The Sea Beast: Review and Film Poem (article) by Betty Jo Tucker on AuthorsDen

Shiver me timbers, it’s a sea monster movie! No wonder I am hooked like a hungry fish at the end of the line. THE SEA BEAST gives us lots of swashbuckling heroic action and monster perils as well as fascinating animation that brings each scene to colorful life on screen. But most of all, it introduces us to Maisie and Jacob, two wonderful characters who both have great big hearts.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I love good sea monster films like Godzilla, Clash of the Titans, The Host, Jaws, and The Shape of Water. But I felt disappointed when a sea monster named “Orky” appeared during the last part of Magic in the Water back in 1995. To this day, I can’t help wondering why Orky looked so “dorky” instead of resembling a respectable sea creature. Fortunately, the sea monsters in The Sea Beast look weird and massive, so that works for me. But I digress.

Back to Maisie (voiced by Zaris-Angel Hator) and Jacob (voiced by Karl Urban). Maisie, a young girl, is an orphan who idolizes the legendary monster hunters like Jacob. Because her parents were killed by a sea monster, she wants to help the hunters and persists until she gets her way. Jacob, also an orphan, grew up with the monster hunters and thinks of the Captain (voiced by Jared Harris) as a father figure. So he tries hard to persuade Maisie that this is NOT the life for her.

Water, water everywhere!

Huge sea monsters give us a scare.

Brave monster hunters swear to fight

these creatures till they’re out of sight.

That’s not so easy they will find.

One monster has another mind.

A spunky girl joins in the fray.

Then hopes there is another way.

Animation impresses us.

Texture, details and action plus.

“The Sea Beast” movie is not “Jaws,”

But it’s a film that’s worth applause.

What Jacob and Maisie discover during this wild adventure involves the real reason royalty sends out monster hunters. They also spend time in the sea monsters habitat and learn more about them. Will they be able to share their new knowledge with everyone else?

It’s my pleasure to place The Sea Beast on my list of movies that matter. Happily, it’s also a highly entertaining offering for any age.

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one under its net of wonders forever. --- Jacques Yves Cousteau

(Released by Netflix and rated “PG” by MPAA.)

Director: Chris Williams

Writers: Nell Benjamin and Chris Williams

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Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on July 11, 2022

I guess children would like it. My niece and nephew watched The Little Mermaid probably a thousand times. But I'm going to pass. I much prefer real sea monsters like portrayed in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (giant squid) and Jaws, of course. But both have been demonized by those movies. Combined with new stories sensationalizing shark attacks, when they are actually extremely rare, continues to make beneficial creatures into demons.

I wonder why they keep making monster films for adults and big money that would scare young children to the point where they would have nightmares. I saw Pinocchio as a young child and recall that I was scared.

Ron