Ruby Gillman - La ragazza con i tentacoli

Dreamworks has created the b*stard child of Pixar's Luca and Turning Red. And it falls somewhere in the middle of those two film's quality.

It mercifully has far less annoying characters than Turning Red, and handles its near-identical adolescent themes of family loyalty, self-actualisation, and trust with far more tact and nuance than that film did.

But it borrows the other half of its concept and plot from Luca, and it lacks the genuine heart and soul that was the one saving grace of that film.

There's a lot to like about the implausibly gonzo concept and over the top elements and characters. But the generic, conveyor-belt-produced story is hard to look past, as there really is not a single aspect of what I just saw that has any staying power. I'll forget this quickly.

I think this movie is not considerably unfavorable. I think the animation looks great but everyone says the animation looks horrible and I don't blame them for having their opinion about it. But it's just another fish movie. That DreamWorks created which is Shark tale and Sinbad which those movies were horrible. I think they could have done a little bit better with the movie but I'm not really disappointed nor that I feel good about this film. It's similar to The Little mermaid remake but the mermaids are evil. I kind of wish that the movie did good but no it just seems to be alright but not good.

The film's story/plot was lower tier for a Dreamworks Animation movie, but overall the film was decent. The film was at best comparable to Spies in Disguise (2019), Abominable (2019), or Ron's Gone Wrong (2021) (comparable to these films in the following categories:).

The film's animation was fairly good, on par with other animations of the last few years. Some "out of this world" character designs make the film more stand out a bit, but does not add to character memorability. The soundtrack is upbeat and chipper, with some more modern music. The score has some epic and heavy "hits/boojs" that rumble the theater, so it's got an immersive aspect to it.

Characters were less relatable than characters of other other films, but still goofy and fun-loving. This is mostly due to the 2-dimensionality of the secondary characters, but generally audiences, especially children, will not care/notice and will laugh at their antics.

The film's writing is reminiscent of Turning Red (2022), with a lot of parallels in the storyline such as: family lineage (females of the family turning into krakens), controlling the transformation by remaining calm, hiding the truth from the main character till they learn for themselves etc., with some slight variation. Basically what you've seen in the trailer.

I really look forward to the moral values and deeper meaning behind the films I watch, however I felt the film lacked in this area. The moral of the film is really to "love yourself" and to not hide it from others, but also trusting that "mothers know best." While I like the morals, it's not like Paw Patrol (2021) or Coco (2017), where the moral is both memorable and powerful (being emotion driven).

Overall the film is a typical movie-going experience, with some action, entertaining visuals and story, and upbeat soundtrack. Audiences will tend to laugh and enjoy the animation/color of the film more than they'll watch for the story/emotional value. Worth a family trip to the movies, but more-so a one-and-done film viewing experience. 6.5/10.

The titular character is honestly a very lovable character, and her anxieties surrounding managing the two sides of her life; the struggles of her teenage life and her new challenges of being a giant kraken. The film suffers from a multitude of small problems that build up to kind of lessen the experience. Weird exposition along with elements of the plot not being explained until the plot requires it. The film could have done better to blend the two elements, and with some ironing out of the details, it could have been much better. The movie is visually stunning, with very energetic 3D animation. As it is, the movie is definitely worth a watch, as it's the best mermaid movie in theaters now. At least watch it for the Mr. Gillman ASMR.

Here's The 4K Lowedown on the advanced screening of "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" (PG - 2023 - Theater) Release Date: 6/30/23

Genre: Animated/Family

My Score: 7.3 Cast=9 Acting=6 Plot=5 Ending=9 Story=6 Art=8 Voice=9 Music=10 Family=6 Funny=5

A shy teen learns that her destiny lies in the depths of the waters, which is bigger than she could have ever imagined.

"Ok Ruby...have a completely, totally, ordinary day...you've got this." This was a cute film...one that I think caters to the younger audience more so than the parents. This looked to be prime real estate for the 6-14 range, as it felt a lot like Turning Red. I would have bought it on physical...my autistic granddaughter would like this, I think. With good artwork, great voiceovers, and a fantastic soundtrack, this makes for a pretty good watch.