This weekend, our family enjoyed a sneak preview of RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN, the latest film from DreamWorks Animation.
This fast-paced, colorful film is the latest summer film from DreamWorks. Part comedy, part adventure, the legend of the Kraken and the mermaids is told through a tale of teenage discovery.
Ruby Gillman grew up on land and never quite fit in. She always felt different, but she didn't know why.
This shy, studious, sweet, high school student eagerly anticipates prom, begging her mom to let her go, and navigates her passion for math, her crush, and friends. She often feels invisible, until she doesn't. One day she discovers that she is in fact a Kraken, and not just any Kraken, a giant princess Kraken.
Legend has it that Krakens were the enemy of Oceanside, her seaside suburban town, but as the story unfolds it is revealed that the real enemies are in fact, mermaids (a red-headed singing mermaid to be exact.... coincidence?).
The movie packs a powerful message, "Sometimes the hero you are meant to be lies just beneath the surface."
Ruby is told to live by one rule, never enter the ocean. When she breaks the rule to rescue her crush, she learns she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmama (voiced by Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda), the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.
Grandmama Kraken tells Ruby the history of their kind and their mission to protect the seven seas against the villainous mermaids who have been battling with the Kraken for years. The problem is that the new girl in school, and Ruby's new BFF, just so happens to be a mermaid. In order to save the Kraken, she must defeat the mermaids. In order to obey her mother, she must never enter the ocean (become a giant Kraken). Ruby has to decide whether to embrace her Kraken heritage and protect those she loves, or continue to hide.
The film is a fun underwater adventure kids enjoy.
What parents should know before they go:
- Multiple uses of the word "flippin'."
Genre: Animated Action-Comedy
Cast: 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
Directed by Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Kirk DeMicco (Vivo, The Croods) and produced by Kelly Cooney Cilella (Trolls World Tour, Trolls), with Faryn Pearl (The Croods: A New Age, Trolls World Tour) serving as co-director, the film features a comedic powerhouse supporting cast, including Emmy nominee Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth), Emmy nominee Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), YouTube Diamond creator Liza Koshy (Liza on Demand), Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever), Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things) and Echo Kellum (Arrow).