Bring home ‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’ - a mother/daughter adventure

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

From DreamWorks and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes the delightful animated mother/daughter film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Featuring the voice talents of Lana Condor as Ruby, Toni Collette as her mother Agatha, and Jane Fonda as her “grandmamah,” this Collector’s Edition Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Code is filled with a fun story as well as plenty of bonus material.

So, what, you might be wondering, is a Kraken? It’s a long story. Kraken’s have been protectors of the sea but have a reputation among humans as being monsters. Ruby’s parents moved to the town of Oceanside to live their lives on land and raise Ruby and her brother among the humans. Even though they are blue, they have blended in with the town, just telling everyone they are from Canada. Yep, that explanation is enough to satisfy the people of Oceanside. Everything was fine until Ruby accidentally went into the water, which was forbidden by her parents.

The ocean made her into a giant Kraken, and once she was back to her normal size, Ruby learned the truth about her family. Her grandmother, aka grandmamah, is the Queen Kraken and Ruby is royalty. Contrary to human beliefs, Krakens are the good guys and mermaids are the evil ones. 

Ruby made friends with a mermaid who told her a lie about why the mermaids and Krakens were at war and together they hatched a plan to set everything straight and bring peace to the inhabitants of the seas. 

Well, things didn’t go according to plan, although Ruby’s intentions were good. The war escalated leaving it up to Ruby, her mother, and grandmother to work together to fight the evil mermaid queen.

So, while Ruby is stressing about going to the school prom and asking a boy to be her date, she is confronted with a bigger problem. She now has to be the savior of the land and sea – along with her family. Teenagers have a lot to deal with, and now Ruby has the added problem of coming out as a Kraken. 

This is a magical story filled with teen angst but at the core is a story of mothers and daughters. Ruby’s mother and grandmother had their own issues as did Ruby and her mother once she learned about her heritage. But blood is thicker than water, no pun intended, and family bonds are the strongest bonds. 

There are some fun bonus features including a look at the human cast who voiced the characters, a look at some real prom stories from the cast, and a feature all about the “mythical beasts” of the sea. There are instructions for creating your own aquarium and how to draw the characters. Deleted scenes and trailers make up there remaining bonus features.

All in all, this is a fun story filled with magic, mystery, and mothers! 

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is rated PG for some action, rude humor, and thematic elements. Dive deep into the sea with Ruby Gillman in this animated family adventure.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.