We are fast approaching the dog days of summer, and for people hoping to escape the heat, there have already been plenty of family-friendly options in theaters. Animation dominated the box office last weekend, and Disney offered up its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid a month ago. Now it’s DreamWorks Animation’s turn to take moviegoers under the sea, as Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken hits theaters June 30. Critics had a chance to screen the movie ahead of its release, and they seem to like it, but think it should have leaned further into what makes it unique.
The movie stars Lana Condor from the To All the Boys series as the voice of the titular Kraken, as well as Toni Collette and Jane Fonda as her mother and Grandmamah, respectively. Let’s see what the critics think of the latest project from DreamWorks Animation, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud rates it 3 stars out of 5, noting its similarity in plot to last year’s Pixar offering Turning Red. At a tight 90 minutes, this is an enjoyable option for families she says, but nothing earth-shattering:
Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gives the movie 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it “one of the best family films of the year” with its buoyant energy, and while this critic also points out that it’s reminiscent of Turning Red, DreamWorks delivers its own unique delights Minow says, writing:
Many critics, including Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics, agree Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken had potential but didn’t dive deep enough. The movie is at its best, Hopson says, when daring to skewer our perception of The Little Mermaid, and while the critic thinks a franchise could be built around Ruby, this movie gets just 2.5 out of 5 stars:
Manuel Betancourt of AV Club grades it a C+, calling the movie a “perfectly adequate fable.” The critic says there’s plenty to enjoy, but Ruby Gillman struggles to find the happy medium between its kooky premise and sincere emotion. Betancourt continues:
Rachel LeBonte of ScreenRant rates it a “Fairly Good” 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken “endearing” with a stunning voice cast, but the movie needed to go deeper, and it may have trouble making an impression with so many other options. LeBonte writes:
The critics have lots of good things to say about Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, even if the story isn’t as well-developed as many would have liked. As a family-friendly option with a reasonable runtime, there are surely plenty of worse ways to spend a summer afternoon, so if you’d like to check this one out, head to your local theater now. Be sure to also take a peek at our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to see what else is hitting the big screen soon.