Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a 2023 American animated teen comedy film[6][7] directed by Kirk DeMicco, co-directed by Faryn Pearl (in her feature directorial debut), and written by Pam Brady and the writing team of Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi from a story by Brown & DiGuiseppi. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film stars the voices of Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy (in her major motion picture debut), Colman Domingo, and Jane Fonda. The film follows a shy 16-year-old[8][9] kraken girl named Ruby Gillman (Condor) who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High. 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 sea from evil mermaids for generations, and is also destined to inherit the throne from her grandmother (Fonda).
The film was first pitched to DreamWorks in 2016 by writers Brown and DiGuiseppi. In April 2019, Kelly Cooney Cilella came on board as producer for the film.[citation needed] It was announced in June 2021 as its original title Meet the Gilmans, 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. However, two months later, Tibbitt stepped down from his role as director due to creative differences between him and producer Cooney Cilella, and DeMicco took over shortly after, alongside the addition of first time co-director Pearl. The majority of the voice cast members were announced in March 2023, alongside the film's current title. The film draws inspiration from Easy A (2010), Lady Bird (2017), and Booksmart (2019), as well as several John Hughes films. Stephanie Economou composed the film's musical score, while British singer-songwriters Mimi Webb and Freya Ridings each performed an original song for the film.
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-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised the voice acting, animation and characters but criticized the screenplay and felt that it had failed to live up to its potential. It was a box-office failure, grossing $46 million against a $70 million budget, with projections of an $80 million loss for Universal. Despite its box-office performance, it was the most watched movie on Netflix when it debuted on the streaming service in February 2024.
Plot
In the seaside town of Oceanside, 16-year-old[10][11] Ruby Gillman lives with her family, 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, she accidentally knocks Connor into the water. 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. She attempts to call Agatha, but decides against it. To her confusion and horror, she transforms into a giant kraken and accidentally destroys the library after being startled by the librarian.
Ruby panics after being spotted by Chelsea and runs to the lighthouse to hide. Agatha notices and chases her, reuniting with her brother Brill along the way, who had been sent to retrieve Ruby by her grandmother after she sensed the Pulse emitted by Ruby’s transformation. Finally catching up with her, Agatha calms the distressed Ruby down and she shrinks down to her normal size. At the house, Arthur, Ruby's father, and Sam, Ruby's little brother, discover Ruby's transformation. Agatha explains how Ruby’s earlier mishap triggered the transformation and that she also turns into a giant kraken.
Angered that Agatha withheld the truth from her, Ruby sneaks out to meet her grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, with a reluctant Brill's help. Grandmamah reveals to Ruby that she is a princess and next in line to take the throne, to her shock. She also explains that outside the leviathans and the Umibōzu, the mermaids are actually the most malevolent creatures in the seas and how Nerissa found a powerful trident called The Trident of Oceanus to rule the ocean. Agatha, the greatest Kraken warrior, trapped them for all eternity. Ruby declines the throne, but is thankful to have finally learned the truth. On her way home, she is attacked and almost killed by an elderly sailor and Oceanside tour guide, Gordon Lighthouse. Chelsea, who reveals she is a mermaid, saves and helps Ruby escape, much to Gordon's disappointment.
Ruby tries to return to her normal life, but footage of her in her Kraken form becomes viral. She has a "Super Sea Girl Ditch Day" 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 Krakens and Mermaids, so Ruby trains with Grandmamah to be powerful enough to get it.
On prom night, Ruby tells 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 confronts Grandmamah, with the latter stating Nerissa never had a daughter and the former realizing Chelsea is not who she says she is. Ruby succeeds in retrieving it but is betrayed by Chelsea, who reveals that she is Nerissa and uses Ruby to help her reclaim the trident to exact her revenge on the Krakens. Nerissa sheds her disguise and traps Ruby before going to destroy Oceanside. Agatha and Grandmamah try to fight her off while Brill finds a demoralized and wounded Ruby. After he encourages her, 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, realizing that the Trident can be destroyed with enough power. Ruby attempts to reason with Nerissa to no avail, so she, Agatha and Grandmamah combine their laser eyes to destroy the trident, defeating Nerissa and shrinking her to her normal size, where Gordon cages her. Ruby reconciles with her mother, reunites with her friends, and asks Connor out to prom, which he accepts, while Agatha and Grandmamah also reconcile.
