One of the major animated feature films to hit Netflix in 2022 is The Sea Beast. Here’s a rundown of everything we know so far about the animated movie that comes from Disney alum, Chris Williams.
The project was first announced all the way back in 2018 (now four years ago) and was originally called Jacob and the Sea Beast and at the time was pitched as “A charming seafarer sails into uncharted waters and discovers an unlikely ally in a sea monster.”
Netflix has since provided an updated 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. THE SEA BEAST takes us to where the map ends, and the true adventure begins.”
Who’s behind The Sea Beast?
Chris Williams serves as the writer, director, and producer of The Sea Beast.
The prolific director has been active since the late 90s primarily working at Disney. His first project was Mulan where he served as a story artist. Since then, he’s worked in various capacities on some of Disney’s biggest hits.
Most recently, he served as co-director on Moana as well as directing 2014’s Big Hero 6.
Photo by Vincent Sandoval/FilmMagic
Back when the movie was announced Williams said in a statement that “Jacob and the Sea Beast’ is the kind of story I’ve always wanted to take on,” adding “It’s a tale of high adventure where our hero leaves the known world and ventures out into uncharted waters. As it turns out, I’m doing the same thing.”
Since then, Netflix uploaded a video of Chris Williams on its hub for its animation studio on NetflixAnimation.com (we’ve embedded that below) where he talks about why he made the jump over to Netflix and more about his past in the world of animation.
In the video, he says the reason why he jumped over to Netflix is that “It’s a place where people are getting to make the thing that they always wanted to make but they never thought they would get to make.”
Williams is one of a number of creatives Netflix has managed to lure away from Disney in recent years. Other people who have jumped over to Netflix includes Ronnie Del Carmen (Inside Out), Nancy Kanter (Sofia the First), Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), Darla K. Anderson (Coco), Chris Nee (Doc McStuffins), Shion Takeuchi (Gravity Falls) and Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls).
Jed Schlanger is a producer on the project and has worked on several notable Dreamworks projects including How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and The Boss Baby.
On IMDb Melissa Cobb who is VP at Netflix for kids and family entertainment serves is listed as a producer alongside Christian Hejnal (Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse) who is listed as an associate producer.
First Look at The Sea Beast on Netflix
As part of Netflix’s partial unveiling of their 2022 slate, Netflix gave us our first look at the movie with four seconds of footage and a first look image too.
The tease can be found between 2:05 to 2:09 in Netflix’s movie preview video which as of February 7th had amassed over 6.5 million views.
If you don’t want to scrub through, we’ve clipped the four seconds of The Sea Beast and we’ve embedded that below:
Last week we got our first look at #TheSeaBeast coming to Netflix in 2022! pic.twitter.com/1FjaBUkW2u
— What’s on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) February 7, 2022
Here’s a look at some of the high-resolution stills both found in the teaser and
Who’s in the voice cast for The Sea Beast?
As of February 2022, Netflix has yet to unveil any of the voice cast that will be featured in The Sea Beast.
When will The Sea Beast be on Netflix?
Only a 2022 date has been confirmed so far. Guessing beyond that broad release is impossible right now.
We have seen some of the biggest animated heavy hitters added to Netflix in December such as Back to the Outback in 2021 for example but we did see The Mitchells vs. The Machines added back in April so it’s truly anyone’s guess.
Are you looking forward to The Sea Beast coming to Netflix in 2022? Let us know in the comments down below.