Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (2023)
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a highly amusing animated movie, in which sea monsters for once represent good, while a normally charming mermaid get to play bad.
For the uninitiated, a Kraken is (according to Wikipedia) a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear of the coasts of Norway. In movies Kraken have often moved east and fought against Godzilla. But not in this one.
Here the Kraken family around mother Agatha Gillman (Toni Collette) tries to live on land in a coastal town and pass for humans. Whenever real people look doubtful they just say they’re from Canada - and yes, that always works.
But when insecure teenage daughter Ruby (Lana Condor) disobeys her mother and ventures into the sea - while trying to save the boy she has a crush on, natch - she finds she turns into a giant Kraken - with laser eyes!
This kicks off the real plot: not only are Ruby, Agatha and Grandmama (Jane Fonda) of royal blood, they are also part of an ongoing feud with the Mermaid Queen, who is described as vain and narcissistic and wants to play boss, like, all the time.
Yet there is hope in the form of a young Mermaid, striking redhead Chelsea (Annie Murphy), who goes to the same school as Ruby and also believes in peace (in our time) between Krakens and Mermaids.
The second half of the movie mainly takes place in or under water, where Kraken princess Ruby receives her warrior training in the Royal Realm of Grandmama, while the final battle sequences with the Big Bad Mermaid are straight out of a Godzilla movie.
Director Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) and co-director Faryn Pearl, working from a script by Pam Brady, Elliott DiGuiseppi and Brian C. Brown, have made a very funny movie, that is not only visually striking, but also takes a lot of smart turns. To boot, it is full of little jokes, that will keep both parents and children thoroughly entertained.
Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken has the spirit of an old cartoon movie, but with much better special effects. I dug it!