Initial release date: June 30, 2023
Studios: Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation
Tagline: Discover the hero just beneath the surface.
Plot: Sweet and awkward 16 year old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at school, but she mostly just feels invisible. She's prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach with her over-protective mom forbids her from getting in the water. When she breaks her mom's rule, Ruby discovers that she's a descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her grandmother. The Kraken are sworn to protect the world's oceans against vain, power-hungry mermaids.
Cast
Jane Fonda - Grandmamah
Lana Condor - Ruby Gillman
Toni Collette - Agatha Gillman
Colman Domingo - Arthur Gillman
Blue Chapman - Sam Gillman
Will Forte - Gordon Lighthouse
Liza Koshy - Margot
Ramona Young - Bliss
Eduardo Franco - Trevin
Jaboukie Young-White - Connor
Annie Murphy - Chelsea Van Der Zee
Sam Richardson - Uncle Brill
Nicole Byer - Janice
Writer(s): Pam Brady (Netflix's The Bubble; Hot Rod)
Brian C. Brown and Elliot DiGuiseppi (Lucy in the Sky)
Director(s): Kirk DeMicco (Netflix's Vivo; The Croods)
Faryn Pearl
Rated PG for some action, rude humor and thematic elements (91 minutes)
This is going to be a quick take on the DreamWorks Animation feature Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken. The movie actually came out last summer and not a lot of people knew it was coming out since surprisingly marketing was sort of slim for this one!
Yes, this ended up becoming a box office flop for the studio. But, Ruby Gillman is a heart-felt story and the animation is really amazing. This animated movie is a mix of a high school comedy flick and a kaiju film. The "kaiju film" part comes into play when the Kraken segments start up (some of those scenes are fun to watch).
Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken also features a nice little message about how to treat one another nicely and this movie has a nice coming of age story as well. There's also another message about discovering your true self.
If you're looking for a nice family flick to stream, make sure to check out Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken. It's currently streaming on Peacock and will be on Netflix later this month!
Some fun tidbits for Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken!
In June 2021, it was reported that the project was in development and originally titled Meet the Gillmans. Production was also expected to start in 2022.
DeMicco stated that he cited John Hughes films, Easy A, Lady Bird and Booksmart as his inspirations.
Ruby Gillman debuted at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 15, 2023, and was theatrically released in the US on June 30.
It was also released on Peacock on October 30, 2023. As part of their 18 month deal with Netflix, the movie is streaming 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.
Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken grossed $15.7 million domestic, and $30.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $46.2 million. With projections of an $80 million loss for Universal, the movie is the second lowest grossing film from DreamWorks Animation, and is considered a bomb.
Several publications attributed the reasons for its low opening to the film's limited three month marketing, unclear target age group, an original film not based on an existing IP and competition from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental.
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