Sometime later, everyone returns to their normal lives. The Gillmans become more popular and successful than before. Ruby and Connor become a couple and she becomes the protector of Oceanside. Ruby then enters the sea upon being informed by Brill that a Devil Whale is heading towards the Kraken Kingdom.
Voice cast
Lana Condor as Ruby Gillman, a 16-year old kraken girl who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High and has the ability to turn into a giant three-legged kraken when she is in the ocean like all female krakens do.[12] She is described by the film's producer Kelly Cooney Cilella as "a really normal teenager".[13]
Toni Collette as Agatha Gillman,[14] Ruby's overprotective real estate agent mother who has the ability to turn into a giant four-legged kraken when she is in the ocean.[12]
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.[14]
Colman Domingo as Arthur Gillman,[14] a male kraken who is Agatha’s husband and Ruby's supportive father.[12]
Blue Chapman as Sam Gillman, Ruby's 7-year-old energetic and loyal younger brother who loves to play dodge ball. He is loosely based on co-writer Brian C. Brown.[12]
Jane Fonda as Grandmamah Gillman,[14] the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, the mother of Agatha, and Ruby and Sam's maternal grandmother.[12]
Sam Richardson as Brill Gillman,[14] a kraken male who is Ruby's dim-witted and enthusiastic maternal uncle, Grandmamah's son and Agatha's brother.[12]
Will Forte as Captain Gordon Lighthouse, a kraken-obsessed old sailor with a peg leg in Oceanside who works as a tour guide and has a crab named "Davy".[12]
Additionally, Echo Kellum and Nicole Byer respectively voice Doug and Janice,[12] Internet personalities Preston and Bri Arsement portray a home buyer and a tourist respectively, web film commentator and newcomer Juju Green voices a gym teacher, father and daughter webstars Salish and Jordan Matter portray a kraken kid and the school principal respectively, sound designer Randy Thom voices the Gillman family's pet sea creature Nessie and a confetti cannon, Spirit Untamed producer Karen Foster voices the school librarian, newcomer Atticus Shaindlin voices Topher, folk musician-songwriter Suzanne Buirgy voices Carol, and vlogger/podcaster Emma Chamberlain voices a reporter.[15]
Assorted students are voiced by Sydney Bell, Ricardo Hurtado, Qalil Ishmail, Merk Nguyen, Caleb Pierce, and Tiffany Wu.
Production
Development
The film's original title.
In 2016, screenwriters and childhood best friends Brian C Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi pitched the story of a family of sea monsters living on land in plain sight to Chris Kuser, a development executive at Dreamworks Animation. Titled Meet the Gillmans, the script drew from their shared memories of growing up in Oviedo, Florida as well as Brown’s personal experiences as a first generation Cuban American, The Gillman family are loosely based on Brown’s real life family.[16]
First time feature producer Kelly Cooney Cilella came on board as producer in April of 2019. She loved the high school concept of the story because of her past experience when she was a teen in the mid-90s. She previously worked as a story coordinator on Shrek 2, a development exec at Dreamworks Animation and a producer on the short film Bilby.
