Why Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken Is Actually Great
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00:00 Now I don't know if there has ever been another animated mainstream movie that has had worse luck than this one.
00:05 Ruby Gillman Teenage Crack is Dreamworks' latest film that wasn't even known until about 3 months before its release when the first trailer came out.
00:12 Which is insane for any big budget movie by a popular studio.
00:16 The trailer was just dropped out of practically nowhere.
00:19 And it's kinda an infamy.
00:21 It was immediately thrashed for giving away practically all of the story and it made people feel like they shouldn't even check it out.
00:27 But for me at least, it kinda sold me on it.
00:30 Honestly, I'm a sucker for these types of stories where teenagers suddenly get thrust into the role of an action hero.
00:36 And it's resulted in a lot of media I personally love.
00:38 So I was hooked.
00:39 Even some of the scenes they gave away kinda cemented my interest.
00:42 But yeah, things did not look too good for this movie looking forward.
00:46 And it almost feels intentional.
00:48 Which I will get to much later.
00:49 I mean afterwards.
00:50 Only about a month before its release did we get the second and final trailer.
00:54 Which didn't really give much else away since what else is there.
00:57 This movie was one of the few I was actually really looking forward to.
01:00 Especially since it felt like such a complete underdog.
01:02 So I wanted to support it on the first day.
01:04 And on that day, I got my ticket.
01:06 Went to the theater and...
01:08 I loved it!
01:09 It gave me exactly what I hoped and honestly even more.
01:12 I really prayed and hoped it would somehow beat just the massive odds against it.
01:17 I tried to do as much as possible to make up for the marketing myself.
01:20 With art and I even crossed over animatic with my laugh as a teenage robot with my admittedly rather small following.
01:26 And while it did get some buzz and attention.
01:28 Especially from fans.
01:29 It wasn't enough to make any real difference.
01:32 I mean, after all its reception was mixed at best.
01:35 And while I personally know a bunch of people who liked and even loved the movie.
01:39 Plenty of also found it mediocre or bad.
01:41 They call it uninspired and predictable, cliched and other things.
01:45 And while I can't completely understand how someone might think that.
01:48 I think people aren't giving this movie enough credit for what it does do.
01:51 Like this movie does a lot more than what you're saying.
01:53 And it's been pretty much forcing me to make this video in the first place.
01:57 But I say this movie is solid.
01:59 Its plot, character work and visuals are strong enough that people say I want to stand up for it for once.
02:04 And hopefully, maybe I might convince some of you to give it a chance and see it in a better light.
02:08 Ironically, even like the main character herself.
02:11 [Music]
02:18 Let me just briefly summarize for those who haven't seen or heard the movie.
02:23 Which is the person more common than I'd wish.
02:26 Also, yeah I will go into detail about most aspects of the story and characters.
02:30 But I will leave bigger spoilers for later segments.
02:33 Ruby Gilman is a 15 year old Kraken living amongst humans in the seaside town of Oceanside.
02:37 She lives with her loving Kraken family who have managed to make the entire community, with one exception, think that they're normal.
02:44 Though her mom has one rule.
02:45 To never go near the ocean.
02:48 Ruby has her own little friend group and wants to try nothing more than to ask her crush/study buddy Connor to the prom.
02:54 But when it goes wrong she's forced to go into the ocean, accidentally activating a strange power inside her.
02:59 Quickly turning her into a 50 foot mega Kraken that terrifies the town.
03:03 Once she turns to normal, Ruby has to learn more about her strange abilities despite her mother's refusal to explain.
03:08 And looks for answers herself, and eventually finds herself to the Kraken city.
03:12 There she finds out she's a princess and inherits the special ability to turn into a giant Kraken.
03:17 Which unlike the folk stories, are protectors of the ocean from a plethora of oceanic beasts.
03:22 Primarily, mermaids and Queen Nerissa.
03:24 Who had tried to conquer the world with their trick hero form in a massive war before Ruby was even born.
03:29 With massive casualties on both sides.
03:31 Her grandma the Queen wants Ruby to take over as protector of the world, but Ruby clearly isn't up for it.
03:36 Ruby doesn't know what to do now.
03:38 Unable to resume a normal teenage life, humans wanting her dead, and not wanting the destiny thrusted upon her, not even knowing who she really is anymore.
03:46 She quickly befriends the new popular girl, who is also a mermaid, who helps them understand their Kraken form much better.
03:51 The two try to help each other out and get to know each other.
03:54 And maybe might restart the mermaid war.
03:57 Now, I'm just gonna say, I love this concept so much.
04:01 Kraken's have always, and I mean always, been depicted as the go-to monsters for any oceanic setting.
04:07 Barely any of them are shown with any sort of sapience or goodness.
04:11 I really can't think of anything that has them as an unambiguous hero.
04:15 So to turn this overly used sea monster into a race of heroic monsters with a history, is such a great concept to me.
04:22 It also invites as a unique new aesthetic that I feel this movie pulled off great.
04:26 And also, using mermaids, who are usually the go-to aquatic heroes, as tricky villains is a neat touch as well for this version.
04:33 Though like, to anyone who says, "Oh, this is just a cheap callout to the little mermaid."
04:38 Evil mermaids are nothing new. It's literally what a siren is.
04:43 I wouldn't quite say this movie is like Megamind or the Bad Guys, where a character is treated like they have to follow their villain stereotype and grow out of it into a good person.
04:52 I'd say it's more like Shrek where a character has to break out of the monster stereotype society gives them, but I really wouldn't call them that similar.
05:00 Also, you might wonder, "Well, if they're the heroes, why are they perceived as monsters?"
05:05 But like, the movie pretty much showed it.
05:08 As soon as Ruby showed up, the town panics and we're all four trying to kill her, feeling she would slaughter them even though she didn't actually hurt anyone.
05:16 I mean, maybe she caused a little collateral damage, but she wasn't going around people at all.
05:20 Like, the movie makes it clear people are going to jump to the worst conclusion when they see a scary monster, and likely, it's always been like that.
05:27 Captain Lighthouse, who I got to later, saw a kraken once 15 years ago and dedicated his life to slaying it.
05:34 And grandma does imply that krakens haven't ever really gone on land before, so it's not like they ever really interacted.
05:40 Also, I have a feeling with what the movie establishes with how mermaids are so easily able to disguise themselves as pretty girls and win crowds over,
05:48 some medieval town had one going, "Oh, these horrible krakens destroyed my town, they must be destroyed!"
05:53 But, that's just my idea.
05:54 Anyway, I also love how they approach the krakens design-wise.
05:58 Of course, the main character had to make them look more humanoid and cute, but I think it's a decent compromise.
06:03 I love the long and lanky proportions of the krakens, even if most of the normal ones just look like sea monkeys.
06:10 Also, weird detail I appreciate is how Ruby's mega-kraken, as we'll call it, has three legs instead of just two or four.
06:17 It's just a strange detail with the design I love, it makes it stand out more.
06:20 I also love how her mother and her grandmother have four and six legs, so it's implied that she'll grow more when she's older.
06:26 Though, admittedly, the whole "only females of the royal family can become a mega-kraken" is kinda weird, but it's necessary for the plot of Ruby's journey.
06:35 And it's also kind of how queen ants work anyway, and it's a unique way to approach it.
06:39 I appreciate how they do more with the idea of a kraken hero than just big with long limbs.
06:44 Like, they give him weird abilities like body armor generation, camouflage, and of course, the laser eyes.
06:50 But even then, it's kind of an interesting depiction of how cephalopods are able to change their body's colors and textures, and it's cool to see it used in a combat-like way.
06:59 And even the laser eyes is explained by "electrically charged bioluminescence".
07:03 Like, yeah, even that makes sense.
07:05 It's just another creative detail I love about this movie and should really get more attention.
07:09 But in regards to the story, as I said before, it's another "teenage protagonist who's in high school and has a mystical destiny of sorts they're forced to want to decide"
07:18 (you know, the personal drama)
07:19 story in the same vein as shows like "Denny Phantom", "American Dragon", and the obvious "My Life as a Teenage Robot".
07:25 But hey, I love those shows, and so many other people do.
07:29 They still have big fanbases.
07:31 And unfortunately, you don't really see stories like this anymore TV-wise, and it's really sad.
