2023 has already proven itself to be a standout year for animation across the small and silver screen. Between the boundary-pushing mixed-media aesthetics of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, another visually arresting picture from Makoto Shinkai, Nimona‘s punk charm, or Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, filmgoers haven’t been strapped for choice. However, there’s a smaller movie that risks being lost in this wave: Director Tian Xiaopeng’s Deep Sea, which uses dazzlingly realized backdrops and a surprising late-stage pivot to cement itself as another animated movie worth your time.
Shenxiu (Wang Tingwen), a young girl still processing her parents’ divorce, goes on a cruise with her dad (Teng Kuixing), stepmom (Yang Ting) and baby brother (Dong Yi). Unfortunately, she’s clearly having a crummy time despite being on vacation. Due to the birth of a sibling and her mother’s absence, she feels like an outsider in her own home, and on the first day of their trip, she despondently roams the vessel alone, pining after the warmth she sees in other mom-daughter pairings. Later that night, Shenxiu wanders onto the ship’s deck during a storm and is inexplicably whisked away to the otherworldly Deep Sea Restaurant, a haphazardly assembled submarine inhabited by talking ocean animals. While the ship’s head chef Nanhe (Su Xin) initially pegs Shenxiu as a bad omen, the two eventually strike up a bargain as they search for her estranged mother.
Deep Sea‘s lavish visuals bring to life its fantastical aquatic daydream. Tying into a trend of films that blur the lines between traditional and 3D animation, each frame is stuffed with a mishmash of sea life and abstract imagery that draws from both disciplines. There is an almost overwhelming use of color that captures the kaleidoscopic effect of light refracting off an empty bottle, as dancing rainbow prisms combine with swirling brushstrokes that call to mind the work of Post-Impressionists like Van Gogh. The painterly vistas come together seamlessly with technically impressive CGI that dynamically realizes the details of its briny setting, from bouncing blubber to swaying vegetation, resulting in a transfixing seascape.
This nautical carnival is further buoyed by the creative design of the Deep Sea Restaurant itself, a rusting submarine lined with underwater foliage and gaudy neon signage. Inside, otter waitstaff and walrus line cooks prepare dishes for talking fish. When it’s time to go on the move, the employees line into the back so they can pedal away at bicycle stations which power the propeller. Similar to its nearly overstimulating color palette, this ship embodies a similar sense of maximalism—details that come together to feel like a vibrant children’s book come to life.
Despite these displays of artistry, Deep Sea’s visual craft initially far exceeds its storytelling chops. Many will likely compare this story to others centered on girls whisked into unknown worlds, such as Alice in Wonderland or Spirited Away. But while both those tales tether us to their fantastical settings through a cast of colorful characters as charming as their surroundings, this isn’t the case for Deep Sea—at least through its first hour or so. Up front, Shenxiu is the only figure with any meaningful characterization to speak of, as she struggles with abandonment and estrangement towards her remaining family. By contrast, Nanhe and his employees come across more like lively props than people, with the head chef being entirely motivated by cartoonish greed. It doesn’t help that these early segments are difficult to follow thanks to the fuzzy logic of the reverie, which left me worrying that the movie would end up as an impressive piece of eye candy that failed to deliver a deeper sense of satisfaction.
Thankfully, things snap cleanly into place in its second half, as Deep Sea utilizes its artistic boons to grant pathos to its cast. In just a few scenes—a nostalgic glimpse at a distant hometown, or a silhouetted dance that cuts to true feelings—evocative imagery fills in the greater emotional depth that had been missing. Shenxiu’s anxieties go from cruelly mocked by those around her to a central rallying cry, and Nanhe transforms from a bumbling fool into something else entirely.
This all comes to a head in a sudden turn that clarifies previous obfuscated reasoning, culminating in a gut punch that I didn’t see coming. On the one hand, I imagine this bait-and-switch will prove divisive, similar to when the same plot device was used by an Oscar-winning picture that I’ll avoid name-dropping to skirt around spoilers. While it would have been nice if some of these sentiments were communicated more evenly throughout, these last few sequences unleash a powerful current of transfixing sights that succinctly capture the protagonist’s struggle with despair as she fully accepts the truth of her circumstances.
Amid a groundswell of formidable peers, Deep Sea proves itself to be one of the most breathtaking animated films of the year, defined by a gorgeous iridescent color palette, ornate aquatic setting and impressive blurring of 3D and 2D visual styles. Although it takes quite a while for its narrative to pick up the pace and work in sync with its lofty artistic sensibilities, Deep Sea eventually justifies its dream logic with an affecting final stretch that delivers a torrent of emotion.
Director: Tian Xiaopeng
Writer: Tian Xiaopeng
Starring: Wang Tingwen, Su Xin, Teng Kuixing, Yang Ting, Jing Ji, Dong Yi
Release Date: November 24, 2023
Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves videogames, film, and creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11.
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