Since we saw the trailers for this made-in-Singapore 3D cartoon, we really dreaded going to see it. The animation looked stiff and the facial expressions seemed limited. But hey, a job's a job and we had to catch it to write the review. Well, it turns out that we were right to be pessimistic.

Singer JJ Lin lends the voice for the lead character, Draco, who is the son of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. Bored with studying, Draco decides to steal his father's Luminous Pearl, the source of the latter's power.

However, Draco is kidnapped by his father's arch enemy, Ocho the evil octopus. She plans to attack the Dragon King and take over his kingdom. So it's now up to Draco and his pals — Sam the Squid, Ping the Pufferfish and Star Lee the Starfish — to save the kingdom...

Legend of the Sea is one of the worst cartoons we've ever seen. As much as we'd like to support homegrown efforts, Hollywood studios like Pixar and Disney have taken animation to such great heights that it's hard for a local company to compete, using the less advanced technology that it has.

Even if we were to forgive the simplicity of the animation, the rest of the film — its plot, dialogue and acting — still rank far below the level of creativity and intelligence commonly found in animation these days. Made by Singapore animation studio Cubix International, which also made Singapore first 3-D animation Zodiac: The Race Begins, Legend of the Sea is dead in the water.