The most interesting thing about this movies marketing was the relationship between chelsea and ruby. I thought they might point out the similarity between humans assuming krakens are monsters and krakens assumimg that mermaids are monsters. But instead of doing something interesting, the mean girl is literally just an irredeemable monster and maybe your grandma's racism/xenophobia is good if it has historical precedent
I was honestly disappointed that they didn’t show any mermaids despite them saying that there the threat and the only mermaid we only saw was Chelsea I thought there was going to be mermaids in the fight scene
I personally didn’t like how they made Chealsea the deceptive villain in the end, sadly. I actually wanted her to stay Ruby’s best friend, since I’ve seen several things to that before
Literally honestly because then it could of given it another vibe to it like how grandmama said mermaids are monsters just like humans see krakens as monsters honestly it’s just sad reslly I really want them to make a second movie where they can just fix everything
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
I think a better plot should have been like Chelsea is the grand daughter of nerissa and that tried to kill ruby because the krakens forced her and her people out of their kingdom and left them to rot outside of the ocean with no home down to having to leave the ocean and live on land. have it that at first ruby wanted to finish the war by defeating and killing Chelsea but then learns that although Chelsea people were bad for enslaving the krakens, the krakens themselves were not innocent in the war either as they killed innocent mermaids including nerissa who sacrifice herself to save Chelsea’s mother. and instead the final battle is ruby trying to stop and convince Chelsea to end the war peacefully as both of their people were in the wrong and That they can make a better future together.
You have no idea how relieved I was to hear how the humans looked odd in most cases. I couldn’t find myself looking at Ruby’s love interest(?) without getting a slight discomfort at how the eyes and nose were done compared to the rest of face
Fr that guy activates my fight or flight. Haven't seen this movie but that could be like a funny gag. Him being kinda creepy looking is why Ruby likes him or something
Let’s be honest, their films been hit and miss for years. One day you get something amazing, and another day, you get something mediocre at best and repulsive at worst.
Considering the little marketing this film received and the problems in the story pointed at in your review, it’s evident that this was truly a RUSHED production and Dreamworks just wanted to get it out as soon as possible. It really is sad considering the potential this film had and I truly think had they delayed this film to next year to give more marketing and fix the story problems, it would’ve turned out like the studios’ other films from last year. This should be a lesson on how not to market a film and why delays are sometimes necessary.
These guys worked hard, but you're probably right on that one. Makes me feel sorry for this project. Maybe it'll be a cult favorite or underrated gem one day.
It was rushed AND not rushed. Apparently the movie has been in development since the early 2010’s, and they kept going back and forth trying to figure out the story. Originally Chelsea wasn’t Nerissa, for example. It was in development hell, before they quickly rushed it and released it. They also clearly didn’t put any thought into the marketing campaign, besides releasing too close to the actual release date, the entirety of the movie was spoiled. They really didn’t care at all at a certain point, and put too much effort into it they couldn’t just cancel it. I don’t think delays would’ve helped.
The sad part is this movie had potential. I wish that they had all the struggles of growing up and maturing instead of just having the Kraken transformation be an allegory for puberty. I also wish they would have emphasize the importance of having good mothers. Ruby‘s mom was a great mom and I loved her connection with her daughter, but it was never expanded upon. It would’ve been nice if she and Chelsea had a genuine friendship with contrast of each other, maybe and how they were raised. Maybe have Chelsea actually be the mermaid queen‘s daughter, and have a difficult childhood due to her parenting. Instead we got a story that was so predictable that even if you didn’t see the trailer you could tell what’s going to happen. There really was no theme. Except that being yourself is awesome. If you have super powers.
Yeah, I would love to see Ruby and Chelsea as friends, instead of making the latter the overly done twist villain. Honestly, you should've write the movie!
Chelsea should have been a twist hero, not a twist villain. Have her set up to be the obvious bad guy of the story, but flip it on its head and reveal that she actually ISN’T the villain by throwing little scenes here and there where we get a glimpse into her true character, allowing the audience to slowly see what’s actually going on. Idk who could replace her, considering the movie isn’t out in my country yet, but I’m going to suggest someone in her family, as I think that could be an interesting plot point if done well. Of course, I doubt this movie would be able to do that, but it’s worth thinking about.
It’s so strange because despite all this movie’s flaws, I still kinda love it because it had so much potential? As much as I believe you don’t need to make every villain sympathetic or redeemed, I think it would have been far more interesting if the conflict came from Chelsea’s toxic behavior and learning to grow past it in order to keep her friendship with Ruby, than just evil Ariel.
I think the biggest problem with the marketing of this movie was that it began only three months before it was supposed to release. That’s not enough time to properly get people’s attention, especially when the movie came out the same day as Indiana Jones, which did not help at all.
@@MeemahSN If they had released the first trailer in front of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, I bet things would have been different for this movie, because at least it would have garnered some attention.
Wait a minute… a coming of age story where the mother tries to hide her daughter’s power so she can live a normal life while the grandmother tried to help her embrace it? This is literally Halloweentown! C’mon dreamworks, you’re supposed to make fun of Disney’s tropes, not copy them.
Ths film floppingwas kind of inevitable. Not only wasn't the first teaser released until three months before it hit theaters, but they spoiled the big twist villain reveal, and almost everything else in said teaser. That, and the film itself is kinda lackluster, especially compared to the masterpiece that came before. Plus, it was the 5th animated film we got in a single month, AND released on the same day as the massively better, _Nimona._
Not only did it release the same day as Nimona on Netflix, but it also came out the same day as Indiana Jones, which despite not doing great at the box office with its larger budget still made more money than this movie.
And to paraphrase from Animat’s Review of Happytime Murders: “If the viewer correctly predicts the events that happen next, it no longer becomes engaging, fun, or interesting to watch. It ultimately makes the movie boring”. Case in point: The marketing spoiled the ending scene and the many chichéd plot lines are present in the movie, so if the viewer correctly predicts every event that will happen in these plot lines, and/or already saw all the trailers and clips(not counting the spoilers), then there’s nothing engaging or interesting about the movie that would make the audiences expect more substance, ultimately, it makes the movie more of a boring waste of time, in other words, I’d you seen the trailers, you’ve already seen the movie. And another quote from Happytime Murders review: “If the script has no hope to begin with, then all effort put into everything else is worthless.”
I hated how the marketing poorly spoiled the entire movie revealed that Chelsea is a plot twist villain. Come on, of course DreamWorks is not going to be careful with their original stories. 🙄 This was such a missed opportunity for Ruby Gillman that DreamWorks could've done with the story like they could've done a sea world version of the Fox and the Hound where two characters ended up as a friends and would later become enemies. Make Ruby and Chelsea as best friends until something happened Chelsea feels betrayed by Ruby and turn evil and two started war but then a new villain like a sea monster hunter shows up tries to kill Chelsea and Ruby's family but Ruby saves her and her family. Chelsea wanted to thank Ruby for saving her life but they shared one last look at each other, smile 😃 and walk away and these went their separate ways in the ending. Their species maybe enemies but they still remained friends in the end. That would've been a heartwarming emotional story than the one we actually got. This may sound a bit controversial I was more invested with Ruby's relationship with Chelsea even more than her ugly bland boyfriend Connor.
Hey, buddy. I’ve got bad news. Benjamin Farety or some troll hacked into his account using his name, tricked me into giving him a code to access my Facebook account and block me out of my account so I’ve lost almost all my work on Facebook and in the ElectricDragon Legacy Group when it was known as The AniMat Fan Club and my friends, including you. Now I have to you send me a friend request all over again. So please do me a favor and let everyone in the group know and warn them not to accept any comments, friendship requests or posts under my old account and block not only my old account, but Benjamin’s as well. It sucks this has to happen, and I’m really upset about it. I tried messaging Kevin Devaney and Jessica Mara with no reply back, so I came here to see if you could help me. When I tried uploading a post informing everyone of the situation it kept getting declined. So could you speak for me to everyone in the group? 🥺
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
Having watched the film, I gotta agree on two points: First, the human-character designs were, with the exception of the first-time homebuyers, the librarian, and the captain, rather off-putting. Second, the movie was trying to do too much. I definitely feel that this would have made a spectacular animated series. I would have liked some backstory for the captain: what did he actually see all those years ago? why did his wife leave him? I would have liked some character development for Ruby's friends: why doesn't Ruby trust them with her secret? Do they suspect something is up with Ruby's mom's irrational fear of water? I would have liked more info on the merpeople: where are the rest of the merpeople now? It would be really interesting if Ruby finds out that her grandma killed all of the merpeople, and thus has a good reason to protect the secret identity of Chelsea. What if Chelsea convinces Ruby to get the trident by suggesting that it be a good way for the three Gillman women to unite on something they can all agree on--destroying it? What if Connor is actually a merman, who's been getting tutoring from Ruby in order to try to get the Trident? What if Ruby's pet wasn't a weird undersea pet, but a normal dog; after all, how would she explain the pet if her friends came over? What if the merpeople weren't actually all dead, but were actually all hiding in plain sight, as the townspeople?
It's definitely unfortunate that this movie did so poorly in the box office. Especially since it seemed like DreamWorks was on a roll with Puss In Boots 2.
@@bighand1530 it's terrible that DreamWorks and Disney have failed in making a better mermaids movie disney made the big mistake of choosing Halle Bailey as Ariel and DreamWorks on the other hand while they were more busier and making fun of that mistake they didn't make very much on the story and its characters I really love and appreciate that Chelsea looks more like the original Ariel but a mix of turning red Luka and the Little Mermaid 2 return to the Sea it felt the movie as generic and mediocre
Thank GOD I’m not alone on the designs of the humans, SO TERRIFYING HALF THE TIME!! That’s what turned me off from seeing this, tho I still feel insanely bad how awful it’s doing box office wise. The concept still sounds intriguing to me & I love Chelsea’s VA so much! Will definitely at least give it a chance on digital! 😁
@@crispinbohannon7996 That’s awesome! I’m so sorry for sounding harsh, I’d never want to ruin anyone’s experience, it’s just the designs take a while to get used to. But this makes me hopeful now for when I eventually see it! Again so sorry
I can’t help but get Genndy Tartakovsky vibes. And yes, this movie did come out of nowhere and not to mention they gave away a major twist in the trailer. It’s like they’re not even making an effort to be spontaneous.
You know, maybe this film is secretly a Hotel Transylvania 5!!! I mean think about it; the story is pretty basic yet unoriginal, the humor is too forced, the animation is over the top and cartoony, the characters are just one dimensional, and the over usage of pop songs can really break your viewing. Have none of us learned the dark ages of Sony animation!!!
It's basically nothing more than The Little Mermaid 2. Melody is awkward and learns the secret that she is a mermaid, the family struggle, is lured by the evil one (Morgana), who is manipulating her to trust her, but actually only wants to have the trident and the rulership of the seven seas, and betrays Melody eventually; Melody makes up with her family, the evil one is defeated; Melody finds friends and a crush. Now just replace the names....
True, but its also alot like Halloweentown (the first movie) it has the exact characters: the grandma (witch), the daughter who hates her mother because she choose to be human instead of witch, the granddaughter who wants to embrace her witch side.