07:37 So this movie feels nice to see another story like this, but you also, like, never see it in movie form.
07:42 I mean, I guess there's "Turning Red", which, yeah, this movie does have a lot of similarities to, especially in the beginning, but I wouldn't argue this is one of them.
07:51 Like, there's really no destiny or deserved action in it, and the weird form May would take doesn't really impact her personal life that much.
07:57 In fact, I'd argue it does the opposite and helped her out mostly.
08:00 And, yeah, people would say this plot is predictable, and, well, yeah, it is.
08:05 But I don't exactly call that an objectively bad thing.
08:08 Like, really think about it.
08:10 If you're genre-savvy enough, you can pretty easily tell how most movies go, even the best of dreamers who you consider predictable and fall directly in line with what trope they're doing.
08:19 Not every story is required to twist and subvert the story they're telling.
08:23 They just need to tell it well.
08:25 And this movie isn't really trying to change anything.
08:28 They're just trying to tell a little character journey, and I love it.
08:31 I wouldn't really call it a plot-focused movie. It's more of a character-focused one.
08:35 And because of that, yeah, people would call it cliched, but honestly, I'd argue this movie actually subverts bad cliches and make them work a lot better.
08:44 Like, the movie starts out with one of those stupid "Hey, this is me!" intros that exist to give a lot of exposition,
08:50 and make a framing device that only exists in the beginning and ending of the movie that so many people hate.
08:56 But wait, no, it's not a framing device. It's actually in the movie, and helps transition into the first conflict?
09:04 That's really nice!
09:05 Oh, here comes Ruby's Uncle Brill.
09:08 So he's just gonna become the annoying comic relief who takes too much screen time and is just stupid when she does this plot purpose like Jar Jar Binks or something.
09:16 Oh, wait, no.
09:18 Sure, he does carry a comic relief role and is very silly, but he's actually really sincere and helps Ruby's mom and Ruby herself deal with their own personal issues.
09:26 And kinda carries a good chunk of the movie's heart.
09:29 Even some friends I showed this movie to were really surprised by how much they ended up liking him.
09:33 Like, wow, that's really nice to see.
09:35 Oh, wow, introducing the pretty popular girl who comes in and humiliates our dork of a protagonist.
09:41 Of course, this story always has to do this, no exceptions.
09:44 Oh, wait, she barely acts all mean girls and forms a meaningful friendship with Ruby that's super adorable?
09:51 You, like, never see that!
09:53 And oh my god, the mom who's just overly strict and distant and doesn't let the main character go to the dance or whatever and is super judgy and I really hate this stupid trope.
10:04 But like, no.
10:05 Agatha for one is very loving and supportive and is one of my favorite moments in the movie where she helps Ruby when she's panicking in her Mega Kraken form.
10:13 And everything Agatha does, she does for a good reason.
10:17 In fact, the movie shows she had every right to do what she did and she was really just looking out for her family the entire time.
10:25 Conflicts don't arise just because someone's being unreasonable.
10:28 Everything feels deserved.
10:30 I can't tell you how much I love that they did this.
10:33 It's just so refreshing and just so nice to see.
10:36 In fact, I can really argue that everything in this movie makes sense.
10:41 I can't really think of a huge plot hole or a lapse of logic that isn't justified.
10:45 The story itself is just really well unified.
10:48 It also moves at a pretty good pace.
10:50 There's not really anything I can call super slow or boring.
10:53 I mean, the beginning is a little slow, but it's to set up Ruby and her relationships.
10:57 It uses a lot of tropes, but it uses the good ones and it diverts most of the bad ones.
11:02 Again, this really deserves far more credit than it's getting.
11:05 I also have to say, it's not pandering or obnoxious and a teen drama like this could completely try to be cool and trendy.
11:12 It kinda is in the first few minutes, but it's quickly dropped.
11:16 And this is Dreamworks!
11:18 They pretty much made it their reputation and they didn't do it for this movie.
11:22 It just wanted to tell its story the way it wants.
11:25 But even then, I'd argue the story itself is one of the weaker elements of the movie.
11:29 What I really love about this movie is its characters and especially Ruby Gilman herself.
11:36 [music]
11:48 Ruby Gilman is my favorite protagonist in all of Dreamworks.
11:52 Like, seriously, I love this girl.
11:55 She is so adorable and I adore her personality.
11:58 She's such a lovable little goober.
12:00 I love her design so much and the way they animate her spindly movement and limbs.
12:04 She always has inflections in every scene even when she's not the focus of the shot and I love her expressions.
12:10 It could have been very easy to just play up her shyness as her entire character,
12:14 but no, she's also really energetic and feels genuine.
12:17 She has a particular excited charisma too, but it doesn't overshadow her dorky characteristics.
12:22 I really gotta give it to her voice actress, Lana Condor.
12:25 Her performance really does sell her well and her perky or awkward inflections are great,
12:29 and especially the way how they accentuate her insecurities.
12:32 She has a determination to her, but it's also overshadowed by her anxiety as well.
12:36 I mean, the girl has multiple panic attacks when faced with extreme anxiety.
12:40 She has such vulnerability as well, which makes her so relatable and sympathetic.
12:44 The story is pretty much all about her vulnerability and it's primarily an emotional journey.
12:48 When she's pushed through a depression because of everything that's happened to her, I really feel for her.
12:53 She feels so real. I've met people who are like her and maybe I see some of myself in her.
12:58 She honestly reminds me so much of Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot,
13:02 who's also another one of my favorite characters and is one I really feel should get more credit
13:05 to how she's written and how lovable her personality is,
13:08 and just how much she's pushed by the world around her and gets emotional over it.
13:11 Though admittedly, Jenny does fall more to the average teenage girl stereotype than Ruby does.
13:16 Ruby's vulnerability is such a big part to her and is so imperative to the story
13:20 and done honestly in a better way than most other stories of this type.
13:23 In fact, I'd say she's a lot more vulnerable than most Dreamworks protagonists.
13:27 Even other characters who are dorky and have to deal with daunting expectations
13:30 still have a fair amount of optimism or confidence or grow out of it during the course of the story.
13:34 Not Ruby though. The entire movie pretty much has her faced with such daunting expectations
13:39 and problems that she really can't immediately get over.
13:41 Like, this is not a glamorous form.
13:44 She turns into a 50-foot aquatic monster with a reputation for being the most evil creature in the sea.
13:48 And that's not something the movie glosses over. It's huge to the story.
13:52 Again, she is being actively feared and hunted for a power she never asked for
13:57 and is too large and unsightly to ignore.
13:59 You can't tell anyone about this. No one else knows what she's going through
14:02 and even those who do can't help her.
14:04 It's just a lot more vulnerability than you get from other protagonists like this
14:07 and contributes to the story and emotions.
14:09 Like, compare it to the panda and turning red.
14:12 Like, yeah, in the beginning the whole panda thing is off-putting and causes some conflict and dejection,
14:17 but it's pretty quickly turned into a popular and lovable thing because...
14:20 well, it's a giant red panda, of course people are gonna love it.
14:22 Turning into a giant kraken monster is something else.
14:25 Not to mention as well when she learns of her destiny as a protector of the sea
14:28 and needs to fight off giant sea monsters that her grandma wants her to do.
14:31 This girl can't even be in front of crowds without an anxiety attack
14:34 and she's expected to fight a leviathan?
14:36 The entire story is about Ruby accepting this new monstrous part of her,
14:40 past what other people think of her, past her anxieties, and making her own path.
14:44 What I also like is it's kind of a gradual progression.
14:47 Ruby is an active character in her own growth and purposely goes out of her way to learn more about
14:52 and slowly come to accept this part of her.
14:54 Like when she first goes back to the sea to trigger the form and has fun with it for the first time
14:57 as she's free in the beautiful ocean depths.
15:00 And even later when she bonds with Chelsea and it feels like she has a genuine friend
15:03 who understands her and this part of her.
15:05 It was just really compelling to me and I think it was done more interesting
15:08 than how most other things of the story genre do.
15:10 Though an important thing I must say is that, again,
15:13 this movie's plot is Ruby accepting her role.
15:17 Some people say that the movie doesn't do much with the concept of the Kraken hero.