With original director Paul Tibbitt in the helm, and the addition of another writer, Neighbors from Hell creator Pam Brady. The film slowly started moving forward, in 2020 Faryn Pearl, who had known Cooney Cilella while working on Trolls World Tour came on board as the film's first head of story.[17][18][19]
Cooney Cilella assembled her crew for the film, with Pierre-Oliver Vincent as production designer and Dave Walvoord as visual effects supervisor, the two have worked together in their respective roles on How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Jon Gutman as Head of Layout, who had worked on this position on The Croods: A New Age. First time lead editor Michelle Mendenhall, and first time art director Frederic William Stewart gave the film a unique look, and promoted some of the people that worked on Trolls World Tour into first time leadership roles during the production, and even brought in some talent from Dreamworks's TV division for this film.[20]
Cooney Cilella wanted a change, so she contacted Kirk DeMicco, who had recently made Vivo to be director (replacing Tibbitt) with Pearl as co-director.[21]
Additional material in the film's screenplay was done by Baby Mama writer/director Michael McCullers, Meghan Malloy, and the film’s co-directors themselves.[22]
Writing
Many scenes for the film were storyboarded and pitched to the directors and producer Cooney Cilella and co-producer Rachel Zusser,
At one point Colin Jack was involved in planning the final battle third act for the film, but left the project after he was chosen to become head of story for Trolls Band Together. Despite this, he was given a special thanks credit for the film.
Among the story artists that contributed were Simon Wells, Katherine De Vries, Ryan Savas, Darren Webb, Arielle Rosenstein, Jon Magram, Kerry McCallister, Dave Wolter, and others. With additional storyboards made and pitched by Jon Magram, Tim Heitz, Carder Scholin, and others. [23]
The story team made many scenes that have different iterations that eventually led to the final boards approved and put into production. [24]
Animation and design
Character designers Timothy Lamb & Guillermo "Willie" Real designed hundreds of different design iterations of Ruby and her family, eventually it led to the final look modeled by Charles Ellison, with additional tweaks by modeler Hannah Kang, supervisor Megan Lea Walker, and surface artists, Andy Harbeck and Rachael Yang [25][26]
Additional character designs were designed by Craig Kellman, Annie Award winning character designer of The Bad Guys Taylor Krahenbahl , Julien Le Rolland and many others.[27]
The finished look of the characters have been modeled by Catherin Cubillan Reyes, Abraham Meneu Oset, Bear Williams, Joachim De Brunier and others.
Head of Character Animation, Carlos Fernandez Puertolas pitched an idea that the characters animated underwater is different from humans. The Gillmans are animated with bendable tubular designs.[27]
One challenge is for the design of the hair for the film's villain Nerissa, the VFX department headed by Lawrence Lee created a Fluid Implicit Particle (FLIP) simulation which was used to simulate the character's interaction with the surrounding ocean. With an additional level set fillet generation technique was used to blend the ocean mesh with the water hair geometry. [28]
For scenes with character crowds, supervisor David Bazelon wanted to have multiple krakens in one scene, and humans in another.[29]
Two mixed-media sequences for the film have been designed and animated by Richard Ramazinski using the animation style called Katie-Vision.[30]
The world-building aspect of the film for Oceanside is spearheaded by “POV” and Fred Stewart from a bunch of storefront designs they made. it was then taken to modeling, which was spearheaded by first time Location Modeling Supervisor Emilie Austin and head of location Jason Turner. the designs of the buildings were sketched and designed by Yuriko Oto.[31]
For Arthur Gillman’s antique shop full of various items, it was designed by Oto and Vahe Yefremian, and was eventually modeled by Angela Arzumanyan, Sarah Vawter, and Orlando Velasquez.[32]
For the Gillman house, “POV” designed a Martha’s Vineyard lighthouse inspired-look of the house with a oculus as a giant window, it was then rendered and modeled by Arzumanyan, Austin, Erin Caswell, and Emmanuel Marenco.[33]
The inside of the house or living quarters during the breakfast scene were sketeched and designed by French comic illustrator Alexander Puvilland and “POV”, and was then modeled by Jaewon Lee and Koji Tsukamoto. [34]
Ruby’s room has been sketched and designed by Oto, which was then modeled by Austin, and surfacing by Sara V Cembalisty, and many of the custom posters and artwork in the room were made by “POV”. [35]
Oceanside High is designed from recycled shipping containers, the model was concepted by “POV”, rendered by Austin, Lee, Caswell, Hyun Huh, and Arzumanyan. [36]
The prom boat was designed by Yuriko Oto and modeled by Caswell, it was later be reused as the theme for the film’s wrap party.[37]
For The underwater setting, the team have made many new locations including for the Kraken Palace which was designed by “POV” and modeled by Austin, while the interior was modeled by Caswell. The castle was designed with no straight lines, and use real materials like jade and glass in order to achieve a watery quality. [38]
The modeling team also modeled individual assets for the throne room.[39]
For the Well of Seas, it was conceived by Stewart, and “POV”, they directed the teams to create swirled globes, horizontal flutings, and some curves, which was an undersea volcano, the preliminary effects work for the location was designed by Derek Chung and Kiem Ching Ong.[40]
A total of 892 people including 412 artists are in involved in the production of the film.