I wonder if this was supposed to be their first Peacock original movie, but Universal decided to change it to a theatrical release last minute(possibly because of the backlash from Trolls World Tour skipping theaters nearly getting them banned from AMC theaters)
An interesting plot idea I had for Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is that the friendship between Ruby and her friends would begin when Ruby discovers that she is a kraken, and some random weirdos at school show her that they are also marine animals (not krakens for more diversity) so she can relate with them and have fun being aquatic humanoid creatures. Then, they together know that Chelsea is a mermaid and invite her to their group. Then the plot teist that Chelsea is evil because the mermaids are fighting with the other species or something so they all fight like superheroes versus a big villian idk
I haven't seen it, so I'm speaking from secondhand word here, but I had heard that Ruby & Chelsea at certain points had really good chemistry. Combined w/ the building of the mythos around the kraken-mermaid tensions, this could've been a great thing to lean the story into. Like the actual movie seemed to, they could defy our expectations from "miss popular mermaid"'s introduction and have Ruby/Chelsea become really good friends. When the parents/grandma find out they're hanging out w/ the other (scale on Ruby's shoulder), that's when the environments around them lean into hard-ingrained prejudices. Building pressures on her privilege, combined maybe something that goes wrong involving Ruby, Chelsea gradually shifts to being mean girl-ish toward her, and a feeling betrayed Ruby suspects Mom/Dad/Grandma were right all along about those cruel mermaids. That animosity eventually builds to the advertised fight around the Act 2 climax, with some reminder of their friendship smoothing things over into an Act 3 conflict between the families (due to long-held beliefs dying hard). Through some means (a kraken/mermaid or abandoned book in the school library or something), they find out that it all goes back to humans crossing the Atlantic in the 17th century where the refuse like wood/sails/cannonballs caused damage to both species' homes. W/ no face to blame it on, they started blaming each other. As humans developed and their impact on the ocean increased, the two races' hostility between each other grew to what it is today. The two present this to the parents/grandma, Ruby maybe awkwardly trying to do it, but the charismatic Chelsea is there to back her up and help convince the two races to stop this pointless feud and work together for a better tomorrow. Many write this off, calling them naive or saying the proof is fake or that they got paid to say all that, but many others (including their two families) see their point and start to try to get along. The last scene is the next day at school where Ruby is treated well by the people around her, especially her once again bestie Chelsea. That's a rough idea, anyway. Focusing entirely on Ruby's teenage experience may be the best approach they could've chosen, but that's another way they could've chosen (instead of, y'know, being wishy-washy about what they want w/ this story).
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
I give this movie a 6.5/10 for me, I mean it's not a bad movie, it's just to entertain yourself for a while; although the plot is very cliché, there are many movies that even if they have a cliché plot, it can still work if it is written well with its characters, and that's my problem with this movie, most (rather, all) of the characters feel quite flat and don't have that much chemistry with other characters: they either keep fighting or can be quite irritating (the only friendship I liked It was Ruby and Chelsea's, but since in the trailers she was always mention that she was the bad guy, the typical betrayal was already coming and I think Chelsea's character could have been better). It certainly seemed like DreamWorks wanted this movie to humiliate Disney even more, but at the end of the day it turned out that it was the same studio (DreamWorks) who was humiliated by their own movie. Seriously it is a disappointment and a shame. 😠😞😢
I have a feeling that this year will probably be terrible for Dreamworks. Ruby Gillman became the studio’s biggest bomb in recent years, due to poor marketing and last minute announcement. But we also still got Trolls band together, which I feel like it’s not gonna be a big hit either because it’s gonna be released at the same time as Disney’s 100th anniversary movie WISH. It really is disappointing because they had a good last year. Also, I see the comparison between turning red and a bit of Luca. Even Ruby’s situation is similar to Mei, but their personalities are complete opposites. Where Mei is more of an extrovert and confident, Ruby is an introvert and shy.
I liked the titular character Ruby herself, I liked the cartoony character designs and visual aesthetic, I liked the premise of Krakens being good guys, but I do wish it were a better film. Here’s how I would improve on the story. Maybe the mermaids should’ve been victims of prejudice from the Krakens, demonized as evil monsters, and that Ruby’s grandmother should’ve been the REAL twist villain, enforcing the prejudice against merfolk and keeping them outcasts. I think Chelsea should’ve been a more sympathetic character, and that she would only act like a vain narcissist because it’s the only life she knows. (If Krakens can only see her as one thing, why even bother being anything else?) Ruby, knowing how humans demonize her kind, sees the good in her and shows her that she can be more than that. And the climax could be the point where Chelsea either redeems herself or proves herself as someone more than just a vain, narcissistic mermaid. I know, what I’m proposing is basically Nick Wilde’s character arc in “Zootopia”, but that film is a great example of how this dynamic can work.
Her friends added nothing to the plot and her crush didn’t really have much of a personality along with having a really bad design. I skipped ask myself. What does she see in him?
@@achinthmurali5207 I know, right? Ruby’s friends were basically Diet Coke versions of Miriam, Priya and Abby from “Turning Red”. Those girls were supportive, funny and memorable and their rapport with Mei was so strong and endearing! Ruby’s friends just weren’t that noteworthy.
Here is my ranking of the animated movies released in June☀: 1.- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse 🕷👦🏾 2.- Nimona ❤🔥😈 3.- Elemental 🔥💧 4.- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 🐙🧜♀ But if we include The Super Mario Bros: Movie it would be like this (they are the 2023 animated movies so far this year): 1.- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse 🕷👦🏾 2.- Nimona ❤🔥😈 3.- The Super Mario Bros: Movie. 👨🔧🍄 4.- Elemental 🔥💧 5.- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 🐙🧜♀
Great ranking list 👍 Here’s mine: 1) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2) Nimona 3) The Super Mario Bros. Movie 4) Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 5) Elemental
Man, with how barren the box office has been this month besides Spider-Verse, I’m getting *_SCARED_* for the future of DreamWorks, and cinema in general! For the love of God, *_PLEASE DON’T LET KUNG FU PANDA 4 BOMB LIKE THIS!_*
Eh, that movie will do good as long as DreamWorks actually decides to advertise it. It's also a super crowded summer. There's no way everyone was going to see EVERY movie.
@@dygrdqjzco7j that’s stupid in my opinion they should have not done because we all know the beyond the spider verse will blow and ellio will probably be Pixar next big installment. It seem like they really don’t their property to succeed
Even if this burrows story and visual elements from “The Little Mermaid”, “Luca”, and “Turning Red”, I admired its subverted notion on mermaids vs. sea monsters, the cartoony animation that didn’t feel off-putting, and its different take on the characters. Also, in terms of DreamWorks poking fun at Disney, I honestly prefer “Ruby Gillman” over “Bee Movie” as a 7.5 out of 10 experience, even way better than "Shark Tale".
Keep in mind, the director behind this is the same guy who directed and wrote "Space Chimps." It basically has the same issues as that film and ALL!!! Where did things go wrong at Dreamworks?!!! 😤😤😤
To be honest, I give this film a 6/10 because I do find some likeability in the main characters and there was a war between Krakens, Leviathans, and of course, mermaids, but because of not only the trailers that spoiled what will happen in the movie, but also the high school crush, the popular girl who happens to be a mermaid, the enemy of the krakens, the mother and daughter relationship, the forbidding of going to the other world to discovering a race of powerful people, and the girl transforming into a huge creature clichés already make the movie ridiculously predictable and offers little to nothing to hook the audiences other than the “dumping on Disney’s The Little Mermaid” angle with Chelsea resembling Ariel.
They completely wasted the scary mermaids, we only get the evil queen, no army to drag people into the water No siren songs, i was expecting so much more
The Human designs in this movie are disgraces to any character Aardman has ever produced, or any Aardman or Laika esque character an AI can produce. The Kraken designs are fine though.
Most people complained and whine that it is similar to Luca and Turning Red where the protagonist is a sea monster 🌊 👻 and a red panda 🔴🦝 keeping his or her identity from the public. But for me personally, this feels more like a sea monster version of My Life as a Teenage Robot 🤖. Think about where the protagonist is a sea monster instead of robot who tries to live a normal life as a regular teenager but she doesn't realized who she truly was and both Ruby and Jenny have overprotective strict mothers. Yes we can pretty much say that both Jenny and Ruby have mommy 👩🏻 issues. Let's retitled this film My Life as a Teenage Kraken.
Say what you want about Prince Hans' twist as a villain But compared to Chelsea/Nerissa and maybe the last twist villains, Hans was not that bad, at last. And it's time you admit it, suckers!
Too be honest, I give this movie a 7.5/10. Sure it’s has some flaws, but I had a good time watching the film. Also, I think some movie don’t need to have a moral to be a good film.
I watched it in Mexico while on vacation with family, and we all had a good time. It was in Spanish so perhaps that’s why the jokes may have landed better, but we were all laughing throughout. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as the previous dreamworks films or the new little mermaid, but it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours out of the heat. Afterward the sun had gone down enough to get in the pool at the resort for the rest of the day that my little cousins and I were playing Krakens Vs mermaids. Basically just tag in the pool but my point being that kids will definitely have fun with it
Yeah most of the film plot was spoiled in the trailers. We knew that Chelsea was evil and was going to fight ruby. Also I didn’t like rubys friends, especially that stereotypical best friend, quirky,pink hair girl.
All i can say about Ruby Gillman is that it's trying to be a parody of The Little Mermaid, a re-hash of Turning Red, a gender-flipped Luca, and a slightly better version of Rumble minus the wrestling, all at the same time
I know it's unfair to compare it to stuff like Turning Red, Luca, The Bad Guys, and The Last Wish because they all are entirely different beasts compared to it... ...but this film really is a SERIOUS case of wasted and missed potential, and it's quite easy to tell it really had a messy production(dating all the way back to the mid-late 2010s). There are a lot of things I love about Ruby Gillman and they do help save the film, but I really think the things about it that don't work seriously do not work. I really have the exact same feelings for it that I do with Ron's Gone Wrong, where they both suffer from a lot of things that keep them from being great or even good, but the things that do work do make them at the very least decent. But considering how much I love certain aspects of Gillman, it really could have been so much better. Very spot on review by the way, Mat!
I've successfully blotted out my memories of Little Mermaid 2 and what little I remember is unpleasantness, so I'm not equipped to say if that's a fair criticism.
@@generalhorse493 This is from my letterboxed since it’s easier to copy and paste my findings than it is to repeat them. Picture this: A young woman who thinks she doesn’t fit in on land, with a mother from the ocean has her heritage kept a secret from her for her whole life thus far even her royal grandparent. When her heritage is discovered, she is still being lied to and not being told the truth so she runs off into the ocean. She meets another character who befriends them and teaches her to embrace the ocean. This other character brings up needing a Trident so our protagonist breaks into where it’s kept and takes it. Suddenly, due to the crushing betrayal of her mother, the girl gives the Trident to her “Friend” who ultimately betrays her but is ultimately is defeated when the Trident is taken away from her. In the end, the Land and Sea are United. Now what movie did I describe? If you guessed Ruby Gillman, you’d be right. If you guessed The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, you’d also be right.
