{"id":13971,"date":"2022-01-13T15:07:34","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T13:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=13971"},"modified":"2022-01-13T15:07:36","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T13:07:36","slug":"south-african-animation-seal-team-makes-a-splash-on-netflix-top-10-films-in-27-countries-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2022\/01\/13\/south-african-animation-seal-team-makes-a-splash-on-netflix-top-10-films-in-27-countries-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"South African Animation &#8220;Seal Team&#8221; Makes A Splash On Netflix Top 10 Films In 27 Countries Around The World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Triggerfish\u2019s third animated feature, Seal Team, is making a splash on Netflix\u2019s global Top 10 films for the week ending 9 January 2022, with members watching over 10 million hours, making it the ninth most-watched film on Netflix in 27 countries!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Seal Team Trailer | Netflix After School\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FT6k3HoS_F8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Seal Team<\/em>, which launched on New Year\u2019s Eve,is the story of Quinn, a seal who spends his days relaxing in the sun, splashing in the beautiful waters off the coast of Cape Town, and swimming for his life from Great White Sharks. When he decides it\u2019s time for the food chain to bite back, Quinn recruits a ragtag team of likeminded seals brave, stupid and crazy enough to try and teach those sharks a lesson.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Decider<\/em> says, \u201c<em>Seal Team<\/em> has laughs-a-plenty and a sense of good natured camaraderie in its heart,\u201d not to mention \u201cinspired voice casting\u201d and \u201cthe kind of sight gags that look beyond cartoon kids\u2019 fare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Common Sense Media<\/em> recommends <em>Seal Team<\/em> for ages six and up, saying, \u201cThough it doesn&#8217;t have the big-name studios behind it, this movie holds its own in the animation and voice acting categories\u2026 You can\u2019t help but root for the seals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SealTeamStats.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SealTeamStats.jpg?resize=450%2C536&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SealTeamStats.jpg?w=450&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SealTeamStats.jpg?resize=252%2C300&amp;ssl=1 252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The all-star cast is far from wet behind the ears. Jessie T. Usher (A-Train in <em>The Boys<\/em>) stars as Quinn, opposite the likes of Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Omni-Man in <em>Invincible<\/em>), Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (Philip in <em>The Americans<\/em>), Emmy nominee Kristen Schaal (Mabel in <em>Gravity Falls, <\/em>The Guide in <em>What We Do In The Shadows<\/em>) and four-time Annie Awards nominee Patrick Warburton (Joe Swanson in <em>Family Guy<\/em>), as well as South African stars Sharlto Copley (Wikus van der Merwe in <em>District 9<\/em>) and John Kani (Rafiki in <em>The Lion King<\/em>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grammy Award winner Seal plays a singing seal called Seal Seal and action legend Dolph Lundgren (<em>The Expendables<\/em>) portrays a dolphin called Dolph &#8211; two castings which tell you everything you need to know about both the film\u2019s humour and how swimmingly everything fell into place for the production.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Seal Team<\/em> is the feature film debut of South African writer-director Greig Cameron, working from a story by Wayne Thornley (<em>Adventures in Zambezia<\/em>) and Brian and Jason Cleveland.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBelieve it or not, our underwater military animal team is based on a real unit that trains seals <em>and<\/em> dolphins to disarm mines,\u201d says Greig. \u201cAdmittedly, the real-life version probably isn\u2019t armed with exploding sardines and octo-suits made out of octopi that can change colour&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, seals are the unlikeliest of action heroes, especially when on land. \u201cThey\u2019re these weird, flubby, amorphous slabs of butter on land,\u201d says Greig. \u201cWe went on a research trip diving with them. As we left the harbour in the boat, I was looking at these derpy seals just lying there on the jetty, and I was wondering, \u2018Goodness gracious, how are we going to make an action movie with these guys?\u2019 But then as soon as we got in the water, I was like, \u2018Yes, this is going to work amazingly.\u2019 When they get in the water, it\u2019s not just that they\u2019re faster: their whole bodies re-form into these darting bullets. They\u2019re pretty much the physical manifestation of \u2018squash-and-stretch\u2019 animation.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Greig leaned into the ridiculousness of the seals vs. sharks premise. \u201cCape fur seals forming a military SEAL team to fight sharks is something so silly and ridiculous, it makes me grin,\u201d says Greig. \u201cIt makes everyone grin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But co-director Kane Croudace says for all its silliness, behind the madcap gags and rapid-fire punchlines, <em>Seal Team<\/em> is also an inspiring underdog story that everyone at Triggerfish related to.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about a hero who is brave, stupid and crazy enough to want to do the dangerously impossible,\u201d says Kane. \u201cThat\u2019s a theme that resonates throughout my working career. Right at the beginning of my time with Triggerfish, we wanted to make a feature film at the bottom of Africa with a totally inexperienced crew, which everyone said was impossible. We went and did it anyway. If anyone working at a \u2019proper\u2019 studio had seen our workflows on <em>Adventures In Zambezia<\/em>, they would have given us 150\/1 odds against us ever finishing it. But shielded by our stupidity and bravado, we managed to do it and we\u2019ve got better with each subsequent project. So I think Quinn\u2019s attitude to the task ahead is mirrored in our tenacity in getting these films made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Triggerfish\u2019s first two films, <em>Adventures in Zambezia<\/em> and <em>Khumba<\/em>, sold nine million cinema tickets globally, placing them in the five biggest box office hits from Africa ever. Triggerfish then went on to animate the Oscar-nominated Roald Dahl adaptation <em>Revolting Rhymes<\/em> as well as four much-loved Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adaptations, including the 2021 Annie Award winner <em>The Snail and the Whale <\/em>and the 2020 International Emmy-winning <em>Zog<\/em>, all produced by Magic Light Pictures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 25-year-old studio is currently producing three Africa-focused TV series: <em>Mama K\u2019s Team 4 <\/em>for Netflix; <em>Kiya<\/em> for eOne, Disney Junior and Disney+; and the anthology <em>Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire<\/em>, for Disney+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2021 Annecy International Animation Festival awarded Triggerfish the Mifa Animation Industry Award for \u201cthe pioneering role that the company has played in animation in South Africa, and Africa most widely,\u201d according to V\u00e9ronique Encrenaz, head of Mifa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Triggerfish\u2019s third animated feature, Seal Team, is making a splash on Netflix\u2019s global Top 10 films for the week ending 9 January 2022, with members watching over 10 million hours, making it the ninth most-watched film on Netflix in 27 countries! Seal Team, which launched on New Year\u2019s Eve,is the story of Quinn, a seal&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2022\/01\/13\/south-african-animation-seal-team-makes-a-splash-on-netflix-top-10-films-in-27-countries-around-the-world\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">South African Animation &#8220;Seal Team&#8221; Makes A Splash On Netflix Top 10 Films In 27 Countries Around The World<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13971\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}