15:21 And yeah, admittedly there's not too much done with the actual lore of the movie
15:25 nor some of the monsters it sets up.
15:26 Some people say she should have fought monsters and be a hero all through the movie.
15:30 But to that I say, seriously?
15:33 It would literally break the entire movie.
15:35 Ruby's journey just can't develop or come to an end like that.
15:38 If she becomes a hero and fights monsters through most of the movie,
15:41 then you have basically no growth or story.
15:44 You would already reach the end of the arc before it even finishes.
15:47 Maybe that stuff can happen in a continuation once the arc is done with,
15:50 but this movie is about Ruby's character growth to accepting that power
15:54 than it is just being about it.
15:56 And because of it, it would be pointless to go more into the world and lore
15:59 if it wasn't allowed to be paid off in the story.
16:01 Like, the first Kung Fu Panda movie,
16:03 imagine if Po fought a ton of other bad guys and earned his role as a great warrior
16:07 before he finally faces Tai Lung and earns the Dragon Warrior title.
16:10 It would completely kill this movie's plot and character growth.
16:14 And even then, Po gladly accepted his role in the beginning
16:16 if he thought he would be trained to reach it.
16:18 This is a similar thing.
16:20 It's really more of a personal growth story, and I really liked how they did it.
16:23 I think the movie did perfectly fine with how much of the lore they give,
16:26 especially as it serves to give Ruby the daunting expectations
16:29 she's expected to go through and properly makes her concerned.
16:32 She's a modern teenage girl who didn't know about this a day ago.
16:36 Even if the movie doesn't go too much into it,
16:38 it still properly serves its role in the plot and character growth
16:41 and as the backdraft for the conflict.
16:43 But when Ruby does properly grow more into her role and accepts her weird power,
16:47 it feels super gratifying.
16:49 Like, yeah, she's this unwieldy 50-foot sea monster,
16:52 but she gets a lot more comfortable than she used to be.
16:54 I even like when she does go through proper training
16:56 and she starts to use some of the abilities in her normal life.
16:59 One of my favorite and funniest moments of the film
17:01 is when she learns how to use her laser eyes
17:03 and she starts discreetly blowing up the phones of people she walks past
17:06 before looking at her first Kraken rampage.
17:08 I just love that. I love her so much.
17:11 She has such a great personality, such great scenes, and such a great journey.
17:15 I can't get enough of her, and she deserves far more credit than she's getting.
17:18 Also, like, I just want to say that, like,
17:21 Ruby Gilman is legitimately one of the most powerful characters in Dreamworks.
17:25 Like, I'm not memeing, I genuinely mean that.
17:27 I don't want to go all death battle and pity its character together and see who would win.
17:32 I'm saying, like, in terms of sheer power, durability, and
17:36 can this character single-handedly destroy a civilization?
17:39 Like, I think the only characters more powerful than her are Death,
17:42 Metroman, Aeris, and maybe Insectosaurus.
17:44 I don't know, it's just fun to think about this girl being a complete beast and deserves more attention.
17:49 But that's not all there is. There's also her family play a pretty big role.
17:52 Agatha is surprisingly a lot more of a character than I thought she was going to be.
17:56 Which, like, looking back at the setup was kind of more obvious than it should have been.
17:59 Like, first she just comes across the normal type of mom in these stories,
18:03 supportive but also restraining of our teenage hero
18:05 and preventing them from just doing what they want.
18:07 Though here it's more justified as they're actual sea monsters
18:10 who have successfully been parading as humans for years now.
18:13 And judging by how the town reacts once Ruby is revealed, yeah, it's for the best.
18:17 And again, this is what I absolutely love about Agatha.
18:19 Everything she does is for a reason.
18:22 She's not just being your average mom going, "Oh, you can't go to prom"
18:25 because it's easy for conflict in these stories.
18:27 She has a genuine reason for everything.
18:29 Like, everything bad starts happening when people don't do what she says.
18:32 She's also genuinely loving. She cares about her family and gave up so much for them.
18:36 When Ruby first transforms and she's just a complete nervous wreck,
18:40 Agatha calms her down and tries to remind her who she really is.
18:43 It's a really impactful scene that I absolutely love.
18:46 I don't want to give too much away, but Agatha does have a particular history
18:49 and one that she does not want Ruby to get into.
18:51 And she had good reason to try and keep it a secret,
18:53 as when Ruby does find out, she goes behind her back to learn more about it
18:56 and ends up causing more trouble than she wanted.
18:58 It's so refreshing just to see a genuinely kind and loving mother who is strict at times,
19:02 but is completely validated in all of them.
19:04 Agatha gave up so much for her family and for Ruby.
19:06 She even has self-doubt about herself and what she's doing
19:09 much more than most other mothers in this situation.
19:11 Her and Ruby have conflicts with each other, but both are completely justified.
19:15 It's surprisingly a big part of the story and to me really works.
19:18 Agatha is such an interesting character and is far more than any story about teenage growth has done.
19:22 Honestly, she's underrated. She's a legitimately great and compelling character.
19:26 I adore what this movie does with them.
19:28 The rest of the family are pretty fun too, though they aren't as important.
19:30 I love her dad too and just how wholesome he is and his interaction with his wife and Ruby.
19:34 She does have her little brother which of course they quarrel with,
19:37 but I like how they didn't write him as just obnoxious, which could have been super easy.
19:40 He's just a rambunctious little kid and has a lot of great interactions with other characters.
19:44 Even their pet Nessie I appreciate and just how weird the design is.
19:47 I mean they could have just done some lazy fish dog design and make it traditionally cute,
19:50 but they made it this weird axolotl creature.
19:53 Actually, Nessie is used more in the plot than you'd think.
19:55 Like, again, this movie gives the family dog some plot importance and that's kind of amazing.
20:00 Also, I should mention Uncle Brill again, who joins the cast pretty soon to connect them back to the Ocean Krakens.
20:05 And yeah, he plays the usual goofy uncle with a lot of physical comedy,
20:08 but again, he does have plenty of emotional moments and plot relevance,
20:11 which is super refreshing and a pretty good use of the character.
20:14 Even the comic relief is really important to the story and character progression and not just used for gags.
20:18 It's even kind of implied that he was often neglected by his mom because he wasn't a Meta Kraken like Agatha and Ruby,
20:23 and probably why he's so openly affected by other people.
20:25 I even really like how they got the rest of the family involved in the plot
20:28 by joining them with a subplot with the film's minor antagonist, Captain Lighthouse.
20:31 He plays the usual suspicious human trying to find the secret of the protagonist you sometimes see in these stories,
20:36 but he's pretty entertaining with his eccentricities and how much they play the old coot aspect.
20:39 The story of how he destroyed his own life and arbitrarily blames Krakens is hilarious.
20:44 "Wouldn't wanna divorce me now, would ya, Tammy?"
20:47 He's the only other human who is ironically animated as manic as the Krakens,
20:50 which does play off how eccentric he is.
20:52 Even after his plot could have ended when he tried to hunt Ruby,
20:55 he still has a role and helps bring the other extraneous characters together.
20:57 They didn't need to do that, but they did.
20:59 Again, this movie should get a lot more credit on how it handles its tropes and cliches.
21:02 It takes the usual extraneous characters by putting them in a fitting role in the story
21:05 and combines them instead of ignoring them.
21:07 I also want to briefly talk on Ruby's grandmother, or grandma-ma's it likes to be called.
21:11 Yeah, they don't really give her a name, but honestly if they did that it'd probably be like
21:14 Queen Cephalopodia, so whatever, it's not that big a deal.
21:17 They serve as an example of what Ruby could be if she completely commits to her destiny.
21:21 Well, being a massive powerful warlord relishing over her conquests.
21:24 Now, with that in mind, you would think that she's just some sort of really strict grandma
21:27 who demands Ruby follow in her footsteps,
21:30 but no, she's actually really sweet to Ruby and more passively tries to get Ruby to join her,
21:34 building her up more, and showing how great she could be in the proud power of her family.
21:38 "You're special, Ruby. You feel it in the core of your being. Let me teach you."
21:44 It's great that despite the story being all about personal doubt and expectations,
21:48 that no one in her family is really mean or forces their ideas onto her.
21:51 They're all very loving.
