Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken – Painfully Average Animated Fare

Animated children’s films mean different things to different audiences. For those who haven’t seen as many, Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken may do just enough to entertain. For those who have, the film is merely more of the same and average in every conceivable way. That being said, its ultimate success lies somewhere in between those lanes. While the animation is strong, that’s about where it ends as it brings absolutely nothing new to the table and that’s what takes away from its impact. Another coming-of-age story, it essentially goes through the usual story beats from start to finish without straying from the formula. In spite of its familiarity, some audiences could connect with the titular character which will go a long way and though the voice acting is okay, the material is unimaginative at best. Whatever good it does or doesn’t do, at the end of the day, the film fails to make itself stand out in any way and is most likely destined to fade into obscurity amongst the rest of an already crowded genre. Anyone looking for a decent distraction for 90 or so minutes will get that here but there are countless better options out there.

Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken is pretty self-explanatory in terms of story. Ruby Gillman (Condor) is a teenage kraken whose family passed themselves off as humans and lived alongside them all her life in an oceanside town. Desperate to fit in at her high school, her mother Agatha (Collette) held her back from her true self. Living with humans on the surface wasn’t easy, but it meant keeping her safe from whatever was inside the water. Being a teenager, something had to give as Ruby inevitably went against her mother’s wishes and began to discover her true self and abilities, none bigger than her ability to transform into a giant kraken. However, that was only the beginning of Ruby’s story. Part rebelling against her mother and part looking for answers, she discovered that she was part of a bloodline of warrior kraken queens who have been at war with mermaids for generations and was to be the next heir to the throne. Taking over from her Grandmamah (Fonda) that she didn’t know existed because of her estranged relationship with Agatha, she helped Ruby embrace her destiny though whether or not she would take that mantle remained to be seen.

Back on the surface, Ruby didn’t feel so alone after striking up a relationship with a new arrival to her high school named Chelsea (Annie Murphy) who just happened to be a mermaid. Someone who she could finally be herself with, Ruby let her guard down. In what appeared to be the wrong choice, it’s hard to blame her for it. While she had her squad of human friends from school, her relationship with Chelsea was different though she perhaps took that friendship for granted. In the end, Ruby proved that she still had plenty of growing up to do which meant settling the drama between her and her mother. Meanwhile, Agatha had to do the same with her own estranged mother whom she left behind in search of a better life for her daughter. It was only a matter of time until all those storylines converged in an ending that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

As mentioned, the animation was strong but it’s not quite enough in this case as the film is lacking in all other areas. The acting was fine even if the cast simply go through the motions with their performances. While the uninspired material didn’t help their case, they did not create much in the way of excitement either though younger audiences could interpret it all differently.

Ultimately, Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken is more middling animated fare that makes very little effort to be anything more than average. Though it’s fine, fine is not enough.

still courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.