Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)

June 15, 2023 (Annecy)June 30, 2023 (United States)

June 15, 2023 (Annecy)
June 30, 2023 (United States)

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a 2023 American computer-animated action-comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Kirk DeMicco, co-directed by Faryn Pearl, and written by Pam Brady and the writing team of Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi. The film stars the voices of Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Colman Domingo, and Jane Fonda, with Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Jaboukie Young-White, Blue Chapman, Ramona Young, and Eduardo Franco being featured in the supporting roles. The film follows a shy but kind 15-year-old girl named Ruby Gillman (Condor) who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but when she went into the ocean by breaking her mother's (Collette) rule with any would-be friends, she discovers that she is a direct descendant of battle-hardened krakens who have protected the land and sea from evil mermaids for generations, and is also destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas (Fonda).

The film was first pitched to DreamWorks Animation by Brown and DiGuiseppi, and had been in the works for several years. It was announced in June 2021 as its original title Meet the Gillmans, with casting taking place to play the role and an expected release year of 2022. Paul Tibbitt came on board to direct, with Brady signing on to write with Brown and DiGuiseppi, and production was expected to start in 2022. The majority of the voice cast members were announced in March 2023, along with DeMicco replacing Tibbitt as director. The film draws inspiration from Easy A, Lady Bird, and Booksmart, and the different John Hughes films. The musical score was composed by Stephanie Economou, in addition to two original songs performed by British singer-songwriters Mimi Webb and Freya Ridings.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 15, 2023, and was released in the United States on June 30, by Universal Pictures. The film has received mixed reviews from critics and is currently a box-office failure, grossing $27.2 million against its $70 million budget.

Storyline

In the town of Oceanside, Ruby Gillman and her family are secretly Krakens. Determined to fit in with humans, Ruby's mother Agatha forbids her from going near the ocean, including her school's prom at sea. Ruby's friends Margot, Trevin, and Bliss convince her to ask out her crush Connor anyway, but she accidentally knocks him into the water. Ruby jumps in and saves Connor — unknowingly triggering an underwater transformation — but new student Chelsea Van Der Zee takes the credit.

Noticing bioluminescent suction cups on her fingers, Ruby hides in the school library, but transforms into a Giant Kraken. She is spotted by Chelsea and Agatha, whose ocean-dwelling brother Brill has been summoned by Ruby's transformation. Agatha calms her distressed daughter down to human size, and Ruby confronts her parents, who explain that the women in their family turn into powerful Giant Krakens while underwater.

With a reluctant Brill's help, Ruby sneaks into the ocean to meet her grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, who reveals that Ruby is in line to rule as protector of the ocean. Other creatures have tried to seize power, including Leviathans, Umibōzu, and most dangerous of all, Mermaids. The evil Mermaid Queen Nerissa found the Trident of Oceanus but was defeated by Agatha, who hid the Trident before abandoning her kingdom for a life on land.

Returning home, Ruby is attacked by vengeful sea captain Gordon Lighthouse, but is saved by Chelsea, who is actually a mermaid. Gordon's footage of Ruby in Kraken form goes viral, but Chelsea befriends Ruby, taking her on a "Super Sea Girl Ditch Day". Chelsea suggests that by finding the Trident, they can end the war between Krakens and Mermaids; her mother, Nerissa, was killed trying to recover the Trident from the Well of Seas.

Grandmamah trains her granddaughter to master her Kraken powers, unaware she is using them to practice entering the Well of Seas, and Ruby neglects her friends to spend time with Chelsea. Ruby's father Arthur, younger brother Sam, and Brill trick Gordon into "capturing" their pet sea creature Nessie, letting him believe he has ended the Kraken threat. Ruby tries to introduce Chelsea to her mother, but Agatha is unwilling to trust a Mermaid and forbids her daughter from returning to the ocean, but an angry Ruby transforms and storms off.

Agatha confronts Grandmamah, who explains that Nerissa never had a daughter, while Ruby retrieves the Trident but is betrayed by Chelsea, who reveals herself to be Nerissa. Trapping Ruby underwater, Nerissa surfaces to use the Trident to destroy the Krakens, interrupting prom night as she fights off Agatha and Grandmamah. With encouragement from Brill, Ruby arrives to face Nerissa and saves the prom ship. Combining their powers, Ruby, her mother, and grandmother destroy the trident, and Nerissa is captured by Gordon. Ruby's classmates hail her as their Kraken hero and she reunites with her family and friends while Connor accepts her invitation to prom, and Agatha and Grandmamah reconcile.

Sometime later, Ruby and her family have embraced their identity as Krakens, while Ruby and Connor become a couple. Brill warns that a Devil Whale is heading toward the Kraken Kingdom, and Ruby leaps into action as the protector of the seas.

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