Ruby the Kraken Teen from DreamWorks: Forget the pretty little mermaid, this creature explodes the myth!

Six months after the success of Boots in Boots, DreamWorks returns with Ruby, the Teenage Kraken, an original project that immerses the audience in a fantastical underwater world populated by mythological creatures. And the studio decided to break our conviction.

In the animated feature, 16-year-old Ruby (originally voiced by Lana Condor) is a teenager who is both clumsy and cute. His overprotective mother (Toni Collette) strictly forbids him from swimming in the ocean.

But the day she disobeys him and breaks this golden rule, she discovers that she is a direct descendant of the Kraken’s line of warrior queens, and that she is destined to ascend the throne previously held by her great-mother: the Warrior Queen. The Seven Seas (Jane Fonda).

Krakens are sworn to protect the world’s oceans from the greed and vanity of mermaids, their sworn enemies. Ruby’s only real problem is that she has to contend with Chelsea, the most popular girl in high school (voiced by Annie Murphy), who just happens to be a mermaid. Ruby will then have to come to terms with her fate and take it upon herself to protect those she loves most.

AlloCiné spoke with director Kirk DeMico, to whom we owe Space Chimpanzees, The Croods and Vivo, and producer Kelly Cooney.

The latter tells us about their inspiration and their desire to move away from the overly smooth image of mermaids to return to the mythological creatures that lured sailors to devour them.

AlloCiné: How did you come up with the idea of ​​making a movie about a teenage Kraken?

Kelly Kuhn : This is an original film that is not part of a franchise. The idea was to reinvent the Kraken myth with this “young girl”, Ruby Gilman. At first we only had a pitch, but Dreamworks liked our vision and gave us the green light to write the script.

The idea was to follow the adventures of this family of underwater monsters, the Krakens, who live among us. We really tried to surprise the public with the world we created.

Dreamworks loves reimagining familiar worlds and characters. I think you’ll be surprised by what we did with the Krakens, as well as the Little Mermaid.

When we think of the Kraken, we imagine a terrifying monster that blows up ships and devours people, and in our imaginations, a mermaid is a lovely princess. Here we will surprise you with another view of these mythical characters.

Return to the mermaid’s wild state

What were your sources of inspiration?

Kirk DeMico : For Mermaid we were inspired by the description of these creatures as they are presented odyssey. They bewitch sailors to swallow them. It was much more fun to return the mermaids to their wild state than to portray them as perfect virgins like in the Disney movies.

As for Krakens, they’ve always had a bad reputation and we wanted to show a different side of them. That’s why our hero, young Ruby Gilman, uses her mega-powers to do good, not evil.

Kelly Kuhn: We were also inspired by adolescence. I was also a teenager who felt bad. So Ruby is a bit like me in that respect.

Ruby is like all young girls. He needs to find his voice so he can truly express what he feels. I think every young girl will be able to identify with him.

This is the important message at the heart of our film:

How teenagers go through existential moments that allow them to mature and find their place in society.

Kirk DeMico : For my part, I see myself in the Devil Mermaid! (Laughs) But it was really nice to create this young mermaid who shows herself in her true light and is also evil.

I hope our audience will be pleasantly surprised by all the unpredictable characters we’ve created.

As a parent, I put a little on the line because, like the grandmothers in the movie, I protect my daughter, who is a teenager in full rebellion.

What have been your biggest challenges?

Kelly Kuhn : The main difficulty for us was to create a completely original world and characters. We tried not to be influenced by movies that already dealt with the myth of the Little Mermaid or Krakens. It’s not always easy to find the right tone and style for a film; It is a long team work.

You have to be patient to find the right dose and the right inspiration. Especially since there is a mix of several genres here. On the one hand, it is a comedy, on the other hand, it is an action film with a touch of horror.

Kirk DeMico: The hardest part for me was designing and creating the giant underwater world of the Krakens. It was such a difficult world to light and build. You are simply to die for!

What is the main theme of the film for you?

Kelly Kuhn : This is a film that invites the audience to be honest with themselves and find a way. At the beginning of the film, Ruby hides from herself, but she will have to be honest with herself and others.

By accepting his true identity and nature, he would truly transform into an incredible force and such a beautiful being.

He will be able to save himself and his family and the world he belongs to, the world of the Kraken. This is a film that approaches family ties and the importance of family for happiness and balance of its constituent members.

Kirk DeMico: It is also a film about courage, about communicating and expressing the feelings that lie dormant in us.

I believe it is time to look at the communication problems in our society. Ruby will prove that honest communication is the source of happiness. It makes no sense to hide from the eyes of others. On the contrary, you should know how to be honest and reveal your true nature and true feelings to the world.

Ruby the teenage Kraken It’s currently in theaters.