Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, 2023.
Directed by Kirk DeMicco.
Featuring the voice talents of Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Jaboukie Young-White, Blue Chapman, Eduardo Franco, Ramona Young, Echo Kellum, Nicole Byer, and Jane Fonda.
SYNOPSIS:
A shy adolescent learns that she comes from a fabled royal family of legendary sea krakens and that her destiny lies in the depths of the waters, which is bigger than she could have ever imagined.
The rather bland, nonsensical, and disjointed Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is instantly positioned as a twist on folklore (a recent lame trend for anything that has once been a villain) through opening narration explaining that sea beasts known as krakens are misunderstood peaceful creatures that want to live free. In contrast, beloved mermaids are actually vain and directly responsible for an underwater war between the two mythological creatures for oceanic rulership. It’s a life Agatha Gillman (voiced by Toni Collette) fled as soon as she could, starting a family with her husband Arthur (voiced by) and their now teenage daughter, the eponymous Ruby (voiced by Lana Condor) and young son Sam (voiced by Blue Chapman).
Now living on land in an oceanside town, the family hides their kraken identity (only the women can grow into one), appearing as anthropomorphic human beings featuring Smurf-blue skin. Directed by co-writer Kirk DeMicco (alongside co-director Faryn Pearl) from a script also by Pam Brady, Elliott DiGuiseppi, and Brian C. Brown, one of the film’s first jokes addresses that, even for an animated feature, this is not remotely believable that, complete with their gills and barnacles, they would blend into a human world without raising suspicion. However, the joke feels awkward and doesn’t do any convincing, even by poking fun at the premise. There are ways to cleverly acknowledge that something is stupid, getting viewers right back on board, and then there is the strangeness of krakens claiming they have blue skin because they are from Canada, which is supposed to be a joke.
Much of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken suffers the same fate in execution, mostly resembling a bootleg Turning Red without that Pixar gem’s strong emotional pull. Ruby is helicopter-parented, forbidden to go into the ocean as it will release her kraken form, which would single-handedly destroy their façade parading as humans. It’s also, simply put, a life that Agatha has left behind and doesn’t want Ruby to enter. As a result of this strict parenting, Ruby is also restricted from partaking in the school prom, which is set to take place on a boat, an event that she deems patriarchal but is nevertheless interested in attending as a group with her supportive friends.
That’s not stopping the shy but nerdy Ruby from attempting to ask out her crush Connor (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White), which quickly transitions into a disaster that sees her jumping into the ocean to rescue his drowning body. Immediately after, a new girl named Chelsea Van Der Zee (voiced by Annie Murphy), seemingly ripped straight from the original animated version of The Little Mermaid arrives on the scene, taking credit for the good deed while expressing a stereotypical airhead popular girl personality.
Meanwhile, Ruby is freaking out as the transformation into a full-blown kraken seems impossible to reverse, and she is terrified of what her mother will do upon finding out. The central metaphor here is quite obvious, representing all aspects of growing up, including taking on new heavy responsibilities. Agatha can bring Ruby back to her smaller form by calming her emotions. Still, it doesn’t stop the inquisitive teenager from diving back into the ocean to learn more about her family’s past from the queen of the ocean, her Grandmamah (voiced by Jane Fonda), which paves the way for a separate arc about motherhood across three generations. A kooky captain is voiced by Will Arnett, hunting krakens, who somehow doesn’t generate many laughs.
There is so much going on here that the filmmakers lose sight of anything compelling that could be done with that metaphor. Instead, every character on land is temporarily tossed aside so the narrative can deliver some backstory on a war between krakens and mermaids that aren’t engaging. Once Ruby discovers that Chelsea is a mermaid, their shared otherness brings them together as friends, plotting behind their parents’ backs to bring peace to the ocean. Rather shockingly, the story takes this portion of the story into a bizarre reveal that uncomfortably comes across as misguided in a xenophobic sense. The story seems to be taking on the positive message metaphor that people from different backgrounds can be friends and get along, only to throw that all the way to stay consistent with all mermaids being evil.
Then there is the blunt truth that outside of the occasional glowing, pulsating colors underwater, the character models are quite generic without much imagination or creativity, and that’s including the kraken forms, which are just larger versions of the characters’ anthropomorphic selves. The animation is awkwardly hyper-expressive, and there is a feeling that the filmmakers know none of these dramatic beats are clicking, as evidenced by the relentless assault of pop songs over the soundtrack, including during climactic action sequences.
Even though the voiceover performances and some character relationship dynamics are serviceable, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken drowns itself in flat animation, questionable plot choices, and too many ideas.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
