Movie Review: Deep Sea (Animation, 2023)

First, the rundown.

What is this movie? It’s a Chinese 3D animated film.

What is it about? It’s about a little girl named Shenxiu, who is in search of her mother.

That’s the gist of it.

I kid, there is more to the review + the Movie subbed + OST + extras!

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Let’s start with the cons.

The movie is almost 2 hours long. That’s probably a bit too long for an animated movie. Especially one with a paper-thin plot such as this. And the first half is too confusing for its own good. At least to me. It’s almost like a musical, with less singing, if any. I didn’t even know what direction they were trying to go with this. A few trimming might have helped tighten the pace.

Now for the pros.

The animation. There’s no sense in talking about an animated film without talking about the animation. The animation in this is by far the best of any Chinese animation I’ve seen. And I have seen one. (I’m joking, I’ve seen a few.) One can easily see the production crew must have put a lot of work into this. It’s a tapestry of colors. The animation is fluid, like a beautiful painting in motion. And the character’s facial expression is ridiculous. Their expression conveys the emotion of the characters, sometimes too realistically that it’s scary. All in all, the animation is a wonder to look at.

Fortunately, that’s not the only thing good here. The music is beautiful. It’s so chill and relaxing, it sets you in a mood like putting you in a peaceful aquarium. (I mean, it is water and all.) And finally, the last act. Let’s talk about the final act of this movie. All I can say, without spoilers, is that it is beautiful. It’s tear-jerking, heartfelt, bittersweet, and emotionally painful. But also, hopeful. (I’m too old for this, too old for the pain. My heart can’t take it.)

At the end of the day, as the main character said, “Persevere”. I did, and thankfully, the pros outweigh the cons. That final act turned this ship around. This went from a messy, confusing, and artsy film, to a masterpiece. Just like that. I cried buckets.

I went into this expecting a story about a girl looking for her mother. Instead, I got a story about a girl finding a brother she never had. And the song ending the final scene, don’t even get me started, I can write a whole essay on that song alone. I believe it’s titled, ‘Goodbye Deep Sea’.

There are only two important characters here. The little girl, Shenxiu, who’s in search of her mother. And the clown, Nanhe. Yes, he’s a clown. He looks funny, and weird at the same time. His character is beyond whacky. But there’s more to him than just being the goof. Even though this is the story about little Shenxiu, it’s actually his movie.

In conclusion, I enjoyed it. If you want to check out a beautiful animated film, I recommend you watch this. Trust me, the final act alone is worth it. Bring tissue. I didn’t. And I flooded my room.

I can see why it’s called Deep Sea.

P.S. Don’t forget to stay through the credits!

WATCH THE MOVIE

Deep Sea (engsub) [STREAM]

EXTRAS

Deep Sea OST [DOWNLOAD]

Sea Otter Reveals Warm Particle Universe [STREAM]

Song of Beidaihe MV [STREAM]

Little White Boat MV [STREAM]

Goodbye Deep Sea MV [STREAM]

Joker MV [STREAM]

(Special thanks to Maymay for the lyrics, Roh for the OST and Kappy for encoding!)

  1. 4 thoughts on “Movie Review: Deep Sea (Animation, 2023)

    LOL! I loved the humour in this review. I’ve watched a few animations myself, and I usually find them just ok, even the ones that are highly praised.

    I’ll check this one out because you have piqued my curiosity about the animation style itself. I’m all for really beautiful animation, and those two screenshots you’ve included look like a painting. Also, cat and otter. How could I not check this out?! Glad to hear it has a pretty good storyline, even if it was rough at the start.

  2. 4 thoughts on “Movie Review: Deep Sea (Animation, 2023)

    Thanks for liking my humor. Or rather, thanks for reading my review. 😀

    When you do check out the movie, please share your thoughts here. Would love to know what you think of it.

  3. 4 thoughts on “Movie Review: Deep Sea (Animation, 2023)

    movie is good beginnin is kinda confusin so is ending
    does she ever found her birth mom? it didnt really say

    • 4 thoughts on “Movie Review: Deep Sea (Animation, 2023)

      She did. In spirit.

      The whole point of the movie is about letting go of the trauma and embracing what you have now. The past is like a shadow, the future is like a storybook.

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