21:52 She's excited to have another member of her family who can live up to the legacy
21:55 and tries to help Ruby in her own way, though accidentally contributes more to her anxieties.
21:59 She has her own distaste to what Ruby's mom did and how she's on land now,
22:02 but she doesn't take it out on Ruby.
22:03 When Ruby says she has so much she wants to experience on land and can't feel she can live up to such a mantle,
22:08 her grandma accepts it.
22:09 She doesn't get upset, she just thinks while she has this tiny debaun and lets her leave,
22:13 accepting her to accept her destiny on her own.
22:15 That's so great to see and it's really sweet.
22:17 That's something I love.
22:18 This movie could have easily had Agatha be super strict on Ruby staying on land
22:21 or her grandma be really strict on her being a kraken hero, but they're not.
22:24 There's no real animosity.
22:26 The only animosity is with Agatha and her mother,
22:28 but it's not focused upon and you feel how intense it is when they bring it up.
22:31 She's also just kind of a fun character.
22:32 She has a particular charisma and snark that I really love, played great by their actress Jane Fonda.
22:36 It's just kind of hard not to enjoy them and they're pretty fun.
22:39 Admittedly though, the few characters who did kind of get the shoutouts were Ruby's human friends,
22:43 Margo, Bliss, Trevin, and Wilconner too to be honest.
22:46 I mean the movie does kind of have a large cast, so it makes sense some characters get thrown to the wayside,
22:49 though like the movie doesn't focus on them and they're not as important to the story as say,
22:53 the friends in "Turning Red" were.
22:54 They mostly just appear in the beginning and some parts of the story
22:56 and they primarily serve as a way to connect Ruby to the human and high school part of their lives.
23:00 Though there is a deleted scene where they help out Ruby to save some sea animals from a marketplace
23:03 and show how much they care about her, but it was kind of unnecessary and confusing.
23:06 They still help to kick out the plot in the beginning
23:08 and add more to Ruby's distancing of her normal life when she learns of her kraken destiny.
23:11 After all, they'll never get it and she can't tell them, leading to a lot of tension between them.
23:15 They even make a point by highlighting how much later Ruby isn't invested in her high school and friends later on,
23:19 but hey, at least they get a few funny moments in between and work well enough I guess.
23:22 "What it truly is!"
23:24 "Ha ha ha ha ha!"
23:26 "Heh, can't help but root for that guy."
23:29 But let's be honest here, do you REALLY want more high school drama in this story?
23:33 I cannot stand high school drama unless it's being supplemented by the paranormal stuff in this type of story,
23:37 so I'm kind of glad they didn't do it.
23:39 Also, it kind of works well enough as Ruby's crush,
23:41 in the contrast of the usual cool stater boy with the math dork is pretty adorable even if it's overused.
23:45 I also love how it's kind of a mutual crush too, I mean how can you not love this girl?
23:48 Though it doesn't really go the one-sided crush so many of these stories do with the "will they won't they" tension.
23:52 It's just kind of a cute little thing.
23:54 I can't bring myself to hate what's cute.
23:56 It's not too great, but it's fine, it works, and I think it's best for the story.
23:58 Though yeah, I have been neglecting the last character.
24:01 That's because she really needs her own segment.
24:03 "See Vanderzee, it's Dutch."
24:17 You know her name translates to Chelsea of the Sea?
24:20 I just find that stupidly funny, I don't know why.
24:22 But anyway, yeah, I can't talk about this without going into spoilers,
24:25 so skip to the visual segment if you haven't seen the movie.
24:28 And you really should if you've been hearing anything I've been saying.
24:30 We good?
24:35 Okay then.
24:36 Yeah, she was evil the whole time, but I would not call her a twist villain, at least not in the usual sense.
24:42 We all know the twist villain stick.
24:44 Like it used to be around all the time with just some side character who has like maybe 5-10 minutes of screen time,
24:48 who's all nice until like 20 minutes into the end of the movie,
24:51 and slowly 180s and reveals they were evil the whole time,
24:54 and change their personalities entirely until they're defeated.
24:57 People hate these for a lot of reasons.
24:59 It's overused, unsatisfying, and it's uninteresting.
25:02 And of course people are all like, "Oh, Chelsea's just an obvious twist villain."
25:05 But like, the movie didn't pretend they weren't.
25:08 Or at least not in the usual way.
25:10 Like literally from her introduction, you immediately don't trust her and don't like her.
25:14 You already have a lot of suspicion on her.
25:16 And even later we learn about the lore of mermaids being evil before we even find out Chelsea's one of them.
25:21 Anyone can easily connect the dots.
25:23 Don't think you're clever for picking up what the movie was spelling out to you.
25:26 So please stop saying that Chelsea was a predictable twist villain as a criticism, like did you see the movie?
25:32 It's not trying to go surprise, it's giving you obvious reasons to not trust her.
25:36 But the thing that makes it interesting is that Chelsea's accents circumvent this.
25:40 Like, I know she was going to be evil going in, but I wasn't sure exactly what they were going to do.
25:45 They already introduced Nerissa as the main antagonist,
25:47 so I didn't know if Chelsea was going to be a complete red herring, if she's a pawn of a bigger scheme,
25:51 or if this was all her plan.
25:52 Like I was actually engaged despite the obvious spoiler, and the twist did take me a bit by surprise.
25:56 But Chelsea as a character is likable.
25:59 She is super charismatic, like infectiously so.
26:02 And despite what she seems, she does not go all mean girls on Ruby.
26:05 She actually tries to be her friend.
26:07 She saves Ruby's life and actively goes out of her way to try and help Ruby through her emotional issues.
26:12 She even talks about her own issues.
26:14 Like she's actually really compelling in her own right.
26:16 Really listen to her and not get invested in her perspective.
26:18 I ran away.
26:20 But when I ended up at Oceanside High, I was alone.
26:24 No one could see the real me.
26:25 I'm on diet, trying to get it back.
26:28 I am so sorry.
26:29 It's not your fault.
26:31 They were enemies.
26:32 It makes you think and kind of doubt yourself.
26:34 And it makes so much sense on why despite this, Ruby would trust her.
26:37 The thing is, Chelsea helped Ruby when no one else could.
26:42 Her mom refuses to help her with her kraken form.
26:44 Her grandma wants her to be another warlord.
26:46 Her other family members have no way of helping her.
26:48 And her friends at school and every other person at Oceanside would haunt her if they found out who she really was.
26:52 She was completely stuck.
26:54 She was about to have a complete nervous breakdown.
26:57 But Chelsea was the only other person Ruby could relate to.
27:00 Chelsea was the only person who tried to teach her how to have fun with herself.
27:03 To be happy with herself.
27:04 To have someone who might know what they're going through with absolutely no judgment.
27:08 Some people say Chelsea and Ruby's bonding moments are the best part of the movie.
27:11 And I can completely see why.
27:13 These two are adorable and these moments are so sweet and fun and visually great.
27:17 It makes perfect sense on why Ruby would appreciate and trust Chelsea after all that.
27:20 It even gives her a perspective on the mermaid wars.
27:22 How they were the victims.
27:24 Now scattered and in hiding.
27:25 And how her mother was killed by it.
27:26 Her only other perspective is her warlord mother who of course wants her to follow in her footsteps.
27:30 So this middling of perspectives would make her consider it.
27:33 Again, can Ruby really trust her grandma's perspective?
27:36 It's not unbiased and she really seems intense.
27:38 Even if their plan to find the Trident of Oceanus is a little contrived in an obvious scheme.
27:43 The movie clearly does explain how it could fix both their problems.
27:46 And again, Ruby completely trusts Chelsea.
27:48 And aside from what her grandma says, she has no reason to not trust her.
27:51 If both the princesses worked together, unified under the main target of the war.
27:55 It would hopefully stop the conflict between the races.
27:57 There would be no fighting.
27:58 Ruby wouldn't have to train to be a warrior.
28:00 And Chelsea and her people can be free.
28:02 Everybody would be happy.
28:03 It makes sense.
28:04 And again, this movie really deserves credit for subverting the usual mean girls thing
28:08 and making them have a friendship.
28:09 Even if it wasn't actually legit.
28:11 Like the movie could have just easily taken the easy route and just made Chelsea the mean girl in tag.
