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Endearing Animated Story Could’ve Gone Deeper

Jun 30, 2023


Being a teenager is hard. Countless movies and television shows have been dedicated to that fact. DreamWorks’ latest animated features posits the same thing, but with a unique twist: Being a teenager is hard, but being a teenage kraken is harder. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken mixes the fantastical with the realistic in portraying its titular heroine’s journey of self-discovery and growth. Coming in at a very slim hour and a half, Kirk DeMicco’s movie (co-directed by Faryn Pearl) is sometimes too speedy for its own good, and anyone who has seen a single trailer will already know its biggest plot twist. Despite all that, though, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is saved by a stunning voice cast and its sweet depiction of family, especially when it comes to its central mother-daughter duo.

Ruby Gillman (Lana Condor) is your typical teenager, grappling with schoolwork and anxiety-inducing crushes. These issues are made all the more complicated by the simple fact that Ruby, like the rest of her family, is a kraken. Frequently imagined by humans as deadly monsters who sink ships, the Gillmans have made their lives on land to protect themselves from the true terrifying creatures of the deep: Mermaids. At the start of the movie, though, Ruby’s biggest problem is her inability to ask her crush (Jaboukie Young-White) to prom, an event her mother Agatha (Toni Collette) won’t let her attend because it’s on the water. Ruby’s promposal goes horribly wrong and results in her landing in the ocean, which unlocks her inherited kraken powers.

Voices of Jane Fonda and Lana Condor in Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

At long last, Ruby is introduced to her grandmother (Jane Fonda), a warrior queen who rules the seas and keeps her people protected from the mermaids. Though Ruby initially wants nothing to do with her birthright, a newfound friendship with a beautiful Ariel-esque mermaid, Chelsea (Annie Murphy), pushes the young kraken to accept her role under the sea and attempt to mend the rifts of the past. The conflict between the mermaids and the krakens in Ruby Gillman is fairly black-and-white with little room for nuance, thus leaving the more complicated concepts to the strained relationship between Ruby and Agatha, and to a smaller extent, Agatha and her mother. Agatha wishes to keep Ruby sheltered from her underwater heritage, something the teen resents. The unsteady bond between the two becomes Ruby Gillman’s beating heart; it’s certainly more satisfying than the relationship between Agatha and her mom, which seems to hold years of strife that are ultimately glossed over.

That is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’s biggest flaw: It doesn’t go beyond surface-level. As Ruby gets more involved with the ocean and her burgeoning friendship with fellow sea creature Chelsea, her ties to the human world fall away, lessening the overall impact of her arc. Ruby is supposed to be torn between two worlds, but there comes a point where one world dominates all. While her friends become little more than stock figures flitting in and out of the story, Ruby’s family becomes a fully-realized group that further contributes to the strength of her bond with her mom. Her dad (Colman Domingo) is relentlessly supportive, while her brother (Blue Chapman) provides some comedic relief alongside her goofy uncle Brill (Sam Richardson). The Gillmans are all rendered with solid animation that subtly emphasizes their inhumanity by smoothing out their limbs (no bones!) and giving them unique gaits. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken may not be the most visually stunning animated movie of the year, but there’s plenty of color and originality to be found.

Voices of Annie Murphy and Lana Condor in Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Ruby Gillman is greatly aided by a truly stacked voice cast. Condor, best known for leading Netflix’s hit To All the Boys movie trilogy, nails all of Ruby’s anxious and eager inflections, displaying the same endearing versatility she demonstrated in the aforementioned rom-coms. She feels perfectly cast here. Fonda and Collette are both expectedly solid, with Fonda especially projecting the right amount of haughtiness for a queen. Murphy definitely seems to be channeling Schitt’s Creek’s Alexis in her performance, but it fits the Chelsea character quite well and gives the Emmy winner the chance to push her comedic talents vocally. Domingo and Richardson round out the most distinctive members of the ensemble.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’s story could’ve used a more well-rounded approach, but the strength of its cast and character dynamics make for a solidly entertaining watch. As it’s surrounded by more ambitious animated features like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental, it seems somewhat inevitable that this DreamWorks offering won’t make as strong of an impression. However, those who want to take a chance on Ruby Gillman just might find themselves charmed by her spirit.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is now playing in theaters. It is 90 minutes long and rated PG for some action, rude humor, and thematic elements.

Key Release Date Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by filmibee.
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