“The Sea Beast” takes place in an unknown kingdom during the late 18th Century. Sea monsters are ravaging the land and monster hunters on great ships are the kingdom’s only defense. Chief among these amazing ships is the legendary Inevitable commanded by the equally legendary Captain Crow (Jared Harris). His first mate is equally well known: a famous harpooner named Jacob (Karl Urban) who has become Crow’s presumptive heir and surrogate son. The story kicks into gear when an orphan named Maisie Bumble (an excellent Zaris Angel-Hator) stows away aboard a ship to become a monster hunter in the tradition of her late parents who were slain when hunting monsters themselves. Maisie and Jacob are tasked with helping Captain Crow hunt the legendary Red Bluster, an enormous red sea monster with whom Crow has a very personal grudge. With Maisie’s help, Jacob and the rest of the crew will find out that what they thought they knew about the beasts they’re fighting is all wrong.
Although “The Sea Beast” is a family film, it isn’t afraid to explore the darker themes of death and obsession. There are obvious parallels to “Moby Dick” and Jules Verne adventures, but they’re done so well and seamlessly integrated into the narrative that the parallels enhance rather than distract from the story. The peril feels real and although the Red Bluster looks like something out of “How To Train Your Dragon” there is a sense of majesty about the creature that the excellent animation conveys with a sense of awe. Writer/Director Chris Williams and his crew have created an incredibly detailed and immersive world that is grounded by its detailed character development. It’s the perfect mix of fantastic and relatable that permeates all the great animated films.
The voice actors are all excellent, with Angel-Hator and Urban dominating most of the action. Their chemistry is believable and their evolving relationship never feels cloying or forced. Harris manages to create a full character out of what could have been a one-note caricature. All he knows is war and he has to have his eyes opened rather forcefully to see another alternative and Harris sells that wonderfully. With a brilliant story, incredible visuals, and immersive vocal performances, “The Sea Beast” is one of the top animated features of the year. 5 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!
Next we have “Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank” a Nickelodeon production featuring an all-star vocal cast and the director of the original “Lion King” and is a riff on the classic Mel Brook’s comedy “Blazing Saddles.” Sounds like a can’t miss proposition, doesn’t it? Well. . .not so much. “Paws Of Fury” is an ambitious misfire. The story involves a canine named Hank (Michael Cera) who escapes from his home in the Land Of Dogs and makes his way to the Land Of Cats in order to become a samurai. Hank runs into the evil Ika Chu (Ricky Gervais) the ruler of one of the provinces who is trying to get rid of the inhabitants of a town called Kakamucho (one of hundreds of scatological references in this film). Hank, who is a prisoner of Ika Chu, is hired by the latter to become the new samurai of the town, thinking that Hank’s inexperience will make it easier for Ika Chu to implement his nefarious plan.
Of course Hank has no clue about being a samurai and it falls to disgraced and drunken former samurai Jimbo (short for Yojimbo, get it?) voiced to perfection by Samuel L. Jackson to teach Hank how to find the samurai within in time to save Kakamucho from total destruction.
The problem with this film is that it’s tonally all over the place. It wants to be an straight forward adventure in one scene and a PG-Rated parody in the next. I wasn’t kidding about the “Blazing Saddles” connection. It is so connected to the 1974 film that the original’s writers are given screenplay credits. The trouble is that “Blazing Saddles” is a subversive, R-Rated classic that tackles issues like racism with a biting sense of humor. Translating that to a kiddie film would be challenge for anyone and although it might have sounded like a good idea at the time, the filmmakers clearly didn’t know what they were getting into. Ed Stone and Nate Hopper’s script follows “Blazing Saddle’s” so closely that there are scenes lifted directly from the movie. There’s a horse punching scene and a farting scene, neither of which have any of the impact of the original film. I hesitate to use the word “neutered” as it is a film about cats, but I think that’s the term that best describes the effect this attempt had on the finished product.
The vocal cast does what it can here, but the script doesn’t do them any favors. Cera’s Hank is the cliched wimp who finds his inner warrior and, quite frankly, he’s a bit irriating for most of the film. Gervais is appropriately villainous, but his oh-so very British sarcasm wears thin after awhile. Michelle Yeoh is barely there as one of the leading citizens of Kakamucho, and Djimon Hounsou is amusing as Sumo, the giant cat henchman who becomes Hank’s bosom buddy.
Speaking of “Blazing Saddles” Mel Brooks shows up as the Shogun and does a watered down version of his “Blazing Saddles” character, even breaking out the “What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?” line. (It ain’t funny if Slim Pickens ain’t saying it) He also gets a “It’s good to be the Shogun” shout-out to “History Of The World: Part I.” It’s not Brooks’ fault, but it all seems so watered down and the references will fly over the heads of its target audience and probably most of the parents as well. The only cat (heh, see what I did there?) who gets out of this alive is Jackson as Jimbo. Jimbo’s a fat, homely cat who still manages to be the coolest dude in the room. Any laughs to be had are from Jackson’s verbal salvos as Jimbo. A small shoutout goes to George Takei, who gets to utter his famous “Oooh My” catchphrase in the space of about five minutes.
The fourth wall-breaking is annoying rather than funny as it’s all been done before and better and since “Paws of Fury: The Legend Of Hank” doesn’t fully commit to the comic anarchy that defined its cinematic inspiration, the jokes fall with meaty thuds. I admire the filmmakers ambition, but they clearly bit off a little more than they could chew here with this concept. 2 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!
