Ruby Gillman is not a movie without charm, but it borrows so many ideas from other (better) films that it becomes a bit of a predictable time-waster. Though I imagine its target market of tweens will probably enjoy it.

The flick is about your average teenage girl who is secretly a sea kraken. She has all the usual problems a teen girl has… friends, popular girls, cute boys, etc. Too bad her parents never told her that, if she gets submerged in the ocean, she turns into a giant kraken.

Yeah, it’s Luka Turns Red (and eventually writes the Princess Diaries). I know these animated films take years to produce but its similarities to Turning Red are awful.. ahem… fishy (BA-DUM!). Not to mention Luka… and The Little Mermaid. And The Princess Diaries. My mind kept making connections to other movies while puttering through this one.

Ignoring the cribbing though and the first act of the movie is pretty good for a pretty standard high school comedy. Not amazing but it gets the job done, especially if you’ve ever been an undercover sea monster in the body of a teenage girl (and, tentacles raised, who hasn’t?)

The art style is wildly uncreative too, reminding me a lot of the Trolls and Ugly Dolls movies. Uninspired and bland. The actual animation and environmental art is fine… about what you’d expect without doing anything amazing.

Ultimately, all of this predictable high school / undersea kingdom drama just wears thin as we cycle through a lot of borrowed tropes. The film isn’t bad, but it could have used a LOT more originality. It’s passable… though I wouldn’t argue with anyone who thinks otherwise.

Score: 72