Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is an American computer-animated coming-of-age action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Kirk DeMicco, co-directed by Faryn Pearl, and written by Pam Brady, it features an ensemble voice cast including 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. In the film, sixteen-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but when she breaks her mother's rule about going on the beach with any would-be friends, Ruby discovers that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.
The film was first pitched to DreamWorks Animation. It was announced in June 2021 as Meet the Gillmans, with casting taking place to play the role, including Condor, Laura Dern, Michael Sheen, and Murphy, and an expected release year of 2022. Paul Tibbitt came on board to direct, with Brady signing on to write the film; production was expected to start in 2022 instead. The majority of the voice cast members, along with Condor and Murphy's confirmation, were announced in March 2023, along with DeMicco replacing Tibbitt as director. Pearl also joined the project as co-director, and Kelly Cooney Cilella signed on as producer. The film was inspired by John Hughes films, Easy A (2010), Lady Bird (2017) and Booksmart (2019).
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 15, 2023, and is theatrically released in the United States on June 30, by Universal Pictures.
==Premise==
Sixteen-year-old Ruby Gillman learns that she is in the next legendary line of sea krakens. Despite her lofty destiny, she is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High. Ruby struggles even more to fit in when her mother forbids her from going to the beach. After disobeying her mother's rules, she discovers that she is descended from the warrior Kraken queens and will ascend to the throne as the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, her grandmother. The krakens are a race sworn to protect the world oceans from the vain, power-hungry mermaids by battling with eons. Ruby would need to embrace Chelsea, a mermaid-turned-human who enrol at Oceanside High School.
==Cast==
* Lana Condor as Ruby Gillman, a shy freshman who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High even if she is a kraken. She is described as "a really normal teenager".
* Toni Collette as Agatha Gillman, Ruby and Sam's overprotective mother, Brill's sister, Grandmamah's daughter, and Arthur's wife who works as a real estate agent and does not want her daughter to go to the sea with her would-be friends.
* Annie Murphy as Chelsea Van Der Zee / Queen Nerissa, a snobbish Canadian-accented mermaid-turned-human who is the popular new girl at Oceanside High, and secretly the evil queen of the mermaids with a vendetta against the Gillman family.
* Colman Domingo as Arthur Gillman, Ruby and Sam's supportive father and Agatha's husband.
* Jane Fonda as Grandmamah, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas who is Ruby and Sam's grandmother and Agatha and Brill's mother.
* Sam Richardson as Brill, Ruby and Sam's enthusiastic uncle and Agatha's brother, and Grandmamah's son.
* Will Forte as Captain Gordon Lighthouse, a rusty old sailor in Oceanside who works as a tour guide.
* Jaboukie Young-White as Connor, Ruby's skater-boy crush who only seems to admire her for her math skills. He becomes a couple at the end.
* Liza Koshy as Margot, a dramatic girl and Ruby's best friend.
* Blue Chapman as Sam Gillman, a second-grade student and Ruby's energetic, annoying yet loyal younger brother.
* Eduardo Franco as Trevin, a gamer and one of Ruby's friends.
* Ramona Young as Bliss, a goth girl and one of Ruby's friends.
Additionally, Echo Kellum and Nicole Byer respectively voice Doug and Janice. YouTubers Preston and Bri Arsement portray a home buyer and a tourist respectively. Film critic Juju Green voice a gym teacher. YouTube sensation Jordan Matter does the voice role of the Oceanside High School's principal. Randy Thom voice a confetti cannon. Atticus Shaindlin voices Topher. Suzanne Buirgy voices Carol.
Assorted students voiced by Sydney Bell, Ricardo Hurtado, Qalil Ishmail, Merk Nguyen, Caleb Pierce, and Tiffany Wu.
==Production==
In June 2021, TheGWW reported that a film originally titled Meet the Gillmans was in production at DreamWorks Animation, with casting taking place and an expected release year of 2022. Paul Tibbitt of SpongeBob SquarePants was announced as the director, with Pam Brady confirmed to write the film. Lana Condor, Laura Dern, and Michael Sheen were circled for the respective roles of Ruby, her mother, and father, while Annie Murphy was attached to play the role of Clarica. [[Chris Kuserjj and Christi Soper will serve as executive producers. Production was also expected to start in 2022.
On March 14, 2023, the cast and crew were announced via Universal Pictures Ireland's website. Along with Condor and Murphy's roles confirmed, other new cast members of the film include Toni Collette, Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Jaboukie Young-White, Blue Chapman, Eduardo Franco, Ramona Young, Echo Kellum, Nicole Byer, and Jane Fonda, while Kirk DeMicco (replacing Tibbitt), Faryn Pearl, and Kelly Cooney Cilella were revealed as the respective director, co-director, and producer. DreamWorks Animation also announced its official title to Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. The cast and crew were publicly announced two days later.
According to Animation Magazine, Cilella stated that the film has been in the works for several years. It was first pitched to DreamWorks about a family of sea monsters that were moved to the land and are hiding in plain sight. She stated: "Our heroine is such a lovable character and I’m so excited for audiences to meet her and fall in love with her the way we have, because she starts the movie as a quirky, slightly insecure but bighearted character, but she’s harboring a secret that she can't tell her friends. But ultimately the kraken is awakened inside her and there’s no hiding this. She learns that her destiny is so much more than being an average high school teenager, and she’s destined to be the next big protector of the seas. Her journey is self discovery and embracing that side of her that had been dormant for so long, and for her to become a fully actualized character was such an exciting story for me to tell on such a grand scale." DeMicco stated that he cited John Hughes films, Easy A (2010), Lady Bird (2017) and Booksmart (2019) as his inspirations. Pierre-Olivier Vincent serves as the production designer, taking inspiration for the main character from the body of an octopus and bringing the "curviness to all the design language of the film", from the cars to the underwater world.
== Release ==
In December 2022, Deputy Manager Director of Universal Pictures International Italy Massimo Proietti revealed that the film would be released in summer 2023. On March 16, 2023, following the release of the official trailer, it was revealed that Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken would be released on June 30, 2023, taking the original release date of Illumination's Migration (2023). The film will be released alongside Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
As part of their 18-month deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, then will move to Netflix for the next ten, and then will return to Peacock for the remaining four.
== Videos ==
RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN - Official Trailer
RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN - New Trailer
==References==
Category:American films
Category:2023 films
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Category:2020s films
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Category:DreamWorks Animation films
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Category:Coming-of-age films
Category:Coming-of-age comedy films
Category:American coming-of-age films
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Category:Films starring Lana Condor
Category:Films starring Toni Collette
Category:Films starring Sam Richardson
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Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films
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Category:Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Category:Films starring Colman Domingo
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Category:Films starring Liza Koshy
Category:Films starring Jaboukie Young-White