SA animated film ‘Seal Team’ makes top 10 most-watched shows on Netflix in 27 countries

The SA animation film Seal Team topped the top 10 list of the most-watched shows on Netflix in five continents and 27 countries. 

The film launched on the platform on New Year’s Eve, and one week later, it had garnered more than 10-million hours of watch time and won fans in countries including Mexico, Panama and Paraguay.

The film also has a following in Mauritius, on Reunion Island and in SA.

“Seal Team tells 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’s time for the food chain to bite back, Quinn recruits a ragtag team of like-minded seals brave, stupid and crazy enough to try to teach the sharks a lesson,” said production company Triggerfish.

It is no surprise the film topped the most-watched shows on the streaming platform: It boasts an impressive cast of award-winning actors, including Jessie T Usher, Oscar- winner JK Simmons, Emmy-winner Matthew Rhys and SA actor John Kani.

There are also appearances by Grammy-award winner Seal as the singing seal called Seal Seal, and action legend Dolph Lundgren.

The film’s co-director Kane Croudace said he resonates with the story and bravery of Quinn on a personal level. 

“It’s about a hero who is brave, stupid and crazy enough to want to do the dangerously impossible. That’s 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.”

Croudace said the film went ahead despite the naysayers and very slim chances of them concluding the project.

“We did it anyway. If anyone working at a ’proper’ studio had seen our workflows on Adventures In Zambezia, they would have given 150/1 odds against us finishing it. But shielded by our stupidity and bravado, we managed to do it and we’ve got better with each subsequent project. I think Quinn’s attitude to the task ahead is mirrored in our tenacity in getting these films made,” said Croudace.

The Triggerfish productions Adventures in Zambezia and Khumba sold nine million cinema tickets globally and placed them in the five biggest box office hits from Africa. 

Other productions by the company include animating the Oscar-nominated Roald Dahl adaptation Revolting Rhymes as well as four Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adaptations, including the 2021 Annie Award winner The Snail and the Whale and the 2020 International Emmy-winning Zog, all originally produced by London-based production company Magic Light Pictures.