Guys, I'm pissed. More toddler & me reviews.
The Sea Beast (2022): 2/10
Took me 3 tries and I couldn't finish it but not bc of my toddler. The first 40ish minutes of this film are PURE GOLD. Historical fiction + pirates + Monster Hunter. Felt like a real animated movie for adults that kids could watch. Great voice acting (minus Maisie), great character designs. Interesting characters, but I was suspicious because there was an almost malicious reluctance to expand on the crew members. I really wanted to know about them and how they worked so seamlessly, but no. Because it's a Netflix movie, the other shoe drops in act 2, subverts expectations hurr durr (it was predictable), and everything deflates. The script feels like it suddenly changed hands. Character motivations and dialog starts making zero sense. Where there seemed to be a passion for naval history in the first act, there was no passion for the ocean or nature in the second. Main male character becomes a bumbling idiot. Little black girl is suddenly agile, given a retarded amount of plot armor, and right about everything. Not all da monstuhs are ebil. The sympathetic monster's design is lame. It's almost like the movie knows it because it seldom shows a clear, full body shot. Also looks like a big red dick at times (wtf were they thinking). and the "cute" baby monster intended for marketing is ugly and stupid. And, like, they're not real animals so what is the application of the story? It's to doubt your ancestors and your history and upend systems in place for the sake of putting yourself in danger of "monsters" just bc you have a feeling. Also, the antagonists are predominately white people. Go figure. What a shame. This movie PISSED me off. Took a wonderful, interesting ensemble cast and threw it in the trash. Not a 1/10 bc the first act is so good, which makes me angrier. This aped after HTTYD so hard but intentionally ignored why it worked. Someone better steal these characters, ditch the MCs, and write a better story.
ETA: posted this before I was done but idgaf