28:14 And was like "Ha ha, what a nerd. Laugh at everyone. Ha ha, you're a loser of a kraken. You're pathetic. Ha ha.
28:20 Ha ha, you can't stop because you're not popular at school and boys don't like you. Ha ha."
28:24 But they decided to do something new with it.
28:25 Even if they were still a villain at the end.
28:27 It's at least a much more interesting way to tackle the twist villain than how nearly every other movie does it.
28:31 Also, good lord, she's not just an Ariel parody.
28:34 Like, it's really just superficial.
28:36 Again, if they wanted to make an obvious jab at Ariel, they could have taken the easiest route and just made her a mean girl jerk who gets what's coming to her.
28:42 But no, they make her very likeable and charismatic.
28:44 I'd argue Shrek 2 didn't much meaner jab at the Little Mermaid since they freaking killed Ariel there.
28:48 She's a villain, but she's a likeable villain.
28:50 And for the love of god, stop saying they made this movie just to jab at the Little Mermaid remake.
28:55 Like, do you really think they made this movie, movies that take years and millions of dollars
28:58 to make a spiteful jab towards another yearly live-action remake that they churn out?
29:02 Like that they would just perfectly intersect during development like this?
29:06 Like, if you honestly think that, seriously, learn how movie production is made and grow up.
29:10 Seriously, I saw so much hate for this stupid thing when the movie was coming out, I can't believe some people.
29:15 I can't believe this take exists, good lord.
29:17 But back to Chelsea, another thing that really helps is how they handled it.
29:21 For one, everything she did, even if it ultimately hurt her plan, was for a reason.
29:25 Ruby was the key around everything, and she needed to befriend her.
29:28 She needed to form a close relationship and help Ruby embrace her kraken form.
29:32 She needed her to get stronger to endure the vortex, even if it did make her a bigger threat.
29:36 It's nice to see a twist villain where the personality and actions are done in a way that makes complete sense looking back.
29:40 Also, this is not just some random person the character knows and just haven't had some arbitrary relationship with.
29:46 It makes the betrayal hurt so much more for the character.
29:48 This was her friend, her closest friend that she had a meaningful connection to and thought she could trust.
29:53 The one person who was there for her when no one else was.
29:56 The person who finally motivated her to embrace her destiny and to train herself to become a powerful kraken and do what she never thought she could.
30:02 She was the main driving force in Ruby's development.
30:04 Ruby changed so much because of Chelsea.
30:06 Look at her, she made a difference.
30:08 A determination she never had before to help her best friend.
30:11 Look at her braving the insanely powerful vortex with passionate determination.
30:15 She got so much stronger as a character for this person.
30:18 That person just stabbed them in the back and is going to destroy everything she loves.
30:22 And she betrayed her mother's trust who was doing everything she could to protect her from this.
30:26 Let me talk about this scene.
30:28 Everyone has a deserving perspective.
30:30 Ruby feels this was the only way to avoid her destiny.
30:33 To help someone who she has a deep connection to and to be a hero in her own way.
30:37 To her this would solve everything.
30:38 But Agatha has sacrificed everything to prevent this.
30:41 Steve fled the ocean to protect her family from danger.
30:44 She hid the trident so it can never be used to harm anyone.
30:46 And she tried to prevent Ruby from finding out about herself to protect her from the threats of her past life.
30:50 But Ruby can't trust her mom after hiding so much and preventing her from finding out about her true family, purpose, powers, and character growth she now accepts.
30:58 It's a deserved confrontation and everyone is right in their own way.
31:01 It's not just a cliched third act breakup, it's deserved for both the characters.
31:04 No one's being unreasonable.
31:06 Because Ruby just betrayed her own mom and didn't listen to what she had to say.
31:09 It makes the next part so brutal.
31:10 She didn't just disappoint herself, she disappointed her family and it was one of the best for her.
31:14 And it's not that Ruby didn't know this couldn't happen, but she felt such trust from Chelsea she figured it was just a lie.
31:19 It does lead to the hero falls into a depression and needs a nudge to move on.
31:22 But considering how everything she was working for just got destroyed and she lost pretty much everyone,
31:27 she just falls back into her anxieties and self-doubt that she had before Chelsea helped her through it.
31:31 Ruby has been constantly struggling with herself.
31:33 It's not the first time she gives into anxiety and self-doubt.
31:36 It's not just a "we need this because it's how movies are", it's actually justified.
31:39 Also it doesn't really take long which thank god because this can usually be one of the most tedious parts of movies.
31:44 This can take like 5 to 10 minutes in other movies, but here it's only like 1.
31:47 I do kind of wish Ruby got motivated by herself to take action again.
31:50 It's not like any of the pep talk from Uncle Brill, but it's a great little talk and it's super emotional.
31:54 It gives Ruby so much more perspective of her family and inspiration.
31:57 "So proud to be her brother. She was powerful, confident, everyone loved her."
32:02 "I could never understand why she chose to leave the ocean."
32:06 "I saw the awesome life she created on land."
32:09 "Your mom chose her own path."
32:12 "She chose you."
32:16 God it's so heartwarming. How can you say this movie has nothing?
32:19 It's her mom that inspires Ruby to take control of her life again and gives her the motivation to continue.
32:24 Also good lord this shot is so beautiful, I love it.
32:27 Which brings us to the climax.
32:29 I mean of course this was gonna happen.
32:45 I mean this girl turns into a kaiju with laser eyes.
32:47 Of course we're gonna have a giant fight.
32:49 It's actually what kind of got me hooked on the trailer.
32:51 I mean how many other kids movies have a kaiju fight with the main character?
32:54 Okay no one saw that.
32:55 Like I like Turning Red and the climax was great.
32:58 It made the best part of the movie, but like this climax had absolutely no reason to exist aside from we needed it.
33:03 There's no justification in story.
33:05 This was built up through the movie and it's pretty much the entire premise and Ruby's character arc.
33:10 And we don't just get Ruby, we got Agatha and Grandma here too.
33:13 In fact everyone's a part of this climax and no one's left out.
33:16 I really like movies that get everyone involved at the end.
33:18 The rest of the family is helping out Captain Lighthouse and showing him,
33:20 "Hey dudes we're Krakens and we need your help."
33:22 And giving him a character arc.
33:24 The other kids on the prom boat are watching Ruby too and adding more personal stakes as well.
33:27 Like she has to stop Chelsea, save her family, and make sure her entire school doesn't die.
33:31 The Ruby at the beginning of the movie could not do this.
33:34 The Ruby who was too terrified to even ask her crush out.
33:36 Now Ruby's journey has built her confidence so much that she's going on pure determination.
33:40 She's confident, angry, and brave and it's so gratifying.
33:44 One thing I really gotta say is how big the movie felt on a movie screen.
33:47 The impact and size of everything, especially here, just hit so hard when I first watched it.
33:51 I mean look at the sweeping camera motions.
33:54 Look at the impact of the water.
33:55 The amount of low shots.
33:56 How everything slowed in a way for the impacts to hit more.
33:59 I mean I guess the fighting choreography could have been a bit more exciting.
34:02 But I don't know what else they could really do without like changing the entire setting
34:05 to have more interesting set pieces.
34:07 Or giving the characters more crazy abilities or weapons.
34:09 Which would take more time to introduce.
34:11 So I'm not getting upset that it's not a completely bonkers fight.
34:14 It is pretty cool though.
34:15 And again, this is Ruby embracing her destiny.
34:18 The training she went through just to avoid doing this is paying her off with her actually doing it and being brave too.
34:23 She's using her immense strength.
34:24 She's using her body armor.
34:26 She's using her freaking laser eyes.
34:28 This nerd used to have panic attacks in crowds and now she's fighting a godly enhanced mermaid monster.
34:33 Also everything comes along well.
34:35 Ruby proves her heroic saving the town in front of her friends now cheering for the monster they feared.
34:39 Laidos gets their perspective changed.
34:41 And Ruby gets to prove herself as the hero she is.
34:43 Also just because I have a feeling people are going to complain about how Agatha and Grandma were doing so bad against Narissa when they were able to defeat them 15 years ago.
34:49 Agatha hasn't had any combat training in over 15 years.
34:51 And her grandma is at least like 60 as Narissa boasts that she's getting way too old for this.
34:56 But I also like how the solution is justified story wise.
