Given that director Chris Williams helped deliver two of Disney’s bigger hits of recent years (Big Hero 6 (2014), Moana (2016) as co-director), it feels odd that they didn’t take this on. Instead, Williams got this done with Sony Pictures Imageworks (The Mitchells and The Machines (2021), Over The Moon (2020), Vivo (2021), Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)).
As with Moana, we have a sea-faring adventure and a mis-matched pari. In this case, we have the young Maisie Bramble (Zaris-Angel Hator) literally thrown into the adventurous sea with monster hunter Jacob Holland (Karl Urban), challenging each others perspectives on their lives, their world, and the known history of their world.
It is a world where the seas are populated with massive beasts that are a threat to sailing ships. Hunters were commissioned by the royalty of that world to hunt the monsters, and the greatest of them is Captain Crow (Jared Harris) who has his sight on the Red Bluster, a massive creatures that took his eye in a previous encounter. Like Ahab in Moby Dick, Crow is obsessed with hunting the Bluster, aided by a colourful crew including his first mate Jacob, and loyal helms-person Sarah Sharpe (Marianne Jean-Baptise).
Also as with Moana, nothing is as it seems where the monsters are concerned as Jacob and Maisie discover on their journey. That’ s half the story on screen. The other half follows Captain Crow on his obsessive quest with his future at stake. On the whole, the story is fairly decent as an adventure and the action beats work well enough to bring some excitement and humour.
In all that, Chris Williams delivers where it counts in building the emotional story as well. It does fall short a little with its denouement as they tackle the nature of colonialism in some odd way- or I might be reading it wrong. In my own story, I’ve tackled the idea that history is seldom right or entirely fixed. It has to depend on who’s telling that story, or how details are interpreted.
Also, the animation from Sony Imageworks is impressive with some interesting details and visuals in there. A lovely score from Mark Mancina aids in bringing a verve to the proceedings, ultimately giving us a movie of small connections on a grand scale of an adventure. And adventure that might be worthwhile revisiting from time to time.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 /5
Directed by Chris Williams
Written by Chris Williams & Nell Benjamin
Stars (vocally) Karl Urban, Jared Harris, Zaris-Angel Hator, Marianne Jean-Baptise, Kathy Burke, Shannon Chan-Kent, Brian T Delaney, with Jim Carter and Dan Stevens
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