It is unfortunate that Universal and DreamWorks are treating a film by a Sony Pictures Animation director really badly. Sony Pictures Animation is my Non-Disney animation studio right now with Spider-Verse
If I were a kid, I would've loved this movie 10/10. However, I'm an adult now, and I see this movie as one of those movies that are primarily for kids/teens. Imo not every movie they make has to be as hyped as Avangers endgame. I will say there were too many trailers that gave away spoilers and showed basically the whole movie from first, middle, and end. Honestly I've had interest watching this movie mainly because it feels like a generic high school story kinda like those good cartoons that takes place in high school mixed with elements of kyodai heroes (basically Ultraman) and plus I was expecting this movie to not do well at the box office mainly because it was a brand new movie with new characters, and plus there were too many movies last month and the fact it was releasing at the end of the month near the 4th of July holiday I guess not so many people went to see it. Anyways I might watch Ruby on Digital soon to see how I rate it. Nice video bro
To bring back a quote from the Small Foot review, HOW CAN A MAJOR ANIMATION STUDIO SCREW UP THE EYES SO BADLY?!!! But for real, what were the crew artists thinking???! - 8:11 to 9:02 😱😱😱😱
I had just saw Ruby Gillman and honestly, I thought it was pretty fun for the most part. Granted, I do wish that the twist villain wasn’t revealed in the trailer (major red flag) and that the film would take some time to breathe in some scenes. It had more “telling” instead of “showing,” if you know what I mean. And only one mermaid was present, there could’ve been more added in, like the other kraken. Despite its flaws and questionable marketing, I liked the characters, most of their designs, and the story. This film wasn’t as grand as Puss in Boots 2, or The Bad Guys sure, but I still liked it for what it is, even though it could’ve been better.
You’re right. Ruby Gillman just came out of nowhere, and I can tell it bombed in the box office thanks to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which I thought was an improvement from the mediocre Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The story felt too similar to Turning Red, with a touch of Luca. It’s not the best Dreamworks movie, but I thought it was kind of cute and still more worth watching than The Little Mermaid remake, and it had stunning animation too. I noticed this movie was co-written by Pam Brady, who was also part of the writing crew in South Park. She even co-wrote South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and Team America: World Police alongside Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Oh that’s cool, man if I hadn’t spent my money on the little mermaid I probably would have some more to spend on here. Yet I did and I’m burnt out from not just that movie, but seeing spider verse, fast x, and even the transformers. I might watch on digital or later this month
The "Pam Brady" part was the main reason why i'll give RGTK a watch, even if i'm not the target audience (ik it's weird for an adult to watch a kids movie 😑)
The only thing that can SAVE this movie is MAKING AN ANIMATED SERIES ABOUT IT! Dreamworks must get someone who already worked with this kind of storytelling like Rob Renzetti Of MLAATR or Matt Braly of Amphibia fame or Steve Marmel Of Kim Possible fame. Dreamworks should get one of those two to help produce a show about the movie that expands the worldbuilding and turn Chelsea and Ruby into rivals on par with Optimus Prime and Megatron! Expand the world! Introduce other sea creatures who are on the mermaid's side, the Kraken's side or are neutral! More character development! WHO IS WITH ME?
I’m with you on this. This sounds like a cool animated shows that i could get behind. Dreamworks has a good track record of animated TV shows, so that’s a great opportunity for a movie like Ruby Gillman.
The animation just.. doesn't look good to me. The ocean scenes are empty AF, the human designs are weird at best and horrific at worst, and Ruby being LITERALLY BLUE makes the townspeople look stupid for not realizing she's a sea creature. The only good animation parts of the movie that are genuinely impressive is the hair physics of each human + Chelsea, and the water hair that Nerisa has when above the ocean. It's satisfying watching the water bounce around and be dynamic as Nerisa moves around. It's cool! But other than that... yeah. 😂
I think Nimona has ruined the "character is considered a monster, but only wants to be understood" trope for me, they did it SO WELL most other iterations of it badly pale in comparison. I've always hated that the endgoal for these types of characters is to be normal and perfectly integrated into society, because for some people "you" will always be outside of what is considered "normal", and "normal society" is not a neutral concept or a natural order, it's a construct with tons of built-in biases. The Disney-Pixar (and now Dreamworks, I guess) way of dealing with these themes is completely naive and simplistic.
But Ruby didn't become normal. The end of the movie shows her totally and utterly embracing the fact that she's a giant kraken now and balancing her "human" life with that. She even has a hero status within the town for it, same as Nimona did at the end of her film. Did you even watch the movie, you dumbass?
I agree, having a story where the main character wants to be accepted by their peers can be done well, as long as they make the main characters interesting and the people around them, while ignorant or judgemental, not unlikeable sociopaths, like in my favourite movies, How To Train Your Dragon, Khumba, Balto and ParaNorman. But when done badly, such as the terrible Chicken Little or Netflix’s The Monkey King, they either make the townsfolk and family unlikable jerkasses, who randomly turn good at the end only because the main character saved them, or the main character shows no empathy or develops into a better person, always falling back on the crutch of a tragic backstory as a cheap way to manipulate the audience into feeling sorry for the asshole, especially when their cruel behaviour is treated a “Wacky comedy” and they are barely punished for their actions.
Yeah, DreamWorks DEFINITELY had more faith in Trolls 3. Also, I read the entire synopsis if the movie where it was revealed that DreamWorks DID just spell out the entire movie in the trailer. And thats really disappointing, because in spite of Chelsea's resemblance to a certain Disney character, I was hoping she'd become friends with Ruby- for reals this time. Like, she and Ruby would both struggle with animalistic tendencies like wanting to sink ships and eat human flesh, etc. Something else I thought wouldve been interesting story-wise was if the whole reason for the feud was that they were pointing fingers at each other for polluting each other's homes. Then they'd find out that it was actually the humans who were responsible for it. So they team up with that human boy (I forgot what his name was) and take down a CEO or something- idk, I didn’t think that far ahead. :p
@danielgudinojuarez6729 I agreed with you. 👍🏻 I hate DreamWorks 😒 cash grabbing sequels much like how people hate Disney live action remakes. At least Disney and Pixar care making original films despite being financial flops.
DreamWorks having more faith in Trolls 3 is....not a good sign. Especially considering the sequel cliché plot that the trailer has shown. Will it make money? Most likely. Will it be an enjoyable movie? Hell no.
"Your just a dumb teenager." "YOUR 16 TOO!" "16 IS AN ADULT IN MY CULTURE" "😶" She would have made a fantastic foil to Ruby's character. One wants to be loved by humans - The other is loved by humans but doesn’t care. One is loved but is strained by her mother - the other wants to feel loved but her mother is dead. One loves the surface life, the other loves the ocean. One wants to be an adolescent - the other wants to be an adult. Both are princesses/queens. It would have made more sense to the story and plus imagine if when she got the trudent, she had a flashback to her mom going in for the trident and Chelsea and her sisters crying. That would have made it look like she was more conflicted. I also think it would have been cool to have connor be an african based legend that Hollywood hasn't done before which would explain the
That would have been AMAZING. Honestly Dreamworks should have hired you for this movie. Or better yet you should consider writing. This movie he all the right ingredients but the wrong cooks
Interesting! But technically, nerissa isn't a teen. She's been alive for who knows how long. She might be older than grandmamah but just doesn't look it
So, I'm investing in Ruby Gillman stocks. In 10 years we're gonna have a sequel to this movie that's actually nuts and does everything the first movie should have done, and nobody's going to have any idea why Dreamworks decided to go hard with it.
Nimona 9/10 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 9/10 Elemental 8/10 The Super Mario Bros. Movie 7/10 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 5/10 The Magician’s Elephant 5/10 That's a big oof...
please help us, paw patrol: the mighty movie, miraculous ladybug: the movie, teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: mutant mayhem, wish, chicken run: dawn of the nugget, and migration!
Nice 👍 Mine goes like this: Nimona - 9/10 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - 10/10 Elemental - 7.5/10 The Super Mario Bros. Movie - 8.5/10 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken - 7.5/10 The Magician’s Elephant - 6.5/10
@@nario9718 I'm only putting the movies in order with the score AND alphabetic order. The one who gonna put in the movies in the best or worst list and rank them is Animat himself
The movie wants to be about the reconciliation of three generations of women but like, Ruby didn't give a flying puck about it She didn't care about her mom and grandma potentially making up. They just mended things after Nerissa's defeated and just settled Ruby as if it was a custody battle on how she should be raised without her actual input Ruby already had a goal after achieving her need thanks to her friendship with Chelsea That goal was ending a racewar and daring to have sympathy for the species of her new friend (who again, saved her life) after she was told to hate after finding out they've been forced into hiding
Somehow, the writers, distributors, and marketers at DreamWorks and Universal were “daydreaming” while working on this film am I right? Bad jokes aside, yeah it’s really weird how they barely advertised it. It’s unsurprising that critics and viewers felt mixed about this. Don’t be surprised that they’ll feel the same way with Trolls Band Together. Regardless of people’s feelings about it, this would be a financial step up compared to Ruby Gillman although it won’t make a huge amount of money Minions style. But we’ll have to wait and see. To paraphrase your Home review, “As for the quality of the future DreamWorks movies themselves, we’re gonna wait until next year when the next Kung Fu Panda movie comes out”.
The first half of the movie I really enjoyed. It was a more relatable and less annoying version of Turning Red. Becoming a raging kraken and your mom hiding it from you is a little more relatable to periods than a red panda. They did a good job of representing a mix of modern Gen Z and Millennial experiences in the depiction of Ruby's daily life and relationships. Her friends felt a little more real and genuine. After that it was a car wreck like you saw a car crash and then the car desperately trying to wobble itself to the end of the finish line. The mermaid being evil sucked, the sea captain instantly being cool with krakens sucked, the suddenly krakens are the emblem of the school sucked, the "lets just lazer beam it at the same time" really really sucked. Do better. Thats how I feel about this movie. Could have been great. Wish it was. Would have loved a Ruby Gilman hoodie if the movie was at least mediocre. And tiny point of contention. It was weird that the main character was obviously asian and her entire family white. It just felt like there was a disanence like she was adopted. The whole thing with her grandma and interactions with her family felt weird.
This movie is quite the splash when I saw it with my dad last weekend! I noticed that Chelsea reminded me of Ariel from The Little Mermaid a little bit because they are both mermaids! This movie was SO GOOD!!!
I think this movie is actually kind of good, especially the third act that was only the best part of the movie and I hope you review the next DreamWorks movie trolls band together
While I really wanted to see a Sequel to this movie, I can't help but just laugh at this coming right after Puss In Boots 2 and putting a stop to all the "DreamWorks is gonna destroy Disney" memes that have been shoved down by throat by the online fans.
I feel like this movie could have been Dreamworks next Kung fu Panda! I personally was excited about this one but when I saw it I just thought how do you have an original premise that is unique and extremely well animated but just go with the standard ‘Kids Movie.’ There was so much more potential for a very great movie and it just didn’t do anything with it. Like some spoilers stuff right now: Ruby’s mother is said to be a warrior princess but they don’t show it until the end and I thought why couldn’t we see a flashback or something?! I do hope that this film will get something like a tv series or something. But I don’t know. Maybe it will have a resurgence like Megamind. It’s just really frustrating that they have an amazing amount of animation and original premise for an animated film and just don’t really bother with putting effort into the story.
