Stories about coming out of one’s comfort zone is often a winning scenario in storytelling. In Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken what’s presented looks like more than girl coming out of her shell. She will have huge challenges to face and one of them includes dealing with an eternal war between her species and an other.
As the title and trailer suggests, this young woman will have to not only deal with high school problems but also experience her Sweet 16 in a way that could potentially the attention of the world.
I get the sense we’ll have a story that’s going to be very different from A Little Mermaid. Althouth the last films from DreamWorks presented some cutting edge visuals which were good, sometimes all we need are the basics–an eternal tale about how species from the aquatic world can get along instead of keep fighting it out. And as for how Ruby will embrace her legacy depends on whether Krakens from long ago were ever treated as adversaries. They were first introduced in Scandinavian lore and over time, films like Clash of the Titans helped popularize the Greco-Roman version. They are huge and terrifying. Sailors often thought of them as terrors as the opening narration suggests. But in this story, they are actually protectors of the seven seas.
Perhaps what we don’t know is that they were stopping ships from carrying dangerous cargo hence these attacks. What’s presented is no different from how Namor wants to prevent land dwellers from invading his kingdom. Although what’s revealed so far doesn’t show connections to classical legends, I’m hopeful more will be revealed when this film releases June 30, 2023.
Partial Spoilers and the Trailer follow:
Playing in select Cineplex theatres across Canada
Playing at select cinemas.
Freestyle Digital Media