34:59 A movie like this has to make some new way to defeat the villain instead of just brute forcing it.
35:02 They hid away the trident instead of destroying it because they literally couldn't.
35:05 It was too strong.
35:06 Ruby says they need to focus their laser eyes on the trident to get enough power to destroy it.
35:10 And I like how we can see Ruby come to that conclusion since she saw it actually got slightly damaged when their beams hit it.
35:14 And even her love of math pays off in this way.
35:16 And yeah it makes sense because Ruby Lily wasn't born when they first tried it.
35:20 So it's a solution that can only happen now.
35:22 Also just the image of the three characters and three generations working together as one to fight the common enemy of their lives.
35:29 Characters have such different feelings on their roles.
35:31 It's just so cool man.
35:32 I'm sorry.
35:33 Like the entire family is all joined here. It's just so satisfying.
35:36 I like how Narissa is pretty much allowed to go full alpha bitch here to make it much more entertaining than your normal twist villain.
35:41 Also since this can't go into the visual section.
35:44 I love the choice of making her skin dark shadowy red with bright blue bioluminescent spots.
35:49 And her sea foam flowing hair looks great.
35:51 It's great how they use it as a light source to contrast her dark body so she's always visible.
35:55 But also think about how Narissa was responsible for everything in this movie.
36:00 Narissa wages the war against the Krakens, implied to have killed most of Ruby's family,
36:04 and after their defeat, forced Agatha to move her family to the surface to keep them safe
36:08 and caused a split between her and her mom and forced Ruby to grow up without knowing who she really is.
36:12 And apparently she's been hunting for them for 15 years since as soon as Ruby let out a pulse,
36:17 she tracked them down and manipulated her right back to her spot of power just to try and finish the job and kill all three of them.
36:23 Like wow. Really think about that.
36:25 It's not Lord Shen levels of murderous vendetta against the main character and their family, but it's up there.
36:30 Also I need to mention that, yeah, it's revealed that Chelsea and Narissa are the same person.
36:34 Okay? That got me. I did not expect that.
36:37 It's an interesting twist, but it also kinda makes Chelsea and Ruby's relationship a lot creepier.
36:42 I mean it's not in any romantic way, it's just a friendship, but oof.
36:45 Man, I feel for all the Shelby shippers at that point.
36:48 Though they say that mermaids don't age, so like, maybe it's better?
36:52 I don't know, it's actually something I want to be retconned if there's a continuation.
36:55 It's probably for the best.
36:57 Though an interesting thing is that there's an alternative scene that showed Chelsea was actually Narissa's daughter,
37:02 who Agatha killed, and she was seeking revenge.
37:05 Like, wow.
37:07 You might think, "Wow, that's awesome, it would make the movie more interesting."
37:10 But also like, this would mean Ruby's mom and one of the supporting protagonists actually killed another person,
37:16 and their child wants revenge.
37:18 It's just insanely dark and this movie really isn't about that.
37:21 Like, it would be so jarring, and I understand why they cut it.
37:24 But even then, I kinda feel there was a missed opportunity with Chelsea.
37:27 They kinda made her too likable to be a villain, and most people I see agree.
37:31 So, maybe if I can do a bit of a personal rewrite.
37:34 Everything's pretty much the same until Chelsea betrays Ruby.
37:36 Chelsea and Narissa really are daughter and mother,
37:38 with Narissa now the disgraced queen of the mermaids desperately after revenge against Agatha, Krakenkind, and seeks to rule humanity.
37:45 Chelsea would have spared Ruby on purpose, as she couldn't bring herself to kill her friend.
37:48 Narissa's just using Chelsea as a pawn in their scheme, and I see things very little of her,
37:52 practically the opposite of how Agatha treats Ruby.
37:54 Narissa berates Chelsea's hesitation, and says she would kill all Krakens, including Ruby,
37:58 and then they can finally rule the seven seas and continents too.
38:01 Chelsea feels really bad about what she's done, and is rethinking the narrative her mother gave her.
38:05 Meanwhile, Narissa in the fight gets an advantage against Ruby,
38:08 but Chelsea does...something, I don't know, to give Ruby the upper hand and redeem her actions.
38:13 Then afterwards, Chelsea apologizes and then is accepted, and even joins the friend group with the new dynamic,
38:18 and help bring that full circle, and the idea of never trusting appearances.
38:21 Again, that might also be kinda cliched, but I think it would be a lot better for most people.
38:25 I don't know, it just might make sense.
38:26 I also do love how Chelsea after her defeat is literally the same person,
38:29 she's just as attention-hungry and vain as ever.
38:31 It's so refreshing after so many other twist villains who seem like completely different people before and after.
38:36 Even Lighthouse helps to capture her when she might have gotten away again.
38:39 It's a decent conclusion to everybody, but I wonder what they did with her after.
38:42 Probably just put her in an aquarium or something.
38:44 But yeah, Ruby even gets to go to prom, but it's nice that Ruby doesn't actually ask.
38:49 It doesn't even cross her mind.
38:50 Her mom's the one who invites her to,
38:52 which is a great way of referencing the first conflict where she was too nervous to let her go
38:56 in fear of her unleashing her kraken form and being hated.
38:58 But now she does trust her enough, and really it's what hiding has done to her.
39:01 She goes to the prom ship, with a pretty but random dress she now has.
39:06 Weird, but they also never explain where Ruby's clothes go before and after she transforms,
39:09 so maybe she has some weird kraken clothing power.
39:12 It's a cute moment where she finally gets to ask Connor out,
39:14 and our little squid bean gets what she's always wanted.
39:16 I mean, prom is practically mandated by these stories, so they had to commit.
39:21 But one detail I do like is that Ruby doesn't actually prioritize it,
39:24 and the movie does show it specifically.
39:26 Other stuff would have been like, "No, I can't fight evil, the prom is tomorrow!"
39:31 But no, prom actually barely crosses Ruby's mind anymore,
39:33 and the movie showed it as everyone else was getting ready while she was too focused on her kraken training.
39:37 It's a really refreshing approach that prioritizes the teenage kraken part rather than the high school part.
39:42 And hey, it's a pretty cute way to resolve Ruby's struggles with her friends and human life.
39:45 Look at her, she's so much more confident now, when she used to be so nervous.
39:49 The plot pretty much kickstarted by her not being able to ask Connor out,
39:52 so it's nice that it ends with her doing it.
39:53 I like how the entire family is more accepting and grows closer together now,
39:56 and they were already pretty wholesome, but now they're just one big family unit.
39:59 Plus after that, Ruby's a lot more confident now.
40:01 She's respected by everyone in Oceanside, and might have compromised everything.
40:04 It's a nice conclusion that invites so much, and I mean SO MUCH potential later that I really want to get into.
40:09 But before I get into that, I need to talk about one of the best parts of this movie.
40:12 The visuals.
40:30 I find it ironic that animation fans barely ever seem to talk about the actual animation and art direction of a movie,
40:36 unless it's something like Spider-Verse.
40:38 Like okay, this movie isn't a puss in boots 2, but like, that animation is only rivaled by Spider-Verse,
40:43 so let's not judge everything on that scale because that's insanely unfair.
40:46 I think visual and design style is such an underrated part of animated movies.
40:50 Maybe just because I'm an artist, but even in more bad to mediocre films,
40:53 I have a big appreciation for art direction and designs.
40:56 Like Croods isn't really treated too highly, but I will applaud the wild imagination of the creature designs,
41:00 and I feel they deserve more credit than they actually get.
41:02 And even Trolls, which is not liked by a lot of people, I do give credit,
41:05 it's felt like art direction and designs are very nice to look at, and should be appreciated more.
41:09 This movie's art style is more unique than the usual Dreamworks style in animation,
41:12 and especially how it handles environments is awe-inspiring.
41:15 But first, I want to talk about the character animation.
41:17 I freaking adore how the Krakens are animated.
41:19 They have so much squash and struts that makes for super fun and expressive movements,
41:23 and it really works to sell them as not like humans.
41:25 The other humans aren't animated like that at all,
41:27 they're animated like normal people, so it makes the Krakens stand out more.
41:30 And well, they don't have skeletons.
41:32 Even Ruby states that she has to pretend to have a spine most of the time.