Yeah, I agree a TV series would help also because it can repair the problems what the movie had. In addition to wanting a Teenage Kraken TV show, I would like to see more of Ruby Gillman's abilities as a Kraken, the show would be comedy, slice of life, and adventure and have some episodes with certain themes that the audience can relate too.
Exactly! But it definitely depends on how the movie preforms and even if we do get a tv series I hope that it doesn’t get the How to train your dragon treatment. From what I’ve seen people hate that show in its latest seasons. But in the end it will unfortunately I think come down to how much money it makes. Hopefully streaming will help with that because there is potential for something incredibly unique here!
@@do-ol2540 The TV series would also introduce a new main antagonist into the world who would be a secret “Men in Black” like government organization that are trying to capture Ruby Gillman and other Krakens that are being taken to a secret facility where they study krakens and other unknown sea creatures and where their ultimate goal is using the sea creatures which would mostly be the kraken’s power and energy source as their weapon until they are milked of their health and energy. I’m telling ya this movie has potential, but we will have to wait and see.
I personally tought it was a meh movie, just like everyone else i expected WAY more. I fell in love with Chelsea and Ruby (mostly Chelsea as you may notice) but all the other characters were weirdly designed and boring. Everything is predictible and cliche. It really felt like an copy of Turning Red, but with less money budget.
It might be worse this year for DreamWorks because Trolls Band Together is out in November. Here’s hoping Kung Fu Panda 4 for next year will be awesome.
I loved this movie personally. It had some flaws (like the marketing), but that can easily be redeemed with a show and/or a sequel The sequel could involve Ruby facing a new threat that seeks to destroy the Krakens’ legacy or Nerissa returning with intentions of getting her revenge and leading a whole army of Mermaids. Maybe they could have a TV show that builds up to the Sequel. I guarantee that would save this movie from becoming a failure. Edit: It has made 8 million today, going from 18.8 million to 26.7 million at the box office. This is a good sign that it is picking itself up and, as the end credits song said, rising.
I've seen this a few months ago, even was a tad drunk, and well, it's not a terrible movie, imo. There are a couple of things I like about this but can say it's one of the weakest movies from DreamWorks. A few moments between mother and daughter were actually nice, some jokes were good especially that algebra joke which I the best one I'd say and the visuals were really damn good as the animation goes. Would my opinions be the same if I watch this again when I'm sober? Yeah. If anyone loves this, more power to em, no judging.
It's so weird coming across your channel again, I haven't seen any of your content since the Epic Mickey Files several years ago. Wish you the best and honestly glad you're still kicking!
13:51 Gordon Lighthouse? GORDON LIGHTHOUSE? Gees I’m surprised he didn’t start singing Gordon Lightfoot songs or make references to his work with a name like that.
Everybody is saying that Dreamworks has fallen off, yet many people don’t realize that this is how they always were. At one point you get movies like Shark Tale and Shrek The Third, and the next thing you know they make movies like Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon. I find it pretty ignorant that people are saying that they have fallen off yet again. These people need to accept and realize that Dreamworks was always a roller coaster ride of quality, and that is honestly what I love about dreamworks. They are always willing to take on new ideas that some other studios may not be willing to make, and who knows, maybe after Ruby Gillman and Trolls: Band Together, we could get another masterpiece from Dreamworks. It is only a matter of trudging through the mud in order to get the gold.
HOT TAKE: I really like this film. In fact I would give it an 8/10! Admittedly the story is kinda predictable and the villain could’ve been better but I think everything else works! I LOVE the animation though it’s not as good as the last wish. I think the characters are fun and endearing and the relationship between ruby and Agatha does feel genuine! And the humor really does work. I think this proves that dreamworks are in a renaissance in terms of quality! But then again just like their golden age they will have their stinkers. I mean trolls 3 is coming out. So overall not as good as the last wish but still great!
They rarely make a film that audiences and critics could all enjoy, it's basically caffeine hyper rush, pop status, and kids fluff entertainment!!! 😒😒😒
My rating: 6/10 I can watch this film and see where it’s trying to be good, but in the way some characters and plot lines can get annoying with how pandering and obnoxious they can be, it makes this film not hard to watch, but not really fun to watch. Some aspects are good and charming like Ruby Gillman herself, and some points with the animation can be cool to watch , but the rest felt too similar to turning red, some moments were way too over the top and overall I just felt somewhat annoyed and honestly bored watching the film. I can say this is one of the films where I feel like if I didn’t watch it, I literally didn’t miss much
I'm tired of the ,,kid is a superhero but wants to be a normal teenager!" trope, because even when I was a kid, I thought it's unrealistic. Why would anybody want to be normal, mundane, like everybody else? Why they won't make a movie about a normal teenager, who gets a chance to become a superhero?
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [2/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qJbQs_nhjD4/mqdefault.jpg)
The most interesting thing about this movies marketing was the relationship between chelsea and ruby. I thought they might point out the similarity between humans assuming krakens are monsters and krakens assumimg that mermaids are monsters. But instead of doing something interesting, the mean girl is literally just an irredeemable monster and maybe your grandma's racism/xenophobia is good if it has historical precedent
*movie’s
Director/writer’s self insert - they hate the “pretty girl” and envy them, so they can’t see them as anything but a villain.
Yeah I really hate that trope
This movie has "PrEtTy GiRlS ArE MeAn!!"
Vibes.
@@CaulkMongler you shouldn't just assume that about people you don't know
I was honestly disappointed that they didn’t show any mermaids despite them saying that there the threat and the only mermaid we only saw was Chelsea I thought there was going to be mermaids in the fight scene
Nope Ik your a bot
@@saliorgalaxygachaclub8876 maybe they were hoping for a sequel to show us more mermaids?
17:02 is it just me or does dreamworks have a bad track record with movies that centre around fish or sea creatures
I personally didn’t like how they made Chealsea the deceptive villain in the end, sadly. I actually wanted her to stay Ruby’s best friend, since I’ve seen several things to that before
Literally honestly because then it could of given it another vibe to it like how grandmama said mermaids are monsters just like humans see krakens as monsters honestly it’s just sad reslly I really want them to make a second movie where they can just fix everything
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
I'm with ya on that.
It did feel like a weak villain reveal story and to not be the granddaughter was the other disappointment I'd say. 😔
@mrrunodan8119 honestly, that does sound better.
I think a better plot should have been like Chelsea is the grand daughter of nerissa and that tried to kill ruby because the krakens forced her and her people out of their kingdom and left them to rot outside of the ocean with no home down to having to leave the ocean and live on land.
have it that at first ruby wanted to finish the war by defeating and killing Chelsea but then learns that although Chelsea people were bad for enslaving the krakens, the krakens themselves were not innocent in the war either as they killed innocent mermaids including nerissa who sacrifice herself to save Chelsea’s mother.
and instead the final battle is ruby trying to stop and convince Chelsea to end the war peacefully as both of their people were in the wrong and That they can make a better future together.
You have no idea how relieved I was to hear how the humans looked odd in most cases. I couldn’t find myself looking at Ruby’s love interest(?) without getting a slight discomfort at how the eyes and nose were done compared to the rest of face
Fr that guy activates my fight or flight. Haven't seen this movie but that could be like a funny gag. Him being kinda creepy looking is why Ruby likes him or something
@@Itariatan hes looks like one of those charcters from foodfight
@@billcipher7848 Everyone in the movie looks like a cross between the CalArts style (most cliche art style ever) and Facebook corporate art
All o the humans look so ugly. Same with illumination’s Addams Family character designs
@@omnacky I dislike that style too, but I hate that term.
Puss in boots really gaslit the entire world into thinking dreamworks only ever made good movies which is honestly pretty impressive
Let’s be honest, their films been hit and miss for years.
One day you get something amazing, and another day, you get something mediocre at best and repulsive at worst.
Connor genuinely looked better in the films' concept art. I have NO idea why he looked so ugly.
Maybe it's one of those art styles that looks good on Paper, but not on computer????
What does Ruby even see in this clown-haired, avocado-nosed mofo? XD
At least he didn't turn out to be a simp like Norville
He doesn’t look that bad. But for someone that hated the Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs movies I can kinda understand why he hated them.
I thought he looks fine
Considering the little marketing this film received and the problems in the story pointed at in your review, it’s evident that this was truly a RUSHED production and Dreamworks just wanted to get it out as soon as possible. It really is sad considering the potential this film had and I truly think had they delayed this film to next year to give more marketing and fix the story problems, it would’ve turned out like the studios’ other films from last year. This should be a lesson on how not to market a film and why delays are sometimes necessary.
These guys worked hard, but you're probably right on that one. Makes me feel sorry for this project. Maybe it'll be a cult favorite or underrated gem one day.
I Heard a comment saying that they probably rushed because of the hype of The last wish
It was rushed AND not rushed. Apparently the movie has been in development since the early 2010’s, and they kept going back and forth trying to figure out the story. Originally Chelsea wasn’t Nerissa, for example.
It was in development hell, before they quickly rushed it and released it. They also clearly didn’t put any thought into the marketing campaign, besides releasing too close to the actual release date, the entirety of the movie was spoiled.
They really didn’t care at all at a certain point, and put too much effort into it they couldn’t just cancel it. I don’t think delays would’ve helped.
''Why delays are sometimes necessary''
*Looks at Beyond The Spiderverse*
@@cartoonfanatic you think? I think so.
The sad part is this movie had potential. I wish that they had all the struggles of growing up and maturing instead of just having the Kraken transformation be an allegory for puberty. I also wish they would have emphasize the importance of having good mothers. Ruby‘s mom was a great mom and I loved her connection with her daughter, but it was never expanded upon. It would’ve been nice if she and Chelsea had a genuine friendship with contrast of each other, maybe and how they were raised. Maybe have Chelsea actually be the mermaid queen‘s daughter, and have a difficult childhood due to her parenting. Instead we got a story that was so predictable that even if you didn’t see the trailer you could tell what’s going to happen. There really was no theme. Except that being yourself is awesome. If you have super powers.
I recommend the Web comic (Siren's Lament), It's a mermaid story with a surprisedly serious tone without going too far.
Yeah, I would love to see Ruby and Chelsea as friends, instead of making the latter the overly done twist villain. Honestly, you should've write the movie!
Honestly I think it would of been a bit better if the kraken queen was the true villain of the movie instead
Chelsea should have been a twist hero, not a twist villain. Have her set up to be the obvious bad guy of the story, but flip it on its head and reveal that she actually ISN’T the villain by throwing little scenes here and there where we get a glimpse into her true character, allowing the audience to slowly see what’s actually going on. Idk who could replace her, considering the movie isn’t out in my country yet, but I’m going to suggest someone in her family, as I think that could be an interesting plot point if done well. Of course, I doubt this movie would be able to do that, but it’s worth thinking about.
It’s so strange because despite all this movie’s flaws, I still kinda love it because it had so much potential? As much as I believe you don’t need to make every villain sympathetic or redeemed, I think it would have been far more interesting if the conflict came from Chelsea’s toxic behavior and learning to grow past it in order to keep her friendship with Ruby, than just evil Ariel.
