Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Theatrical release poster

***Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken*** is a 2023 American computer-animated coming-of-age 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. The film follows a shy 15-year-old girl named Ruby Gillman (Condor) who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but when she breaks her mother's (Collette) rule by going into the ocean 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, as well as the official title. The film draws inspiration from *Easy A* (2010), *Lady Bird* (2017), and *Booksmart* (2019), and 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. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation, characters, humor, action scenes, music, and voice acting but criticized the story and felt that it had failed to live up to its potential. It underperformed at the box office, grossing $43 million against a $70 million budget, with projections of an $80 million loss for Universal.

## Plot

In the seaside town of Oceanside, fifteen-year-old Ruby Gillman lives with her family who are trying to fit in with humans despite being krakens. Her mother, Agatha, forbids her from going to prom because of its location being on a ship in the ocean. At Oceanside High School, Ruby initially refuses, but her friends Margot, Trevin, and Bliss convince her to ask out her crush, Connor. Before she can ask, Connor falls into the water because of a mishap. Ruby jumps in and saves him, but Connor believes he was saved by the new girl, Chelsea Van Der Zee, who tries to befriend Ruby. Ruby notices bioluminescent suction cups on her fingers and hides in the library. To her bewilderment, she transforms into a giant kraken, accidentally destroying the library in the process of her transformation after being startled by the librarian. Chelsea stares in awe at Ruby's kraken form while Ruby runs to the lighthouse. Agatha finds out and chases her, reuniting with her brother Brill along the way. Agatha calms a distressed Ruby down and she shrinks down to her normal size. Back at the house, Arthur, Ruby's father, and Sam, Ruby's little brother, find out about Ruby's transformation. Agatha tells Ruby how her earlier mishap had triggered the transformation and that she also turns into a giant kraken.

Angered that Agatha withheld the truth from her, Ruby runs away to meet her grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, with Brill's help. Grandmamah tells Ruby that she is a princess and next in line to take the throne, to her shock, while also tells Ruby that mermaids are actually the most evil creatures in the seas, contrary to popular belief, and that they found a powerful trident called The Trident of Oceanus to wipe out the Krakens, and how her mother, the greatest Kraken warrior, trapped them for all eternity. Ruby declines the throne but is thankful to have finally met her grandmother, but on her way home, she is attacked and almost killed by elderly sailor and Oceanside tour guide Gordon Lighthouse. Chelsea, who reveals that she is a mermaid, saves and helps Ruby escape, much to Gordon's disappointment.

The next day, Ruby tries to return to her normal life, but footage of her in her Kraken form becomes viral. She ditches school with Chelsea, who tells her that her mother, the mermaid Queen Nerissa, was supposedly killed trying to retrieve the Trident. She asks Ruby to get it to help unite the Kraken and Mermaids, so Ruby trains with Grandmamah to be powerful enough to get it. On prom night, Ruby goes to tell her mother about Chelsea, but Agatha, disappointed and outraged that Ruby made friends with a mermaid, forbids her from seeing her grandmother, leading to a frustrated Ruby running back to the ocean to grab the Trident for Chelsea while Agatha goes to speak with Grandmamah. Ruby succeeds in retrieving it but is betrayed by Chelsea, who reveals that she is Nerissa and that she escaped her imprisonment to manipulate a Kraken into helping her claim the trident in order to exact her revenge on the Kraken Kingdom. Nerissa sheds her disguise, trapping Ruby before going to destroy Oceanside. Agatha and Grandmamah try to fight her off while Brill finds a demoralised and wounded Ruby. After he gives her some words of encouragement, she goes to the surface to stop Nerissa. Nerissa overpowers Grandmamah and Agatha but is confronted by Ruby, who engages her in a duel over the trident, revealing her secret to her friends and Connor.

Nerissa gains the upper hand, but Ruby disarms her, realising that the Trident can be destroyed with enough power. Ruby attempts to reason with Nerissa to no avail, so the trio combine their laser eyes to destroy the trident together, defeating Nerissa and shrinking her down to her normal size, where Gordon cages her. Ruby reconciles with her mother, reunites with her friends and asks Connor out to prom, to which he accepts, meanwhile Agatha and Grandmamah reconcile as well. Some time later, everyone goes back to their normal lives, with Ruby and Connor becoming a couple as she becomes the protector of Oceanside.

## Voice cast

* Lana Condor as Ruby Gillman, a teenage kraken girl desperate to fit in during her freshman year at Oceanside High. She is described by the film's producer Kelly Cooney as "a really normal teenager".
* Toni Collette as Agatha Gillman, Ruby's overprotective real estate agent mother.
* Annie Murphy as Queen Nerissa, the evil queen of the mermaids with a vendetta against the Gillman family who poses as Chelsea Van Der Zee, the snobbish, popular new girl at Oceanside High.
* Colman Domingo as Arthur Gillman, Ruby's supportive father.
* Jane Fonda as Grandmamah, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, Ruby's maternal grandmother.
* Sam Richardson as Brill, Ruby's enthusiastic maternal uncle.
* Will Forte as Captain Gordon Lighthouse, a crazy old sailor in Oceanside who works as a tour guide.
* Jaboukie Young-White as Connor, Ruby's skater-boy crush.
* 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 and 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 commentator Juju Green voices a gym teacher. Sound designer Randy Thom voices Nessie and a confetti cannon. Atticus Shaindlin voices Topher. Suzanne Buirgy voices Carol.

Assorted students are voiced by Sydney Bell, Ricardo Hurtado, Qalil Ismail, Merk Nguyen, Caleb Pierce, and Tiffany Wu.