41:35 The movie does a lot with the animation and unique and quirky movements of how Ruby and her family stretch and slink around.
41:40 Like I can watch this so much.
41:41 It's great how they get really creative with the animation, it must not have been easy.
41:45 I know people aren't big on the human designs and I can kinda see why,
41:48 but like human designs can get a lot worse.
41:50 To me at least looks kinda like a fusion between Ardman humans and some Genie designs.
41:54 I don't mind them too much, but I guess I can see why people might not like them.
41:57 It does nicely contrast the Kraken designs while still matching the style and not being realistic.
42:01 It's more difficult to balance than you think.
42:03 But hey, let me give serious props to the environmental designs.
42:06 They do not get enough credit in this movie and nearly every other animated movie.
42:10 Look at this town, I love it.
42:12 Look at all the buildings all tied together and how round and almost toy-like the designs are.
42:16 Each has its own flair and personality, and even the boats look like toys.
42:19 Like I get a ton of bat toy vibes which really does contribute to the oceanic aesthetic of the city.
42:23 Look at the weird shapes of the architectures and the portholes built into the buildings like they're ships.
42:28 It's just a charming location. It's just a good aesthetic.
42:31 But what this movie masters is its ocean.
42:33 Good lord, this movie's underwater scenes are gorgeous.
42:36 I have never seen another animated movie that makes the ocean feel so deep.
42:40 And I have bad philosophobia.
42:42 I can't even look at dark water without getting insane anxiety.
42:46 And this movie barely has blue water, it's mostly black.
42:49 But this movie makes the ocean feel so mysterious, large, and yet welcoming.
42:53 It's perfect for a movie about krakens to represent the ocean this way.
42:56 Seeing Ruby swim through the deep currents as it glows, passing through the forest of kelp, it feels so free and alluring.
43:02 It's almost like a completely different world.
43:04 I love how since he's bioluminescent, they don't even need a light source.
43:07 You can see her magenta light pass through the ocean depths.
43:10 As an artist, I struggle a lot finding lighting and contrast in some of my works.
43:14 You want to make light stand out, but you also want to make everything blend.
43:17 And this movie does underwater lighting so well.
43:20 The amount of freedom some of these shots give are insane.
43:22 The freedom and newfound experiences Ruby is feeling with this new world is brought perfectly by the mood of the visuals.
43:28 These feelings sets freedom and wonder and so are we.
43:31 Like look at these shots and the movement, they're gorgeous.
43:34 This is the movie people are calling soulless.
43:36 This is the movie that they're saying has nothing special in it.
43:39 Like how can you just ignore all this artistry?
43:41 Save that attitude for a movie that actually deserves it.
43:44 And again, how they do the size is amazing.
43:46 We see how big Ruby is.
43:48 She towers over the entire town.
43:50 She's a freaking kaiju.
43:51 And yet, underwater, she's practically dwarf.
43:54 Look at her alongside the Kraken Citadel in the Trenz Vortex.
43:57 Hell, even look inside the city.
43:59 They could have easily just done some usual Atlanta-style designs,
44:01 but no, they made this giant, almost spiraling anemone-like building of so much light,
44:05 like a watercolor painting turned into a structure.
44:08 I can't get enough of the interior designs of this building.
44:10 The neon lighting and color use is so alluring.
44:13 Look at how the history of the Kraken's are shown.
44:15 They're more decorative than anything, but they made it look like moving neon lights,
44:18 almost like geoglyphs made in Las Vegas.
44:20 And the way it's just shot and framed from far away.
44:23 Look at the composition of these shots. It's just so gorgeous.
44:26 This movie has such great shot composition at times.
44:28 It has so much color, and I love how Ruby's purple color contrasts against the green and yellow-like structure
44:33 that's more colored like her grandmother,
44:35 which is kind of a nice visual detail showing how she's standing out from where she is believed she should be.
44:39 And just look at the tunnels and how the patterns and colors change as you move through them.
44:43 I'm obsessed with how this movie looks and no one talks about it.
44:46 And this structure looks normal to Ruby and her grandmother,
44:49 but you also see how small the normal Kraken's are,
44:51 and again, just reminds you how big this place is.
44:53 It's probably bigger than the entire town.
44:55 I love how this movie plays with size and perspectives.
44:58 Look at the insane size difference between Ruby and Chelsea,
45:00 and yet the movie plays it like it's normal.
45:02 It's just so much.
45:03 And the vortex.
45:04 You could have done some normal boring vortex,
45:06 just add some color lines to show the force, but look how bright it is.
45:09 Look at the motion lines, it gives off such power and energy like it's exploding,
45:13 and contrasts so much with the pitch black oaks and depths it's around.
45:17 It has so much energy.
45:18 It has so much life.
45:19 It's almost like it is alive.
45:20 Look at how the currents split out like it's a Kraken itself and the perpetual motion it has.
45:24 And this shot is so freaking good.
45:26 The movie makes the ocean feel so mystical and magical, it's astounding.
45:30 And no one talks about it.
45:32 Like, come on.
45:33 This movie has such artistry that gets overlooked just because it tells a teenage drama story.
45:37 It's completely unfair.
45:38 This movie has some of my favorite uses of color and lighting I've seen,
45:41 and it deserves so much more.
45:43 It all contributes to why I absolutely adore this movie and why it's a personal favorite of mine.
45:47 Which brings me to...
45:48 Look, I can get why people might not like this movie.
46:06 Even I have stated my problems with it in places I think I could have done better.
46:09 Maybe you didn't find the movie as compelling as I did.
46:11 Maybe you're not a fan of the high school destiny stories.
46:14 Maybe you don't like the direction this movie takes.
46:16 Maybe some of the cliches of the genre are too much for you to take.
46:19 But don't treat this movie like it has no effort or soul at all.
46:22 Don't treat it like it's a complete slave to the storytelling of these plots.
46:25 This movie deserves far more credit for what it does.
46:28 It's so unfortunate that this movie had to follow Puss in Boots 2,
46:31 because no movie has had to compete with that.
46:33 That movie is an insane experiment in both writing and animation
46:36 that changes the landscape of the medium
46:38 and pushes the boundary of what an animated film can be.
46:41 It should not be an industry standard for so many reasons.
46:44 So don't even try.
46:45 This movie is not a masterpiece, and it's not trying to be.
46:48 It wants to tell a fun and charming story of a high school girl trying to accept her strange destiny,
46:52 and honestly, I think it does it better than most other stories of this type.
46:55 I feel like if it didn't have to follow Puss in Boots 2, and if its marketing wasn't so terrible,
46:59 maybe people would be a lot kinder to it.
47:01 I mean, people are using it as an example of how Dreamworks fell off.
47:05 Like, are you kidding me? Have you SEEN their lineup?
47:08 It has really great character work and such beautiful underwater visuals.
47:12 It doesn't need to subvert expectations to be a good story, it just needs to tell it in a good way.
47:16 This movie has so much more than what people say, and I feel it needs to be addressed.
47:19 I mean, plenty of people seem to like and love this movie, or at least just think it's decent.
47:23 And everyone I have showed it to has enjoyed it.
47:25 Again, these type of stories have their fanbases, as plenty of shows in the same genre have big communities,
47:30 so there is definitely a place for it.
47:32 Like, this type of story resonates with people, and I think it's because everyone can kind of relate to it.
47:36 Our teenage years are always a time where people are pretty much forced to decide what they want to do with their lives,
47:40 and to question what is really their self-worth and goals.
47:42 Some people might discover new talents or passions at this time, and aren't sure what to do with it,
47:46 or have to deal with familiar expectations.
47:48 I mean, I first took being an artist seriously in my high school,
47:50 and it wasn't exactly a smooth transition to where I am now.
47:52 I had constant doubts of my skill, worried I couldn't be good enough, and that no one would care.
47:56 I still feel that way sometimes after all these years later.
47:59 I kept working on it, and I can't imagine where I'd be without that experience.
48:02 And I had a nice community of friends who helped support my talent to where I got to now.
48:05 These type of stories I feel everyone can relate to, at least a little bit,
48:08 and they deserve some more credit than just being treated as fun escapism.
48:11 But why didn't this movie get more attention when it came out?
48:13 I mean, most casual viewers thought it was at least decent, it's not like it was set up for failure.