Puss in Boots The Last Wish was definitely a hard act to follow, and I can see why the marketing spoiled the movie
I think the biggest problem with the marketing of this movie was that it began only three months before it was supposed to release.
That’s not enough time to properly get people’s attention, especially when the movie came out the same day as Indiana Jones, which did not help at all.
@@MovieFan1912 they should have begun the marketing last year.
This film just hardly got any marketing at all which really hurt it and it doesn't help that the quality looked pretty bad from the trailers.
@@MeemahSN If they had released the first trailer in front of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, I bet things would have been different for this movie, because at least it would have garnered some attention.
Wait a minute… a coming of age story where the mother tries to hide her daughter’s power so she can live a normal life while the grandmother tried to help her embrace it? This is literally Halloweentown! C’mon dreamworks, you’re supposed to make fun of Disney’s tropes, not copy them.
and turning red lmao
@@beeeeeeeeeegLol exactly
And Halloweentown did it better probably
@@CaulkMongler yes, most definitely
I would not be surprised if Kimberly J Brown (Marnie in the HalloweenTown movies) saw this movie and then says it.
Ths film floppingwas kind of inevitable. Not only wasn't the first teaser released until three months before it hit theaters, but they spoiled the big twist villain reveal, and almost everything else in said teaser. That, and the film itself is kinda lackluster, especially compared to the masterpiece that came before. Plus, it was the 5th animated film we got in a single month, AND released on the same day as the massively better, _Nimona._
@BernardoCoutinho299yeah plus Chelsea looks more the original Ariel
@BernardoCoutinho299 The relationship building between Eric and Ariel was new.
@BernardoCoutinho299are you 🤢
Not only did it release the same day as Nimona on Netflix, but it also came out the same day as Indiana Jones, which despite not doing great at the box office with its larger budget still made more money than this movie.
@BernardoCoutinho299that's not a high bar to reach
Remember: if a story tries to be everything at once, it’ll end up being nothing at all.
Unless it's everything everywhere all at once.
I read a book that suits that line, I hated it 💀
Wise words wised wisely wise one
And to paraphrase from Animat’s Review of Happytime Murders: “If the viewer correctly predicts the events that happen next, it no longer becomes engaging, fun, or interesting to watch. It ultimately makes the movie boring”. Case in point: The marketing spoiled the ending scene and the many chichéd plot lines are present in the movie, so if the viewer correctly predicts every event that will happen in these plot lines, and/or already saw all the trailers and clips(not counting the spoilers), then there’s nothing engaging or interesting about the movie that would make the audiences expect more substance, ultimately, it makes the movie more of a boring waste of time, in other words, I’d you seen the trailers, you’ve already seen the movie. And another quote from Happytime Murders review: “If the script has no hope to begin with, then all effort put into everything else is worthless.”
I hated how the marketing poorly spoiled the entire movie revealed that Chelsea is a plot twist villain. Come on, of course DreamWorks is not going to be careful with their original stories. 🙄
This was such a missed opportunity for Ruby Gillman that DreamWorks could've done with the story like they could've done a sea world version of the Fox and the Hound where two characters ended up as a friends and would later become enemies.
Make Ruby and Chelsea as best friends until something happened Chelsea feels betrayed by Ruby and turn evil and two started war but then a new villain like a sea monster hunter shows up tries to kill Chelsea and Ruby's family but Ruby saves her and her family. Chelsea wanted to thank Ruby for saving her life but they shared one last look at each other, smile 😃 and walk away and these went their separate ways in the ending. Their species maybe enemies but they still remained friends in the end. That would've been a heartwarming emotional story than the one we actually got.
This may sound a bit controversial I was more invested with Ruby's relationship with Chelsea even more than her ugly bland boyfriend Connor.
I recommend the Web comic (Siren's Lament), It's a mermaid story with a surprisedly serious tone without going too far.
Yeah fr 😒 I really hates plot twist villain tropes 😑
Hey, buddy. I’ve got bad news. Benjamin Farety or some troll hacked into his account using his name, tricked me into giving him a code to access my Facebook account and block me out of my account so I’ve lost almost all my work on Facebook and in the ElectricDragon Legacy Group when it was known as The AniMat Fan Club and my friends, including you. Now I have to you send me a friend request all over again.
So please do me a favor and let everyone in the group know and warn them not to accept any comments, friendship requests or posts under my old account and block not only my old account, but Benjamin’s as well. It sucks this has to happen, and I’m really upset about it. I tried messaging Kevin Devaney and Jessica Mara with no reply back, so I came here to see if you could help me. When I tried uploading a post informing everyone of the situation it kept getting declined. So could you speak for me to everyone in the group? 🥺
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
@@mrrunodan8119 I recommend the Web comic (Siren's Lament), It's a mermaid story with a surprisedly serious tone without going too far.
Having watched the film, I gotta agree on two points: First, the human-character designs were, with the exception of the first-time homebuyers, the librarian, and the captain, rather off-putting. Second, the movie was trying to do too much. I definitely feel that this would have made a spectacular animated series. I would have liked some backstory for the captain: what did he actually see all those years ago? why did his wife leave him? I would have liked some character development for Ruby's friends: why doesn't Ruby trust them with her secret? Do they suspect something is up with Ruby's mom's irrational fear of water? I would have liked more info on the merpeople: where are the rest of the merpeople now? It would be really interesting if Ruby finds out that her grandma killed all of the merpeople, and thus has a good reason to protect the secret identity of Chelsea. What if Chelsea convinces Ruby to get the trident by suggesting that it be a good way for the three Gillman women to unite on something they can all agree on--destroying it? What if Connor is actually a merman, who's been getting tutoring from Ruby in order to try to get the Trident? What if Ruby's pet wasn't a weird undersea pet, but a normal dog; after all, how would she explain the pet if her friends came over? What if the merpeople weren't actually all dead, but were actually all hiding in plain sight, as the townspeople?
You put way more thought into this concept than the producers did.
It's definitely unfortunate that this movie did so poorly in the box office. Especially since it seemed like DreamWorks was on a roll with Puss In Boots 2.
The Little Mermaid remake it's also doing terrible outside the US like in China Asian countries
DreamWorks is unpredictable
@@baxteranimations71 I don’t see that trend going away anytime soon with the way things are going
Sleeper hit. Hopefully.
@@bighand1530 it's terrible that DreamWorks and Disney have failed in making a better mermaids movie disney made the big mistake of choosing Halle Bailey as Ariel and DreamWorks on the other hand while they were more busier and making fun of that mistake they didn't make very much on the story and its characters I really love and appreciate that Chelsea looks more like the original Ariel but a mix of turning red Luka and the Little Mermaid 2 return to the Sea it felt the movie as generic and mediocre
This really felt like this shouldve been a series
Hopefully it still will be one day
@@orangeslash1667 thank you but no thank you
@@colecamp2539 Are sure, because Dreamworks has a pretty flawed reputation when it comes to shows???
@@orangeslash1667 plus the Webtoon *Fins* by Nymtea
@@pinkishhaven5158 Oh I never heard of it?
Thank GOD I’m not alone on the designs of the humans, SO TERRIFYING HALF THE TIME!! That’s what turned me off from seeing this, tho I still feel insanely bad how awful it’s doing box office wise. The concept still sounds intriguing to me & I love Chelsea’s VA so much! Will definitely at least give it a chance on digital! 😁
The fact the npcs here look worse than the incredibles npcs is hilarious
At least i like this movie, no need for you guys to ruin it.
@@crispinbohannon7996 That’s awesome! I’m so sorry for sounding harsh, I’d never want to ruin anyone’s experience, it’s just the designs take a while to get used to. But this makes me hopeful now for when I eventually see it! Again so sorry
@@HaleyRadiant I’d already forgiven you.
I can’t help but get Genndy Tartakovsky vibes. And yes, this movie did come out of nowhere and not to mention they gave away a major twist in the trailer. It’s like they’re not even making an effort to be spontaneous.
You know, maybe this film is secretly a Hotel Transylvania 5!!! I mean think about it; the story is pretty basic yet unoriginal, the humor is too forced, the animation is over the top and cartoony, the characters are just one dimensional, and the over usage of pop songs can really break your viewing. Have none of us learned the dark ages of Sony animation!!!
@@danielgudinojuarez6729 Quite a coincidence. Predictable, but a coincidence.
It's basically nothing more than The Little Mermaid 2. Melody is awkward and learns the secret that she is a mermaid, the family struggle, is lured by the evil one (Morgana), who is manipulating her to trust her, but actually only wants to have the trident and the rulership of the seven seas, and betrays Melody eventually; Melody makes up with her family, the evil one is defeated; Melody finds friends and a crush.
Now just replace the names....
*Dang it!* such wasted potential!
True, but its also alot like Halloweentown (the first movie) it has the exact characters: the grandma (witch), the daughter who hates her mother because she choose to be human instead of witch, the granddaughter who wants to embrace her witch side.
nope, the little mermaid 2 is much better!
I wonder if this was supposed to be their first Peacock original movie, but Universal decided to change it to a theatrical release last minute(possibly because of the backlash from Trolls World Tour skipping theaters nearly getting them banned from AMC theaters)
Oh, yeah, that was something!
Imagine being a company that's upset that a Trolls movie skipped theaters
That makes a lot of sense. This feels like it was meant to be a direct to streaming movie that would lead into a tv series
@@CinnamonGrrlErin1 I recommend the Web comic (Siren's Lament), It's a mermaid story with a surprisedly serious tone without going too far.
An interesting plot idea I had for Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken is that the friendship between Ruby and her friends would begin when Ruby discovers that she is a kraken, and some random weirdos at school show her that they are also marine animals (not krakens for more diversity) so she can relate with them and have fun being aquatic humanoid creatures. Then, they together know that Chelsea is a mermaid and invite her to their group. Then the plot teist that Chelsea is evil because the mermaids are fighting with the other species or something so they all fight like superheroes versus a big villian idk
No more superhero. Good lord give it a rest
no
I haven't seen it, so I'm speaking from secondhand word here, but I had heard that Ruby & Chelsea at certain points had really good chemistry. Combined w/ the building of the mythos around the kraken-mermaid tensions, this could've been a great thing to lean the story into.
Like the actual movie seemed to, they could defy our expectations from "miss popular mermaid"'s introduction and have Ruby/Chelsea become really good friends. When the parents/grandma find out they're hanging out w/ the other (scale on Ruby's shoulder), that's when the environments around them lean into hard-ingrained prejudices. Building pressures on her privilege, combined maybe something that goes wrong involving Ruby, Chelsea gradually shifts to being mean girl-ish toward her, and a feeling betrayed Ruby suspects Mom/Dad/Grandma were right all along about those cruel mermaids. That animosity eventually builds to the advertised fight around the Act 2 climax, with some reminder of their friendship smoothing things over into an Act 3 conflict between the families (due to long-held beliefs dying hard). Through some means (a kraken/mermaid or abandoned book in the school library or something), they find out that it all goes back to humans crossing the Atlantic in the 17th century where the refuse like wood/sails/cannonballs caused damage to both species' homes. W/ no face to blame it on, they started blaming each other. As humans developed and their impact on the ocean increased, the two races' hostility between each other grew to what it is today. The two present this to the parents/grandma, Ruby maybe awkwardly trying to do it, but the charismatic Chelsea is there to back her up and help convince the two races to stop this pointless feud and work together for a better tomorrow. Many write this off, calling them naive or saying the proof is fake or that they got paid to say all that, but many others (including their two families) see their point and start to try to get along. The last scene is the next day at school where Ruby is treated well by the people around her, especially her once again bestie Chelsea.
