Is it a coincidence that a DreamWorks Animation film in which mermaids are the villains is headed to cinemas the same year that Disney releases its live-action The Little Mermaid? Given the long lead time for animated movies, probably, but it's hard not to view it as a stealthy dig. See the trailer for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken below.
Serving as the latest dip into the "supernatural youth discovers the hero within" genre, Ruby Gillman, tells the story of the titular Ruby.
As voiced by Lana Condor, she's a sweet, awkward 16-year-old who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s maths-tutoring her skater-boy crush (Jaboukie Young-White), 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 super-mum (Toni Collette), has forbade Ruby from ever getting in the water.
But when she breaks her mum’s #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother (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 beautiful, popular new girl, Chelsea (Annie Murphy) just happens to be a mermaid. Ruby will ultimately need to embrace who she is and go big to protect those she loves most…
With Colman Domingo and Sam Richardson also in the cast, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken will be in Stateside cinemas on 30 June, but there's no confirmation on the UK date yet.