This summer, DreamWorks Animation will release the heartfelt action comedy, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. The film follows a shy, awkward 16-year-old (Lana Condor) who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea Krakens and that her destiny, in the depths of the oceans, is bigger than she ever dreamed.
Ruby is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s math-tutoring her skater-boy crush (Jaboukie Young-White, Ralph Breaks the Internet), who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom (Oscar nominee Toni Collette, Knives Out), forbid Ruby from ever getting in the water.
But when she breaks her mom’s #1 rule, Ruby discovers she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother (Academy Award winner Jane Fonda), the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas. The Kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids who have been battling with the Kraken for eons. There’s one major, and immediate, problem with that: The school’s new girl, Chelsea (Emmy winner Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek) is a mermaid. Ruby needs to embrace who she is and go big to protect those she loves most.
“Ruby is wildly earnest and has a big heart,” Condor says. “She’s genuinely optimistic and steadfast. She’s determined to follow her dreams despite the obstacles she faces living as a Kraken in a human community. I love her fearlessness and sense of adventure, but most of all, I love her unwavering loyalty to her family and friends. Over the course of the film, we see Ruby go on an amazing journey from being shy and insecure about her unique powers as a Kraken to fully embracing them and using them to protect the people that she loves. I had so much fun bringing her to life and I’m excited for audiences to see her vibrant, powerful story unfold on the big screen.”
The cast of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken also includes Sam Richardson, Liza Koshy, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Blue Chapman, Eduardo Franco, Ramona Young, Echo Kellum, and Nicole Byer. The film is directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Kirk DeMicco (Vivo, The Croods) and produced by Kelly Cooney Cilella (Trolls World Tour, Trolls), with Faryn Pearl (The Croods: A New Age, Trolls World Tour) serving as co-director.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken splashes into theaters June 30, 2023.