That's a rough idea, anyway. Focusing entirely on Ruby's teenage experience may be the best approach they could've chosen, but that's another way they could've chosen (instead of, y'know, being wishy-washy about what they want w/ this story).
Honestly THAT story is more compelling, subversive, and all around enjoyable than what we actually got. You should consider being a writer.
You should consider taking those ideas and doing a full movie rewrite for Ruby Gillman.
If you want to see that version played out, I recommend reading Mermaids of Eriana Kwai.
Suggestions for fixing Chelsea: let's say that she PRETENDED to be her mother Queen Nerissa to steal the trident and she did this in order to impress her. Then we see that Chelsea was raised by her mother, along with her many sisters (Chelsea's sisters), to manipulate humans and this is the only way that she socializes unable to talk with others sincerely. Her mother is like Vlad Plasmius from "Danny Phantom" someone powerful and influencial and Big Mom from One Piece in the sense that she has daughters just as a manpower for her army and she doesn't care if one of them dies (we can use this opportunity to establish a connection to the original mermaid lore). Chelsea's overall appearance isn't natural, that is make-up that makes her similar to her mother and only high-ranking members of the mermaid army. What do you think? Does that fix Chelsea?
I give this movie a 6.5/10 for me, I mean it's not a bad movie, it's just to entertain yourself for a while; although the plot is very cliché, there are many movies that even if they have a cliché plot, it can still work if it is written well with its characters, and that's my problem with this movie, most (rather, all) of the characters feel quite flat and don't have that much chemistry with other characters: they either keep fighting or can be quite irritating (the only friendship I liked It was Ruby and Chelsea's, but since in the trailers she was always mention that she was the bad guy, the typical betrayal was already coming and I think Chelsea's character could have been better).
It certainly seemed like DreamWorks wanted this movie to humiliate Disney even more, but at the end of the day it turned out that it was the same studio (DreamWorks) who was humiliated by their own movie. Seriously it is a disappointment and a shame. 😠😞😢
I have a feeling that this year will probably be terrible for Dreamworks. Ruby Gillman became the studio’s biggest bomb in recent years, due to poor marketing and last minute announcement. But we also still got Trolls band together, which I feel like it’s not gonna be a big hit either because it’s gonna be released at the same time as Disney’s 100th anniversary movie WISH. It really is disappointing because they had a good last year.
Also, I see the comparison between turning red and a bit of Luca. Even Ruby’s situation is similar to Mei, but their personalities are complete opposites. Where Mei is more of an extrovert and confident, Ruby is an introvert and shy.
Trolls might do very well
Trolls 3 I can see doing well
I think Dreamworks will rise again next year with Kung Fu Panda 4, which is a beloved franchise by many people.
@@onepresence9460 i hope kung fu panda 4 ends with a bang and not a whimper
@@renamon5658 I’m sure it’ll be fine. They planned from the beginning to have six movies, so I’m sure they already knew what they wanted to do.
I liked the titular character Ruby herself, I liked the cartoony character designs and visual aesthetic, I liked the premise of Krakens being good guys, but I do wish it were a better film. Here’s how I would improve on the story.
Maybe the mermaids should’ve been victims of prejudice from the Krakens, demonized as evil monsters, and that Ruby’s grandmother should’ve been the REAL twist villain, enforcing the prejudice against merfolk and keeping them outcasts.
I think Chelsea should’ve been a more sympathetic character, and that she would only act like a vain narcissist because it’s the only life she knows. (If Krakens can only see her as one thing, why even bother being anything else?) Ruby, knowing how humans demonize her kind, sees the good in her and shows her that she can be more than that. And the climax could be the point where Chelsea either redeems herself or proves herself as someone more than just a vain, narcissistic mermaid.
I know, what I’m proposing is basically Nick Wilde’s character arc in “Zootopia”, but that film is a great example of how this dynamic can work.
I love your ideas. Much better then what the studio went with.
Her friends added nothing to the plot and her crush didn’t really have much of a personality along with having a really bad design. I skipped ask myself. What does she see in him?
@@achinthmurali5207 I know, right? Ruby’s friends were basically Diet Coke versions of Miriam, Priya and Abby from “Turning Red”. Those girls were supportive, funny and memorable and their rapport with Mei was so strong and endearing! Ruby’s friends just weren’t that noteworthy.
Unfortunately, this movie became a “Poor Unfortunate Soul” for DreamWorks.
So much for trusting the guy that directed freaking Space Chimps!!! 🤮🤮🤮
Chelsea: (takes Trident) Look at this. Isn't it neat? Now my collection's complete! (Blasts Ruby)
Here is my ranking of the animated movies released in June☀:
1.- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse 🕷👦🏾
2.- Nimona ❤🔥😈
3.- Elemental 🔥💧
4.- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 🐙🧜♀
But if we include The Super Mario Bros: Movie it would be like this (they are the 2023 animated movies so far this year):
1.- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse 🕷👦🏾
2.- Nimona ❤🔥😈
3.- The Super Mario Bros: Movie. 👨🔧🍄
4.- Elemental 🔥💧
5.- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 🐙🧜♀
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a 2023 animated movie here in the UK.
@@SuperBloxTube Well I live in Mexico and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a 2022 animated movie; but this is just my personal ranking, okay? 😉
Great ranking list 👍
Here’s mine:
1) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2) Nimona
3) The Super Mario Bros. Movie
4) Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
5) Elemental
@@onepresence9460 Wow, we got almost the same rank 😄
@@FernandaAHernandez yea
Man, with how barren the box office has been this month besides Spider-Verse, I’m getting *_SCARED_* for the future of DreamWorks, and cinema in general! For the love of God, *_PLEASE DON’T LET KUNG FU PANDA 4 BOMB LIKE THIS!_*
Eh, that movie will do good as long as DreamWorks actually decides to advertise it.
It's also a super crowded summer. There's no way everyone was going to see EVERY movie.
It’s not that serious lol everything will fall align they’ll eventually have to put in effort for greatness.
@ maguma3419 I think they should’ve have putter out around September
Kung Fu Panda 4 comes out next March but that’s 3 weeks before Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out and a week after Pixar’s Elio comes out.
@@dygrdqjzco7j that’s stupid in my opinion they should have not done because we all know the beyond the spider verse will blow and ellio will probably be Pixar next big installment. It seem like they really don’t their property to succeed
I was literally thinking "wow, theres no way they will make Chelsea a twist villian, that would be dumb" and then they did
I love this movie. They’re animators work so hard to make this.
I know, but they are being too hard on disney a bit
I like this movie too
@@LizzyorlizzieYeah agree 😢
It was pretty average It wasn't that bad.
I believe that, but the heads at Dream works are so stupid!!!
Even if this burrows story and visual elements from “The Little Mermaid”, “Luca”, and “Turning Red”, I admired its subverted notion on mermaids vs. sea monsters, the cartoony animation that didn’t feel off-putting, and its different take on the characters. Also, in terms of DreamWorks poking fun at Disney, I honestly prefer “Ruby Gillman” over “Bee Movie” as a 7.5 out of 10 experience, even way better than "Shark Tale".
FINALLY! SOMEONE WITH GOOD TASTE!
Keep in mind, the director behind this is the same guy who directed and wrote "Space Chimps." It basically has the same issues as that film and ALL!!! Where did things go wrong at Dreamworks?!!! 😤😤😤
Just note. DreamWorks is known for their hit or misses when it comes to films in general.
@@Seibuhjira06 Pretty much, but it's still disappointing. I guess Trolls 3 is gonna suck 😮💨😮💨😮💨
To be honest, I give this film a 6/10 because I do find some likeability in the main characters and there was a war between Krakens, Leviathans, and of course, mermaids, but because of not only the trailers that spoiled what will happen in the movie, but also the high school crush, the popular girl who happens to be a mermaid, the enemy of the krakens, the mother and daughter relationship, the forbidding of going to the other world to discovering a race of powerful people, and the girl transforming into a huge creature clichés already make the movie ridiculously predictable and offers little to nothing to hook the audiences other than the “dumping on Disney’s The Little Mermaid” angle with Chelsea resembling Ariel.
I give this movie a 5/10. Less points for being predictable, mediocre, and having “how do you do fellow kids” energy.
They completely wasted the scary mermaids, we only get the evil queen, no army to drag people into the water
No siren songs, i was expecting so much more
do they go to southside reef city?
@@briankentpirrie5228 they dont even exist, like they are refrenced in the hall of enemys of the kraken but further nothing
....Chelsea being the bad guy was supposed to be a plot twist...? They gave it away in the trailers tho....
I'd say the Human Designs look more like Wallace and Gromit extras made by an A.I.
The Human designs in this movie are disgraces to any character Aardman has ever produced, or any Aardman or Laika esque character an AI can produce.
The Kraken designs are fine though.
Most people complained and whine that it is similar to Luca and Turning Red where the protagonist is a sea monster 🌊 👻 and a red panda 🔴🦝 keeping his or her identity from the public. But for me personally, this feels more like a sea monster version of My Life as a Teenage Robot 🤖.
Think about where the protagonist is a sea monster instead of robot who tries to live a normal life as a regular teenager but she doesn't realized who she truly was and both Ruby and Jenny have overprotective strict mothers. Yes we can pretty much say that both Jenny and Ruby have mommy 👩🏻 issues.
Let's retitled this film My Life as a Teenage Kraken.
Teenage robot I remember that show!! I’m glad someone knows that show!!
Say what you want about Prince Hans' twist as a villain
But compared to Chelsea/Nerissa and maybe the last twist villains, Hans was not that bad, at last.
And it's time you admit it, suckers!
Too be honest, I give this movie a 7.5/10. Sure it’s has some flaws, but I had a good time watching the film. Also, I think some movie don’t need to have a moral to be a good film.
It's a 7.5/10 for me as well.
I feel the same way
My nephew said he had fun watching the movie. And I enjoyed it thoroughly. It made me happy ❤
I watched it in Mexico while on vacation with family, and we all had a good time. It was in Spanish so perhaps that’s why the jokes may have landed better, but we were all laughing throughout. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as the previous dreamworks films or the new little mermaid, but it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours out of the heat. Afterward the sun had gone down enough to get in the pool at the resort for the rest of the day that my little cousins and I were playing Krakens Vs mermaids. Basically just tag in the pool but my point being that kids will definitely have fun with it
More power to you
@@danielgudinojuarez6729 thank you
El doblaje siempre vuelve la película mejor por alguna razón XD. Bueno, excluyendo la última de spiderverse
The Krakens and mermaids look more normal than the human characters.
They made the human characters ugly
It's weird how they don't have noses. But yeah, the humans look awfully strange
Yeah most of the film plot was spoiled in the trailers. We knew that Chelsea was evil and was going to fight ruby. Also I didn’t like rubys friends, especially that stereotypical best friend, quirky,pink hair girl.
