DreamWorks have created three f the biggest animated franchises in history with the Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and  Kung Fu Panda franchises. They have a great track record with animated films. So they are hoping to strike gold once again with Ruby Gillman,Teenage Kraken It’s a new animated movie geared towards teenage girls. 

Ruby Gillman (Lana Condor) is an average Teenage girl who goes to high school and has a group of friends. She hopes to attract a boy she likes to go to the prom. The problem is she’s a bit shy and awkward. She’s a math wiz and that doesn’t necessarily attract boys. The biggest issue she has is her mother who is a bit overbearing and has her on a strict leash because of her family lineage of turning into Kraken when they go into the water.

DreamWorks has had some interesting animation for their various films since its inception. Ruby Gillmann, Teenage Kraken has a computer style similar to Aardman Animation. The way the character’s mouths moves is easily similar to Aardman Animation. I don’t know if this was intentional or not, but the animation has a different look and feel other than that from most animated films these days. Having a film stand out is a good thing.

Part of what makes most animated films good is how big the voice cast is. This one has a pretty impressive voice-over cast.  From Jane Fonda as the gra mother Kraken to Toni Collette as the mother Kraken to Colman Domingo as the father of Ruby and a pirate hunting Kraken voiced by Will Forte of SNL fame. This cast of mostly newer actors is complimented very well by these bigger-named stars. They round out the story and film very well.

There have been a lot of coming-of-age films over the years but none quite like this one. I liked how the director Kirk DeMicco and the writer’s Pam Brady, Brian C. Brown, and Elliott DiGuiseppi infused this monster seas creature story with the coming-of-age story of a teenager. The two genres mixed well with the whole animated film genre.  Sure this has been done before but not like this. I liked the infusion of all these genres put together.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a mixed bag. It has newer animation that is relatively different than most. It has a good voice-over cast of old and newer actors. And a story most wouldn’t expect from the studio that brought fans Shreck, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. In a way, it makes sense though that this animation studio went this route. Because they haven’t gone this way before and they’re capitalizing on a whole new demographic this summer movie season. This was a fun teenage coming-of-age tale set among sea monsters. It wasn’t trying to be anything more and it worked for what it was.

3 stars

Dan Skip Allen