If you had to deliver THE SEA BEAST as an elevator pitch, it would be PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN meets HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, though this beautiful animation on Netflix is easily as fun as the former and as imaginative as the latter. It’s more in the tone of something like Laika’s BOX TROLLS because it presents itself as an exciting romp to start with before being revealed as something far darker and more contemplative, but still for kids. Following a colourful crew of sea monster hunters (lead by Jared Harris and Karl Urban) and their wide-eyed kid stowaway (Zaris-Angel Hator), the film has thrills and fun aplenty although the Western world’s legacy of empire and exploitation of people and the natural world looms large. It probably doesn’t need to be touching in 2 hours, that said this gives more than enough time for every character including the titular creature to be given a compelling arc. SSP