Lessons from Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken written by the Elf. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken
Movie: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Rating: PG
Genre: Animated, Action, Adventure
Length: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Age suggested: 8+ years (although it’s aimed more toward pre-teens/teens)
Release Date: June 30th, 2023
When and Where Can You Stream Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken: When it leaves theaters it will stream on Peacock for a few months and then will stream on Netflix for ten months.
Warnings: Rebellion, creepy characters and imagery, family estrangement, puberty
Quick Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Summary
Ruby Gillman just wants to be a normal teenager. But she’s a Kraken pretending to be a human. And she isn’t even allowed near the sea. Ruby really wants to go to prom, even though it’s in the middle of the sea. Her mom doesn’t understand her, she doesn’t fit in, her body is changing, and she’s stressed about prom and her crush. Ruby’s life is thrown into a bundle of very relatable chaos (except for maybe the killer mermaids).
This movie is similar to Turning Red, The Princess Diaries, and Luca. And while it’s a predictable story, it’s also a fun, feel good, one! There are so many lessons from Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken and also a lot of great discussion starter moments. This is definitely a fun one to watch with your pre-teens and teens and discuss with them afterwards.
Why the Strange World Reviews Were Wrong
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Review
-Is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken safe for younger viewers?-
Younger kids in my theater got bored about halfway through the movie. There were some scary and intense moments. But it’s very similar to Turning Red in that there are not a lot of big scary moments but there were some creepy images and it is aimed at an older audience. They do talk about puberty and maturing, but in much less obvious ways than other coming of age movies. This is aimed more at younger pre-teens. The do have sibling squabbles, kissing, talking about crushes, and other similar things you would expect from a coming of age movie.
There are some battle scenes that are a little intense, but more PG than PG-13. However, due to the specific drama and slow build ups our suggested age is 8 plus. But parents should be aware that if family estrangement or fear of the ocean are triggering, this is one you should avoid. But for parents with kiddos about to enter puberty, this is a great one to go see and discuss together. There were a lot of great lessons from Ruby Gillman that could make for some excellent discussion starters.
-Why Watch Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken-
A lot of comparisons will be drawn to The Little Mermaid because this movie also features a mermaid with red hair. But it’s more along the lines of Turning Red. This is a fun and light coming of age drama. If “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” is just a little too mature for your little one, but they are on the edge of puberty- this is the perfect movie to dip your toe in the water with.
While it felt a little stilted and quick in places, and too slow in others, it was a cute and feel good story. A really fun summer movie that had a lot of great lessons and discussion starters. Also just a fun one for kids to go see with their friends.
And you have some great voice acting too in this movie. Everyone was really well cast and believable. Some of my favorites were- Annie Murphy was fantastic as the evil mermaid Chelsea. Lana Condor did a great job voicing the teenage angst that Ruby went through. Will Forte as the deranged, but determined, captain. And my other favorite was Uncle Brill, voiced by Sam Richardson, because he was one of the more relatable characters to me.
Favorite Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Quotes
“From chill-man to grill-man.”
“Enough with the fondue, we eat a LOT of cheese.”
“My sweet, wide eyed, dumbest, smartest person ever.”
“Son of an angler fish!”
“You’re not a monster, not even close.”
“I’m here. I’ll wait with you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You lied to me. ‘Think of it more like a tiny omission’.”
“Don’t worry, I see a therapist now… I let go of my rage.”-Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Quotes
“The ocean will always need a Kraken and a Kraken will always answer the call.”
“You can never outswim your destiny!”
“I’m a mother flipping mermaid”
“Mottos are stupid, that’s my motto.”
“OK; it’s just a giant underwater volcano of death.”
“I’m not evil, I’m just pretty and misunderstood.”
“Your mom chose her own path. She chose you.”
“Trust me, I’m a mathlete.”
5 Lessons from Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
- Don’t hide things from the people you love. Be honest.
Ruby’s mom kept secrets from her. And Ruby kept secrets from her friends and it didn’t work out well for either of them. It seemed like it was best for the Gillman family to hide and keep secrets but it was keeping them anxious more than safe. - Be careful who you trust.
Evil can look beautiful as well as red and ragey. We see this in the movies all the time, but in life we tend to forget it. Ruby’s new friend kept her from her other friends and asked Ruby to keep secrets. All in the name of saving the day and no more hiding of course. And while Ruby’s friends did disappoint her, they were worthy of her trust. - Embrace your unique awesomeness.
Ruby being a giant and powerful Kraken was part of how she and her family saved their island, but ultimately it was her mathlete skills that allowed them to succeed. Embracing yourself and your quirks is hard, especially in high school! But it’s worth your effort. - Apologizing is powerful, but it doesn’t fix things immediately.
This is an important lesson to talk about, apologizing is SO important. We need to own up to our mistakes but it doesn’t make those we’ve wronged trust us immediately. You have to build back that trust. Ruby’s mom apologized and just wanted to sit with her and help her process. But it took Ruby a while to trust her again. - Working together is more powerful than working alone.
I think this was the biggest moral lesson from Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken. The mermaid queen was alone. Whereas Ruby had a supportive family and friend group that she decided to come back to and work together with. And Ruby’s mom agreed to work with her mother again even though they don’t get along. We are not made to succeed on our own.
5 Lessons from the Elemental movie
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Discussion Questions
- How do you react when your friends change the plans?
- Who do you feel like calling for help when you make a big mistake?
- Do you ever feel misunderstood?
- When Ruby didn’t want to talk to her mom, who did she talk to? Who would you go to if you didn’t feel like talking to the adults in charge?
- Do you ditch your other friends when you start hanging out with a new person? Have you ever felt ditched by a friend? How can we make room for more people?
Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken Themes to Discuss: Friendship, trust, coming of age, family bonds, school pressure, puberty, trust and forgiveness, evil looking appealing.
Thanks for checking out our post on lessons from Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken.
3 Lessons from the Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret movie
Down The Hobbit Hole Blog and this Lessons from Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken use affiliate links. We only link products we think you’ll like and you are never charged extra for them. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All images used in this post were either original designs from Canva or used from media kits We also use cookies to gather analytics and present advertisements. Find our other reviews with discussion questions here. And our posts about family stuff here.