All i can say about Ruby Gillman is that it's trying to be a parody of The Little Mermaid, a re-hash of Turning Red, a gender-flipped Luca, and a slightly better version of Rumble minus the wrestling, all at the same time
Those humans from Ruby Gillman looks more like they belong to Sausage Party.
I know it's unfair to compare it to stuff like Turning Red, Luca, The Bad Guys, and The Last Wish because they all are entirely different beasts compared to it... ...but this film really is a SERIOUS case of wasted and missed potential, and it's quite easy to tell it really had a messy production(dating all the way back to the mid-late 2010s).
There are a lot of things I love about Ruby Gillman and they do help save the film, but I really think the things about it that don't work seriously do not work. I really have the exact same feelings for it that I do with Ron's Gone Wrong, where they both suffer from a lot of things that keep them from being great or even good, but the things that do work do make them at the very least decent. But considering how much I love certain aspects of Gillman, it really could have been so much better.
Very spot on review by the way, Mat!
This film is literally, beat for beat, The Little Mermaid 2. Seriously, the similarities are shockingly accurate.
I've successfully blotted out my memories of Little Mermaid 2 and what little I remember is unpleasantness, so I'm not equipped to say if that's a fair criticism.
@@generalhorse493 This is from my letterboxed since it’s easier to copy and paste my findings than it is to repeat them.
Picture this: A young woman who thinks she doesn’t fit in on land, with a mother from the ocean has her heritage kept a secret from her for her whole life thus far even her royal grandparent.
When her heritage is discovered, she is still being lied to and not being told the truth so she runs off into the ocean. She meets another character who befriends them and teaches her to embrace the ocean. This other character brings up needing a Trident so our protagonist breaks into where it’s kept and takes it.
Suddenly, due to the crushing betrayal of her mother, the girl gives the Trident to her “Friend” who ultimately betrays her but is ultimately is defeated when the Trident is taken away from her.
In the end, the Land and Sea are United. Now what movie did I describe?
If you guessed Ruby Gillman, you’d be right. If you guessed The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, you’d also be right.
@@tny1757 If you want an example of the Little Mermaid 2 done right, there is the Tale of Emily Windsnap book series.
@@generalhorse493 Fun Fact: Tara Strong stated that Melody was her favorite role. Lets hope My Little Pony Friendship is Magic will change her mind??
It is unfortunate that Universal and DreamWorks are treating a film by a Sony Pictures Animation director really badly. Sony Pictures Animation is my Non-Disney animation studio right now with Spider-Verse
Well, Kirk DeMicco did directed/ wrote the first croods so what really went wrong?!!!
I can finally say that illuminations knows how to make stylized humans
The humans actually looks more like if humans appeared in trolls.
If I were a kid, I would've loved this movie 10/10. However, I'm an adult now, and I see this movie as one of those movies that are primarily for kids/teens. Imo not every movie they make has to be as hyped as Avangers endgame. I will say there were too many trailers that gave away spoilers and showed basically the whole movie from first, middle, and end. Honestly I've had interest watching this movie mainly because it feels like a generic high school story kinda like those good cartoons that takes place in high school mixed with elements of kyodai heroes (basically Ultraman) and plus I was expecting this movie to not do well at the box office mainly because it was a brand new movie with new characters, and plus there were too many movies last month and the fact it was releasing at the end of the month near the 4th of July holiday I guess not so many people went to see it. Anyways I might watch Ruby on Digital soon to see how I rate it. Nice video bro
To bring back a quote from the Small Foot review, HOW CAN A MAJOR ANIMATION STUDIO SCREW UP THE EYES SO BADLY?!!! But for real, what were the crew artists thinking???! - 8:11 to 9:02 😱😱😱😱
I had just saw Ruby Gillman and honestly, I thought it was pretty fun for the most part. Granted, I do wish that the twist villain wasn’t revealed in the trailer (major red flag) and that the film would take some time to breathe in some scenes. It had more “telling” instead of “showing,” if you know what I mean. And only one mermaid was present, there could’ve been more added in, like the other kraken.
Despite its flaws and questionable marketing, I liked the characters, most of their designs, and the story. This film wasn’t as grand as Puss in Boots 2, or The Bad Guys sure, but I still liked it for what it is, even though it could’ve been better.
Knew I wasn’t the only one that had an issue with the Human designs.
I didn’t mind. Got Wallace and Gromit vibes.
One man's mediocrity is another man's entertainment. I'm looking forward to watching Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken on Netflix.
You’re right. Ruby Gillman just came out of nowhere, and I can tell it bombed in the box office thanks to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which I thought was an improvement from the mediocre Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The story felt too similar to Turning Red, with a touch of Luca. It’s not the best Dreamworks movie, but I thought it was kind of cute and still more worth watching than The Little Mermaid remake, and it had stunning animation too. I noticed this movie was co-written by Pam Brady, who was also part of the writing crew in South Park. She even co-wrote South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and Team America: World Police alongside Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Oh that’s cool, man if I hadn’t spent my money on the little mermaid I probably would have some more to spend on here. Yet I did and I’m burnt out from not just that movie, but seeing spider verse, fast x, and even the transformers. I might watch on digital or later this month
The "Pam Brady" part was the main reason why i'll give RGTK a watch, even if i'm not the target audience (ik it's weird for an adult to watch a kids movie 😑)
The only thing that can SAVE this movie is MAKING AN ANIMATED SERIES ABOUT IT! Dreamworks must get someone who already worked with this kind of storytelling like Rob Renzetti Of MLAATR or Matt Braly of Amphibia fame or Steve Marmel Of Kim Possible fame. Dreamworks should get one of those two to help produce a show about the movie that expands the worldbuilding and turn Chelsea and Ruby into rivals on par with Optimus Prime and Megatron! Expand the world! Introduce other sea creatures who are on the mermaid's side, the Kraken's side or are neutral! More character development! WHO IS WITH ME?
I do.
copypasta
I’m with you on this. This sounds like a cool animated shows that i could get behind.
Dreamworks has a good track record of animated TV shows, so that’s a great opportunity for a movie like Ruby Gillman.
@@onepresence9460I genuinely agree
I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel of this, to try and improve on the first movie's flaws and maybe we'd get something fantastic.
The animation just.. doesn't look good to me. The ocean scenes are empty AF, the human designs are weird at best and horrific at worst, and Ruby being LITERALLY BLUE makes the townspeople look stupid for not realizing she's a sea creature.
The only good animation parts of the movie that are genuinely impressive is the hair physics of each human + Chelsea, and the water hair that Nerisa has when above the ocean. It's satisfying watching the water bounce around and be dynamic as Nerisa moves around. It's cool! But other than that... yeah. 😂
This movie feels like Luca and Turning Red but without any of the charm or charisma.
How did DreamWorks go from the bad guys, puss in boots the last wish…to this???
How'd they make the Krakens and Mermaids look appealing but the humans look like the mutated aftermath of a nuclear explosion?
I think Nimona has ruined the "character is considered a monster, but only wants to be understood" trope for me, they did it SO WELL most other iterations of it badly pale in comparison. I've always hated that the endgoal for these types of characters is to be normal and perfectly integrated into society, because for some people "you" will always be outside of what is considered "normal", and "normal society" is not a neutral concept or a natural order, it's a construct with tons of built-in biases. The Disney-Pixar (and now Dreamworks, I guess) way of dealing with these themes is completely naive and simplistic.
But Ruby didn't become normal. The end of the movie shows her totally and utterly embracing the fact that she's a giant kraken now and balancing her "human" life with that. She even has a hero status within the town for it, same as Nimona did at the end of her film. Did you even watch the movie, you dumbass?
I agree, having a story where the main character wants to be accepted by their peers can be done well, as long as they make the main characters interesting and the people around them, while ignorant or judgemental, not unlikeable sociopaths, like in my favourite movies, How To Train Your Dragon, Khumba, Balto and ParaNorman. But when done badly, such as the terrible Chicken Little or Netflix’s The Monkey King, they either make the townsfolk and family unlikable jerkasses, who randomly turn good at the end only because the main character saved them, or the main character shows no empathy or develops into a better person, always falling back on the crutch of a tragic backstory as a cheap way to manipulate the audience into feeling sorry for the asshole, especially when their cruel behaviour is treated a “Wacky comedy” and they are barely punished for their actions.
Yeah, DreamWorks DEFINITELY had more faith in Trolls 3.
Also, I read the entire synopsis if the movie where it was revealed that DreamWorks DID just spell out the entire movie in the trailer. And thats really disappointing, because in spite of Chelsea's resemblance to a certain Disney character, I was hoping she'd become friends with Ruby- for reals this time. Like, she and Ruby would both struggle with animalistic tendencies like wanting to sink ships and eat human flesh, etc.
Something else I thought wouldve been interesting story-wise was if the whole reason for the feud was that they were pointing fingers at each other for polluting each other's homes. Then they'd find out that it was actually the humans who were responsible for it. So they team up with that human boy (I forgot what his name was) and take down a CEO or something- idk, I didn’t think that far ahead. :p
I will skip trolls 3 see you next year with Kung Fu Panda 4 and Orion and the dark
I agree.
I feel that DreamWorks has more faith in making more and more sequels than creating new/ original films. So much for wishful thinking!!! 😤😤😤
@danielgudinojuarez6729 I agreed with you. 👍🏻 I hate DreamWorks 😒 cash grabbing sequels much like how people hate Disney live action remakes. At least Disney and Pixar care making original films despite being financial flops.
DreamWorks having more faith in Trolls 3 is....not a good sign. Especially considering the sequel cliché plot that the trailer has shown. Will it make money? Most likely. Will it be an enjoyable movie? Hell no.
This is basically Dreamworks equivalent of strange world
Right down to having Jaboukie Young-White voicing a character. Seriously, I really feel bad for him.
@@tristanmichels5721 Same here, at least his voice acting in here and in strange world was great 😔😔😔
but ruby is actually better
Pretty much, and Strange World does feel like a rushed production too!!!
@@archflamingo9156 I’m saying that because dreamworks pulled the same crap Disney did with strange world with this movie
"Your just a dumb teenager."
"YOUR 16 TOO!"
"16 IS AN ADULT IN MY CULTURE"
"😶"
She would have made a fantastic foil to Ruby's character.
One wants to be loved by humans - The other is loved by humans but doesn’t care.
One is loved but is strained by her mother - the other wants to feel loved but her mother is dead.
One loves the surface life, the other loves the ocean.
One wants to be an adolescent - the other wants to be an adult.
Both are princesses/queens.
It would have made more sense to the story and plus imagine if when she got the trudent, she had a flashback to her mom going in for the trident and Chelsea and her sisters crying. That would have made it look like she was more conflicted.
I also think it would have been cool to have connor be an african based legend that Hollywood hasn't done before which would explain the
That would have been AMAZING. Honestly Dreamworks should have hired you for this movie. Or better yet you should consider writing. This movie he all the right ingredients but the wrong cooks
This isn't a plot outline. This is just a firehose of random ideas with no narrative structure. You have no future in writing.
