolt and Big Hero 6 while having story credits for classics like Mulan and Moana.
After a very storied career in animation, with credits in classic Disney joints like Mulan and The Emperor’s New Groove to newer tales like Frozen and Moana, Chris Williams delivers an injection of that type of Disney heart into the new Netflix animated film The Sea Beast.