48:17 It has a demographic.
48:19 It's clear marketing failed it, but why?
48:21 It might sound kind of conspiracy, but...
48:23 I think I found out.
48:26 [Movie trailer]
48:29 Now, I already mentioned that the movie's first trailer came out 3 months before it's release,
48:33 and was rather bad.
48:35 It made people give up on the movie.
48:37 And it's funny how when a clip of the first 8 minutes released,
48:39 it got a lot of interest of people who found it genuinely engaging and charming,
48:42 and wondering why the marketing screwed it over.
48:45 If you want a reminder on how little this movie got marketed,
48:47 some people legitimately thought that "My My Life as a Teenage Kraken" animatic was a weird AU,
48:52 and not a movie parody.
48:54 If that doesn't tell you how badly this movie's marketing informed people of it's existence,
48:57 I don't know what will.
48:59 People didn't even know this movie existed until it came out, or even that it did come out.
49:02 It got barely any trailers, very little ad time, no promotions whatsoever,
49:06 no merchandise, no nothing by the studio.
49:09 It didn't even have any big name celebrities, or huge songs to get people's attention.
49:13 Say what you will about Elemental's marketing, but at least it had marketing.
49:16 People knew it existed.
49:18 It got so much promotion.
49:20 The studio had faith in it.
49:22 Maybe this studio had no faith in it, but like...
49:24 With Dreamworks movies, you cannot convince me that it left faith in half their lineup.
49:28 And Puss in Boots 2 also got screwed over by it's marketing,
49:31 and only managed to succeed by word of mouth.
49:33 It wasn't as screwed as this movie, but it was still bad.
49:35 Which honestly makes me concerned that maybe Universal is purposefully trying to kill off Dreamworks,
49:39 but that's off topic.
49:41 The thing is, everything that happened to this movie seemed almost planned.
49:44 It had literally a three week total run time,
49:47 with it's digital release announced very early on.
49:49 And the thing I think to blame is...
49:51 Oppenheimer.
49:52 Hear me out.
49:53 When that movie was being developed,
49:55 Christopher Nolan had a specific condition that Oppenheimer could be the only movie Universal would release
50:00 three weeks before and after it's release date.
50:03 And Ruby Gilman literally had three weeks of run time before it was pulled the day Oppenheimer came out.
50:09 It can't be a coincidence.
50:11 I don't know why they couldn't delay it or anything.
50:13 Maybe it's more complicated with the schedule on the other side.
50:15 Maybe they thought it would still do better by it being an early summer release.
50:18 But yeah, with this specific three week run time that the studio must have known about,
50:22 why would they spend millions of dollars to promote a movie with that short and mandatory of run time?
50:27 In fact, I'd even argue that they couldn't have drawn too many people,
50:30 but the fact that if it got a big audience like Poison Boots 2,
50:32 it would extend the run time of the movie and then break the agreement.
50:35 And Ruby Gilman was a mixed reviewed original animated IP.
50:38 It's something to lose compared to the big budget and marketed biopic hit Oppenheimer was going to be.
50:42 I even found streaming promotions that showed it would release on earlier dates like June 25th or 28th,
50:47 until it was pushed to June 30th, where it would also compete with Indiana Jones.
50:50 Though that again might be a complete conspiracy and that date was for other matters.
50:54 It's also possible that maybe the studio thought it would do better or break even,
50:58 if it wasn't for the fact that June was literally the worst month for practically every movie released.
51:02 And arguably, Ruby got hit the worst of all.
51:05 It got overshadowed by everything, having to compete with half a dozen other blockbusters,
51:09 who were also floundering, with two other animated movies out,
51:12 with the only headlight being how badly it did on its release.
51:14 And like, other movies were able to recover.
51:17 Elemental is a bomb like hell in its first few weeks and it had infinitely more marketing than Ruby Gilman did,
51:21 but it was able to recover by the next few weeks and is doing really well internationally.
51:25 If it was pulled like Ruby, it sure as hell would not have been successful.
51:28 And even after it's release, it was overshadowed by the hype of Barbenheimer and it mostly just faded.
51:33 And now it just feels like it exists to be a punchline on the internet.
51:36 And it sucks. It sucks so much.
51:38 I have a feeling that people in the future aren't going to know the actual context of what happened to it
51:42 and just see it as a box office failure, which really isn't fair.
51:45 Almost no movie could recover from everything that happened to it.
51:48 And even then, its reception right now is mixed at best with people again just hating it.
51:52 So like, is there any silver lining?
51:56 When this movie came out, I tried my very best to promote it.
52:06 I made so much art for my rather minimal following,
52:09 trying to express people to please see it and give it some attention it desperately needed.
52:13 I learned how to make an animatic, even though I had basically no animation experience or even software to use.
52:18 I even learned how to make and edit videos just for this.
52:21 And while I did get attention, it wasn't nearly enough to make a difference.
52:24 I was just too small and the task was too daunting.
52:27 But... I also got to know some people.
52:30 This movie has a fanbase.
52:32 It might not be big, but they are dedicated.
52:34 They love this movie like I love this movie.
52:36 It's really nice to see this movie did reach some people.
52:39 And I hope my art, as relatively little attention as it got, also did.
52:42 I really hope somehow this movie gets a big and dedicated fanbase like many other Dreamworks movies did,
52:46 who also didn't do too well in this release, but also got newfound appreciation much later.
52:50 And I wish nothing more than it somehow getting a sequel, or especially a spin-off show.
52:54 Dreamworks usually does this to so many other movies, even those I feel really don't deserve it.
52:59 And I think there is no other movie more deserving than Ruby Gilman.
53:02 Even if you don't like the movie and feel it didn't reach its potential,
53:06 now that the origin story is done, an entire world is open to you.
53:10 Literally. This is a writer's dream come true in a perfect scenario where you can do so much.
53:14 Plenty of shows prove this can work well, like My Life as a Teenage Robot and Danny Phantom.
53:18 You have a literal world of material from.
53:20 Seven seas and hundreds of cultures.
53:22 We can include Atlantis to the lost continent of Mu.
53:25 And we can tell any story in there, and new history and world-building.
53:29 The movie showed enemies of the Kraken and sea monsters around the world.
53:32 What if Ruby fought Cherubitis, or against the Umibozu of Japan?
53:36 What if Ruby discovers new powers of the Kraken and potential consequences of it?
53:39 What if we get more of Agatha and Grandma's past and entire history of the Kraken people?
53:43 What if the mermaids reformed under a new reign?
53:46 What if we change the course of Chelsea's character in any direction?
53:48 What if we can get the other extraneous characters and develop them in interesting ways?
53:52 And even Oceanus.
53:53 What if the legendary Titan wants revenge on Ruby and wages war on humanity,
53:57 and Ruby's the only one capable of stopping them by mastering her true potential?
54:00 There is so much you can do, it's incredible!
54:03 Also, if you're actually doing this, please contact me.
54:05 Dreamworks, I have so many ideas and I'm a kiltify for this.
54:07 Please, please, please, please, please.
54:08 This is also a movie I feel the fans can do so much with.
54:10 Like this invites so much fan art, original characters and situations, new stories, just so much!
54:15 Again, I really hope this movie gets a big fan base who can really appreciate how charming and fun this movie is,
54:20 and want to contribute more to it.
54:22 Will the movie ever get to that point?
54:23 I don't know, only time can tell.
54:25 I just hope everything I said can make people reconsider this movie,
54:28 give it a chance and give them a larger appreciation for what it does do right.
54:32 Because I do feel it does a lot right.
54:34 There's so much more than what people can see at their first glance.
54:36 I think this movie doesn't deserve to be overshadowed like it has been.
54:39 Because if there's one thing this movie wants to show,
54:41 it's that there's always more to something under the surface.
54:44 Hey, so if you like this video, please like and share it and spread it around.
54:52 This is a new channel, so I need to rely on people spreading it around to get more attention.
54:55 I made this purely because I wanted to get my thoughts on the movie and give more appreciation for it.
54:59 But now I'm not sure what to do.
55:01 I have a few other video ideas where I can give insight on stuff I feel deserves to be more appreciated.
55:05 So if you like this and want to see more, just tell me.
55:07 Thank you for watching and goodbye.
55:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]