I see a problem with the title of Netflix’s upcoming CG animated movie The Sea Beast, at least as per the first official trailer, just released as part of Geeked Week. Mainly, there’s not one sea beast, but many sea beasts. A ton of sea beasts, in fact.
We knew about the abundance of sea beasts and misleading nature of the title from the movie teaser released earlier this year, but this new trailer really hammers home just how very, very many sea beasts there are in this fantasy world created by the Academy Award-winning director of Moana and Big Hero 6, Chris Williams. Honestly, the sea beast-filled seas seem to be the entire point of the setting, given that it appears most of the movie’s characters are sailors dedicated to hunting down the monsters:
However, the crux of the movie clearly rests in the relationship between the famed captain/hunter Jacob Holland (Karl Urban) and a precocious stowaway named Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator). Here’s the official synopsis:
“In an era when terrifying beasts roamed the seas, monster hunters were celebrated heroes — and none were more beloved than the great Jacob Holland. But when young Maisie Brumble stows away on his fabled ship, he’s saddled with an unexpected ally. Together they embark on an epic journey into uncharted waters and make history.”
Still, I have to wonder, which sea beast is the titular sea beast? Is it one we’ve seen? Is there a secret to these sea beasts that Maisie and Jacob will discover, or are the oceans just full of monsters that need slaying? Furthermore, is The Sea Beast really not a musical, even though it was co-written by Nell Benjamin, the Tony-nominated lyricist and composer of Legally Blonde and Mean Girls?
Apparently not, because surely we would have at least heard a sea shanty by this point, right? We’ll find out soon enough — The Sea Beast premieres on Netflix July 8.
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