Reviewer: Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Directors: Kirk DeMicco, Faryn Pearl
Writers: Pam Brady, Brian C. Brown, Elliott DiGuiseppi
If I were an 8 to 12-year-old kid, and “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” was one of the first animated movies I got to watch, it probably would have excited me a lot more. But given all the amazing animated titles already out there, this sea-themed fantasy about ’embracing your true self’ doesn’t make a big splash. The plot is a lot like Disney-Pixar’s “Turning Red”, but Ruby Gillman’s story is not as cute, comedic, or energetic.
The animated film opens with a scene of Ruby practicing a presentation to give to her mom, seeking permission to attend prom with her friends, which will be hosted on a fancy boat. Why all the effort? Well, the Gillmans have one strict rule to follow—no going into the ocean. Ruby, however, really wants to go to prom with her crush, Connor (Jaboukie Young-White). But before the prom can even happen, an accident forces Ruby to dive into the ocean, leading her to discover a shocking truth about herself, including that she belongs to an epic family of royal warrior sea krakens! And no, they aren’t wicked monsters who sink boats and kill humans.
Lana Condor of “To All The Boys…” fame voices protagonist Ruby Gillman, a cute blue teen Kraken, who loves math and lives on land with her family, pretending to be human. When questioned about their odd appearance, they have the simplest explanation – they’re from Canada. Toni Collette (‘Hereditary’/’Knives Out‘) lends her voice to Ruby’s strict mom Agatha, who is also a star real estate agent. Ruby also has a bunch of friends, who unfortunately get minimal screen-time, which is such a shame.
While the plot about a family of legendary Krakens is fresh off the boat, the rest of “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” is formulaic, and predictable. Both the pace and the dialogues are quite flat, they just work… as in everything about this movie is “all right”, you know, not great, not bad either. The animation lacks the magical charm of fantasy movies (think “Luca”,“Nimona”, “Encanto” or “Maya and the Three”) and some of the characters designs are awfully basic. For instance, there’s a mermaid character, whose design is a lot like the live-action Mystique from the early 2000s, but the mermaid’s colors are worse, and quite the eyesore.
Jane Fonda voices Ruby’s grandmother. Her kraken character design is somewhat unimpressive, resembling a cross between a sliced cucumber and an octopus, but Fonda’s personality as the feisty, powerful matriarch shines through. I laughed when she says “call me grand-mah-mah (with a mild French accent),” to Ruby, when Ruby calls her “grandmother.” But otherwise, the laughs are pretty thin in “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken”.
The soundtrack in “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” is cute and playful, but at times, the background music didn’t quite align with what was happening on screen. The one track that really stood out was a brief snippet of “Hello” by indie band Calabasas, playing during Connor’s introduction as Ruby’s crush. As Ruby gazes at him with dreamy eyes, the lyrics “I really, really wanna get to know ya” play softly in the background, perfectly capturing her feelings for him.
All that said, the best thing about “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” is that, although it starts off centered on Ruby’s desire to attend prom with the boy she likes, the romance is only a minor subplot. The story delves into many other aspects of the protagonist’s life, like her legendary royal lineage, her hidden powers, and the complicated mother-daughter bonds that trouble their family tree. While Ruby’s mother hides a lot of things to ‘protect’ her, like most parents in teen dramas, the climax sees a heartwarming reconciliation between everybody. Better character designs, and wittier/dynamic dialogues would’ve made this film so much more memorable.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch “Ruby Gillman” on Netflix/Zee5 or rent it on Prime Video.
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