Animation services are handled entirely by DreamWorks Animation Glendale. while sound mixing and editing were handled by Skywalker Sound.
For the role of Ruby's crush, Connor, they offered the role to Shameik Moore, but after he turned down the role, stand-up comedian Jaboukie Young-White was eventually chosen for the role.
To make this film different from previous Dreamworks films, the directors wanted to have rising internet celebrities to voice some of the minor characters, rather than having crew members from the studio voicing them.
Announcement
In June 2021, gossip website TheGWW reported on the official announcement for the film.[45] Production was also expected to start in 2022.[46]
On March 14, 2023, the cast and crew were announced via Universal Pictures Ireland's website. Many of the main cast was confirmed, while the director, co-director and producer were confirmed also respectively. DreamWorks Animation also announced its official title as Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.[12] The cast, crew, and official title were publicly announced two days later.[47]
Following the release of the film's second trailer in May 2023, Mike Mitchell, a longtime DreamWorks director who had recently set up his own production company Mike Mitchell Productions, was revealed to have served as executive producer.[48]
According to Animation Magazine, Cilella stated that the film had 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.[49]
DeMicco stated that he had intended to showcase more things, such as going more in-depth about the mermaids; "In our dreams, but maybe not in our budget. No, but there was an opportunity, but we had to make choices. And, so we always felt like if we had done that, we would've lost so much of the time, the personality of who is really getting to know Chelsea. And it worked well for our themes of the fact that they are all in hiding. And, there is this thing that she is the only one because it matched up really nicely with what Ruby's situation is and even with her mother, is that everybody in that movie, all the women in that movie are hiding something. And Ruby's the first one at the very end to stand up and take up as much space as she wants and declare to everybody who she really is and that she's gonna live her life this way. And I think that was really important to us".[50]
The film was dedicated to Nick Levenduski, a crowds artist of the film who died before the film was released.
Stephanie Economou was confirmed to score the film by the first trailer's release on March 16, 2023.[47][51] British singer-songwriter Mimi Webb performed the original song "This Moment", released on June 23 as a single, a week before the film's release.[52] The soundtrack album was released on June 30, 2023, the same day as the theatrical release, in addition to the original song "Rise" performed by Freya Ridings, which plays during the end credits.[53]
The movie also features new songs by Rita Ora, The Linda Lindas, mxmtoon, Raye, Sigrid, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song Pink Venom was used in the film because some of the people that worked at Dreamworks are also Blackpink fans.
Release
Theatrical
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken debuted at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 15, 2023,[54] and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30.[49] The film was screened early on June 19, 2023, at various Regal Cinemas theaters as part of the chain's "Monday Mystery Movie" promotion.[55]
In December 2022, Deputy Manager Director of Universal Pictures International Italy Massimo Proietti revealed that the film would be released in mid-2023.[56] On March 16, 2023, following the release of the first trailer, it was revealed that the film would be released on June 30, 2023, taking over the original release date of Illumination's Migration.[49]
Home media
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken was released on Digital HD on July 18, 2023, 18 days after its theatrical release. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 26, 2023.[57]
The film was released on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on October 20, 2023,[citation needed] and streamed on the service for four months as part of their 18-month deal with Netflix.[58][59] The film moved to Netflix on February 20, 2024, becoming the most watched movie on the platform having topped the chart for three days, and in three weeks in the top 10 chart, it was seen by over 12.3 million viewers.[60][61] The film is expected to return to Peacock in December 2024.