Interesting! But technically, nerissa isn't a teen. She's been alive for who knows how long. She might be older than grandmamah but just doesn't look it
I was wondering why the Human designs looked so familiar, they looked like the designs from SMALLFOOT
So, I'm investing in Ruby Gillman stocks. In 10 years we're gonna have a sequel to this movie that's actually nuts and does everything the first movie should have done, and nobody's going to have any idea why Dreamworks decided to go hard with it.
Why is everyone built like a sock monkey plush💀
Honestly, why even bothering having a twist villain if the trailer already spoiled it?
Nimona 9/10
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 9/10
Elemental 8/10
The Super Mario Bros. Movie 7/10
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 5/10
The Magician’s Elephant 5/10
That's a big oof...
please help us, paw patrol: the mighty movie, miraculous ladybug: the movie, teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: mutant mayhem, wish, chicken run: dawn of the nugget, and migration!
Actually Ruby Gillman got a lower score than The Magician’s Elephant since the latter got 16 points while Ruby Gillman got 14 points
Nice 👍
Mine goes like this:
Nimona - 9/10
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - 10/10
Elemental - 7.5/10
The Super Mario Bros. Movie - 8.5/10
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken - 7.5/10
The Magician’s Elephant - 6.5/10
@@nario9718 I'm only putting the movies in order with the score AND alphabetic order.
The one who gonna put in the movies in the best or worst list and rank them is Animat himself
Its funny how flushed away was Aardman claymation style in 3D made by dreamworks decades ago
8:24 if you look in the back, there is a nameless background character that ACTUALLY looks suspiciously like Wallace from Wallace & Gromit.
The movie wants to be about the reconciliation of three generations of women but like, Ruby didn't give a flying puck about it
She didn't care about her mom and grandma potentially making up.
They just mended things after Nerissa's defeated and just settled Ruby as if it was a custody battle on how she should be raised without her actual input
Ruby already had a goal after achieving her need thanks to her friendship with Chelsea
That goal was ending a racewar and daring to have sympathy for the species of her new friend (who again, saved her life) after she was told to hate after finding out they've been forced into hiding
Great analysis 🧐
I agree with everything you wrote
She ended the race war by destroying the Trident, bitch. Nerissa choosing to be an evil dick twice in a row was her own undoing, it's not that deep.
Somehow, the writers, distributors, and marketers at DreamWorks and Universal were “daydreaming” while working on this film am I right? Bad jokes aside, yeah it’s really weird how they barely advertised it. It’s unsurprising that critics and viewers felt mixed about this. Don’t be surprised that they’ll feel the same way with Trolls Band Together. Regardless of people’s feelings about it, this would be a financial step up compared to Ruby Gillman although it won’t make a huge amount of money Minions style. But we’ll have to wait and see. To paraphrase your Home review,
“As for the quality of the future DreamWorks movies themselves, we’re gonna wait until next year when the next Kung Fu Panda movie comes out”.
I seemed to enjoy this film.
The first half of the movie I really enjoyed. It was a more relatable and less annoying version of Turning Red. Becoming a raging kraken and your mom hiding it from you is a little more relatable to periods than a red panda. They did a good job of representing a mix of modern Gen Z and Millennial experiences in the depiction of Ruby's daily life and relationships. Her friends felt a little more real and genuine. After that it was a car wreck like you saw a car crash and then the car desperately trying to wobble itself to the end of the finish line. The mermaid being evil sucked, the sea captain instantly being cool with krakens sucked, the suddenly krakens are the emblem of the school sucked, the "lets just lazer beam it at the same time" really really sucked. Do better. Thats how I feel about this movie. Could have been great. Wish it was. Would have loved a Ruby Gilman hoodie if the movie was at least mediocre.
And tiny point of contention. It was weird that the main character was obviously asian and her entire family white. It just felt like there was a disanence like she was adopted. The whole thing with her grandma and interactions with her family felt weird.
This movie is quite the splash when I saw it with my dad last weekend! I noticed that Chelsea reminded me of Ariel from The Little Mermaid a little bit because they are both mermaids! This movie was SO GOOD!!!
Dish movie exactly going to be a cult classic I'm already going to buy it when it comes out on physical and digital
I think this movie is actually kind of good, especially the third act that was only the best part of the movie and I hope you review the next DreamWorks movie trolls band together
He will review trolls 3, animat reviews every animated movie that comes out on theaters
Yeah the humans look unfinished. They make most of the humans in the first Madagascar look decent in comparison
While I really wanted to see a Sequel to this movie, I can't help but just laugh at this coming right after Puss In Boots 2 and putting a stop to all the "DreamWorks is gonna destroy Disney" memes that have been shoved down by throat by the online fans.
I feel like this movie could have been Dreamworks next Kung fu Panda!
I personally was excited about this one but when I saw it I just thought how do you have an original premise that is unique and extremely well animated but just go with the standard ‘Kids Movie.’
There was so much more potential for a very great movie and it just didn’t do anything with it. Like some spoilers stuff right now: Ruby’s mother is said to be a warrior princess but they don’t show it until the end and I thought why couldn’t we see a flashback or something?!
I do hope that this film will get something like a tv series or something. But I don’t know. Maybe it will have a resurgence like Megamind. It’s just really frustrating that they have an amazing amount of animation and original premise for an animated film and just don’t really bother with putting effort into the story.
Yeah, I agree a TV series would help also because it can repair the problems what the movie had. In addition to wanting a Teenage Kraken TV show, I would like to see more of Ruby Gillman's abilities as a Kraken, the show would be comedy, slice of life, and adventure and have some episodes with certain themes that the audience can relate too.
Exactly! But it definitely depends on how the movie preforms and even if we do get a tv series I hope that it doesn’t get the How to train your dragon treatment. From what I’ve seen people hate that show in its latest seasons. But in the end it will unfortunately I think come down to how much money it makes. Hopefully streaming will help with that because there is potential for something incredibly unique here!
@@do-ol2540 The TV series would also introduce a new main antagonist into the world who would be a secret “Men in Black” like government organization that are trying to capture Ruby Gillman and other Krakens that are being taken to a secret facility where they study krakens and other unknown sea creatures and where their ultimate goal is using the sea creatures which would mostly be the kraken’s power and energy source as their weapon until they are milked of their health and energy. I’m telling ya this movie has potential, but we will have to wait and see.
This movie was underrated and deserves more praise. It should get a TV series on Peacock or Netflix.
Thank you for reviewing this one. Most movies are covered everywhere. It is hard to find good reviews for lesser movies.
I'm sorry but the character design is just disgusting
I personally tought it was a meh movie, just like everyone else i expected WAY more. I fell in love with Chelsea and Ruby (mostly Chelsea as you may notice) but all the other characters were weirdly designed and boring. Everything is predictible and cliche. It really felt like an copy of Turning Red, but with less money budget.
It might be worse this year for DreamWorks because Trolls Band Together is out in November. Here’s hoping Kung Fu Panda 4 for next year will be awesome.
I dunno what to make of KFP 3. But 2024 can’t come soon enough. 177 days left.
eh i take ruby gillman over trolls 2 (2020) boss baby 2 and the spirt squeal (2021) anyday
Soo... its the plot of Halloweentown...but with sea monsters...
I actually chose to see this instead of Indiana Jones because I wanted to support original IP's.
MeToo. I also want to support original IPs and that is why I convinced my mom to buy tickets for Ruby Gillman and 😆No Hard Feelings.
I loved this movie personally. It had some flaws (like the marketing), but that can easily be redeemed with a show and/or a sequel
The sequel could involve Ruby facing a new threat that seeks to destroy the Krakens’ legacy or Nerissa returning with intentions of getting her revenge and leading a whole army of Mermaids.
Maybe they could have a TV show that builds up to the Sequel. I guarantee that would save this movie from becoming a failure.
Edit: It has made 8 million today, going from 18.8 million to 26.7 million at the box office. This is a good sign that it is picking itself up and, as the end credits song said, rising.
I've seen this a few months ago, even was a tad drunk, and well, it's not a terrible movie, imo.
There are a couple of things I like about this but can say it's one of the weakest movies from DreamWorks.
A few moments between mother and daughter were actually nice, some jokes were good especially that algebra joke which I the best one I'd say and the visuals were really damn good as the animation goes.
Would my opinions be the same if I watch this again when I'm sober? Yeah.
If anyone loves this, more power to em, no judging.
It's so weird coming across your channel again, I haven't seen any of your content since the Epic Mickey Files several years ago. Wish you the best and honestly glad you're still kicking!
The first trailer already spoiled the entire premise. That's the problem.
If Luca and Turning Red got together and had a baby, Teenage Kraken would be that baby.
And with the plot of little mermaid 2
13:51 Gordon Lighthouse? GORDON LIGHTHOUSE? Gees I’m surprised he didn’t start singing Gordon Lightfoot songs or make references to his work with a name like that.
Everybody is saying that Dreamworks has fallen off, yet many people don’t realize that this is how they always were. At one point you get movies like Shark Tale and Shrek The Third, and the next thing you know they make movies like Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon. I find it pretty ignorant that people are saying that they have fallen off yet again. These people need to accept and realize that Dreamworks was always a roller coaster ride of quality, and that is honestly what I love about dreamworks. They are always willing to take on new ideas that some other studios may not be willing to make, and who knows, maybe after Ruby Gillman and Trolls: Band Together, we could get another masterpiece from Dreamworks. It is only a matter of trudging through the mud in order to get the gold.
HOT TAKE: I really like this film. In fact I would give it an 8/10! Admittedly the story is kinda predictable and the villain could’ve been better but I think everything else works! I LOVE the animation though it’s not as good as the last wish. I think the characters are fun and endearing and the relationship between ruby and Agatha does feel genuine! And the humor really does work. I think this proves that dreamworks are in a renaissance in terms of quality! But then again just like their golden age they will have their stinkers. I mean trolls 3 is coming out. So overall not as good as the last wish but still great!
I hope Trolls 3 will be way better than this movie
That's the main problem with DreamWorks Animation: They're usually quantity over quality.
They rarely make a film that audiences and critics could all enjoy, it's basically caffeine hyper rush, pop status, and kids fluff entertainment!!! 😒😒😒
I do have to remember they are unpredictable. Sometimes they’ll release something great and then release something crappy
The evil mermaid is literally the only thing i remember from this movie.
And yet they spoiled the movie during the trailer
I guess she will be the only thing remembered of that movie in general.
My rating: 6/10
I can watch this film and see where it’s trying to be good, but in the way some characters and plot lines can get annoying with how pandering and obnoxious they can be, it makes this film not hard to watch, but not really fun to watch. Some aspects are good and charming like Ruby Gillman herself, and some points with the animation can be cool to watch , but the rest felt too similar to turning red, some moments were way too over the top and overall I just felt somewhat annoyed and honestly bored watching the film. I can say this is one of the films where I feel like if I didn’t watch it, I literally didn’t miss much
I think that the human design of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is way better than Ruby Gillman
I'm tired of the ,,kid is a superhero but wants to be a normal teenager!" trope, because even when I was a kid, I thought it's unrealistic. Why would anybody want to be normal, mundane, like everybody else? Why they won't make a movie about a normal teenager, who gets a chance to become a superhero?