Review: Ruby Gillman - Teenage Kraken

Some days, you feel like a mermaid princess. Other days, you feel more like a kraken that wants to lash out at anything that disturbs your peace. DreamWorks' newest animated feature, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken finds the best of both worlds by providing a relatable kraken princess who just wants to be an ordinary girl with ordinary problems. Several years ago, I thought I was being ironic as a princess fan playing a kraken in the King of Tokyo board game. I never imagined there would be a movie someday that combines the two genres alongside a villainess who bears a tongue-in-cheek resemblance to my favorite Disney Princess. When you push the parody and jokes aside, Ruby Gillman is a pretty standard coming-of-age teen drama that can easily compare to any other mainstream teen movie from the past few decades.

Apart from her blue hair and skin, Ruby Gillman is an average awkward nerdy girl who just wants to fit in with the rest of the kids in her high school. The biggest problem in her life is how to ask her crush to go to the prom with her. When a spectacularly failed promposal attempt causes him to fall into the ocean, Ruby learns that being submerged in water transforms her body into a giant kraken. She is horrified by this revelation and demands an explanation from her mother, who she feels had been lying to her for her entire life by telling her that going into the ocean was deadly. This causes her to run away and seek guidance from her Grandmama, who rules over the other kraken kingdom as their queen and welcomes Ruby into their world with open arms. After spending some time with her, Ruby starts to understand why her mother ran away from that life. Though well-meaning, Ruby's grandma is prejudiced against humans, mermaids, and pretty much anyone else who isn't a kraken. She allows Ruby to return to her old life believing that "a kraken will always answer the call of the ocean."

Unfortunately, Ruby is particularly vulnerable at this point, which puts her in the perfect position to be manipulated by Chelsea, a mermaid who enrolled in her school with the specific intent of seeking out the krakens over an old grudge involving Ruby's family. One of the things I liked about this movie is that it dared to fight against the princess trend that began around 2017 in which princesses always forgive people who stab them in the back, which leaves them vulnerable to more betrayal. The lesson that you shouldn't trust people who don't have your best interest at heart is particularly important for a movie with a high school setting like this one because that is where vulnerable people like Ruby are most likely to be manipulated. However, in my own experience, people like this can worm their way into a person's life long after high school if they're not careful. That's why it's important to find ways to teach this to young people as early as possible to avoid trauma later in their lives.

It is of particular note that Chelsea's disguise bears a strong resemblance to Disney's Ariel, which serves as a meta-commentary of how Disney likes to hide behind live-action remakes of their animated masterpieces to mask their recent dearth of creativity. However, they took this particular case a little too far in their marketing by placing a controversial trailer in front of Disney's live-action Little Mermaid that showed Ruby's Grandmama insulting people who like mermaids, which was taken out of context to portray her pride as a kraken. Another Disney reference is that the movie essentially has the same plot as Pixar's Turning Red, which came out last year. However, if I had to pick between those two films, I would choose Ruby Gillman. This movie is more modern, and the characters are less annoying overall. I particularly liked Ruby's mother, who came off as someone who genuinely cared about her happiness and well-being as opposed to the toxic and controlling mother from Turning Red.

Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is an irreverent coming-of-age story that has more to offer to children and teenagers than adults. Its message about only trusting those who have your best interests at heart is especially meaningful for younger viewers. The beautiful undersea aesthetics make it more entertaining than movies with similar plots like Turning Red, and the tongue-in-cheek references to Disney and Pixar follow the standard course of a DreamWorks parody. As a whole, the movie provides a less feminine alternative to mermaids for awkward teenage girls who want to imagine themselves as ocean royalty. Do you plan to see Ruby Gillman in theaters? Let me know in the comments!