Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken: Film Review
DreamWorks’ latest animation, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, might not be up there with the likes of Shrek, Trolls and Madagascar, but it’s still a lovely family outing.
The animated coming-of-age movie follows Ruby (voiced by Lana Condor), a 16-year-old girl who tries to fit in with the humans at Oceanside High despite being a Kraken. She is forbidden from going into the ocean and we find out why when Ruby jumps into the sea to save a friend – she awakens the giant Kraken within her! Ruby discovers she comes from a royal family of legendary Krakens and is destined to inherit the throne from her Grandmamah (Jane Fonda).
First of all, you have to roll with the idea that a Kraken – the legendary sea monster I know best from Pirates of the Caribbean – could shrink to human size and pretend to be one without anybody noticing. She’s blue and has gills! Also, her mother Agatha (Toni Collette) is a respected estate agent to humans and the Gillmans are a solid family in the Oceanside community. It doesn’t make sense but you have to suspend your disbelief to get the most out of this movie.
The story steps up a notch once Ruby embraces her Kraken form, meets her Grandmamah and learns about their ongoing war with the mermaids over a trident. Once she’s got over the horror of her natural form, Ruby trains with her Grandmamah to harness her powers and help free the trident to end the war – there’s plenty of action and drama and the Krakens’ bioluminescence means it is quite cool to watch too.
The voice cast is awesome – Condor is perfect as the awkward girl stunned by her newfound identity and Fonda brings gravitas as her Grandmamah. Collette smartly encapsulates the overprotective mother figure who is holding it all together by a thread and Annie Murphy is fun as the popular new girl Chelsea.
There is nothing wrong with this sweet movie but it fails to stand out in a sea of freaking amazing family films. The story is familiar (Turning Red springs to mind) and it is predictable and ultimately average. I didn’t love the character design and the visuals are good but not extraordinary. I hoped it would level up so I could really engage with it but that didn’t happen. However, I’m not the target audience for this and perhaps kids will really love it.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken isn’t DreamWorks at its best, but it’s still a pleasant way to spend 91 minutes.
In cinemas from Friday 30th June