bm230199 Review of Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken

Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (2023)

A film even Annie Murphy can't save

[5/10 · 30 June 2023]

This was one of those films which just lacked any personality and was unlucky. It had all the correct elements. Interesting concept, nice animiation, good voiceactors but it never really hit. The story just felt very 2 dimensional and I think many of the characters and dialogue just seemed to fill the time instead of actually being important. It felt similar to Disney's Turning Red but not done as well. The friends were way too cheesy and didn't get the good balance Turning Red had between silly but sweet. Similarly apart from her mum, the main characters family members were largely redundant and didn't bring anything. The only character I really enjoyed was Annie Murphy's character because she was so lively and injected a breath of fresh air into the film...which they then ruined by turning her evil and having the "mermaids are bad krakens good" seperation return. Not the worst film I've seen this year but I'm glad I didn't pay for my cinema ticket myself.