Reception
Box office
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken grossed $15.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $30.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $46.1 million. With projections of an $80 million loss for Universal Pictures, the film is the second-lowest-grossing film from DreamWorks Animation, and was considered a box-office failure.[62][4][5]
In the United States and Canada, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken was released alongside Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.[3][63] The film made $2.3 million on its first day, including $725,000 from Thursday night previews.[64] The film debuted with $5.5 million, becoming DreamWorks Animation's lowest-grossing opening weekend of any of their feature films to date.
The film's sixth-place finish also made it the studio's lowest-ranking three-day opening weekend, tying Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas from 2003. Several publications attributed the reasons for its low opening to the film's limited three-month marketing, unclear target age group, DreamWorks Animation's "inconsistent" output, an original film not based on an existing IP, its title, the trailers, and competition from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental.[65][66][67][68]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 98 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is littered with too much flotsam and jetsam from better animated features to stand as a true original, but its inherent sweetness and lively style make for likable enough family entertainment."[69]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[70] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 68% of filmgoers gave it a positive score.[64]
Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing, "South Park veteran Pam Brady, who shares screenwriting credit with Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi, brings all kinds of funny ideas to the film, which DeMicco does an admirable job of executing. But there's a simpler, more sincere movie underneath it all that seems to be taunting audiences, like a glowing shape from deep below."[71] Tara McNamara of Common Sense Media gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing: "A parenting gold mine, this literal fish out of water story is completely entertaining and enjoyable for all ages, with plenty of positive messages. The message to kids can be applied in a variety of ways: "shine your light"."[72] Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a C+, and wrote in her review, "Kids are always in need of gracious tales about the power of being yourself in a world not necessarily built to embrace differences and stories like "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" can do that, with fun to spare. But why not get more splashy?"[73]
Other critics felt that the storyline was underdeveloped and that the film failed to live up to its potential.[74] Rachel LeBonte of Screen Rant rates it 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling the film "endearing" and praising the voice cast, but saying that it may have trouble making an impression with so many other options. She wrote, "That is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken's biggest flaw: It doesn't go beyond surface-level. As Ruby gets more involved with the ocean and her burgeoning friendship with fellow sea creature Chelsea, her ties to the human world fall away, lessening the overall impact of her arc."[75] Leigh Paatsch of Herald Sun awarded the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, writing, "Visually, the movie becomes more of an eyesore as it slithers along, while the story mashes up some confusing marine mythology with contemporary plotting points seen to better effect in Pixar's recent release Turning Red."[76]James Berardinelli, film critic for ReelViews, awarded the film 2 out of 4, stars writing, "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is one of the most inconsequential big-screen cartoons to reach theaters this year."[77]
Alonso Duralde of The Film Verdict gave the film a negative review, writing, "Plays like the result of feeding the screenplays of recent Pixar titles Luca and Turning Red into ChatGPT and then animating the results. Unfortunately, this new coming-of-age tale doesn't come anywhere near the depth or delight of its predecessors."[78] Greg Nussen of Slant Magazine awarded the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing, "Sweet but narratively thin and didactic, the latest from DreamWorks Animation always seems as if it's trying to find its footing."[79] Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth gave the film a negative review, writing "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."[80]
Accolades
Accolades received by Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Kirk DeMicco stated that there were some story threads left in the film that the filmmakers would like to explore if given the opportunity; "The statue room where Jane Fonda's character tells [Ruby] about all the other monsters. There's some monsters deep in the shadows there that were the underwater monsters that we were once playing with that we would love to be able to see." He additionally stated "I hope that the family message resonates in a way that audiences will want to see further installments of Ruby's story, as well as that of her family and friends. We created lots of monsters for her to fight so hopefully one day she will wrestle a leviathan!" Lana Condor, who voices Ruby, has also expressed an interest in reprising her role, stating: "We leave her in her most confident state but we are just scratching the surface of what she is capable of, I'd love to see Ruby really exercise her power. I hope that this is just the start and it becomes a classic in the way Shrek etc. did – that people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and identities can see themselves in this film. Don't be afraid to be yourself and go big, take risks!".[50][83]
