Yeah, I'm not taking back what I said about this poster, it is easily still one of the worst movie posters I've seen. However, a poster is not a movie, and ultimately the DreamWorks animated feature about Krakens, Mermaids, Teenagers, and Family Drama is... I mean I like it... I think. I think I like it. Maybe? Yeah, I do. Or maybe I like the concept and ideas alongside some parts of the movie. Maybe I like what it could have been? Yeah, I have thoughts, complicated thoughts. I mean, it is a good movie, but the ultimate question isn't do I think this movie is good, the question is do I recommend this movie, and... I think I do? I mean, I want this movie to do well, but like... would I recommend this movie straight up? I want to say I can recommend this no strings attached, but I mean, do I actually?
Okay, what do I like about this movie? Well, for starters I do like the concept, a teenaged kraken trying to have a normal human life while also being a creature from the sea that everybody hates... Wasn't that the basic idea of Luca? Young creatures from the sea trying to have a human life while the humans hunt their kind? Hmm... I should give that movie a watch, regardless, concept is great. On top of that, I do also like Ruby's relationship with her mother, I do believe her mother genuinely loves her and wants to do what's best, but it's just that what's best is not really clear. I also love that Ruby's crush also genuinely likes her, and has from the start. Genuinely I hate when a character has a crush and that crush only acknowledges them after they've done something incredible. On top of that, I think the modern setting really works in this movie, and the animation is absolutely wonderful, when Ruby's kraken form is glowing, it's genuinely very pretty, and does a lot to make the dark seas more visually appealing.
So, there is stuff I like here, it's just... there's also stuff I don't like. I did say I liked the concept, but the story itself... I said that Elemental focused on the wrong aspect of the story, and that goes double for Ruby Gillman. If this story was just Ruby and her family trying to find a balance between human life and kraken life, I would be so down for it. Yet, they have to have a war with mermaids, and royalty and Ruby makes friends with a mermaid, and would it spoil anything if I say you can probably tell where it's going? Yeah, this is one of those movies where I really didn't want what was going to happen, to actually happen. Unlike Elemental though, where I don't ultimately think the predictable things really dampen my enjoyment of the story, I think it kinda does in this case. Ruby's family dynamic and conflict about being human or being kraken is more than enough.
I don't know, maybe I'm just tired of being able to predict how stories turn out. I realize this is a "It's tough to be powerful" kind of complaint, but like, when you watch a lot of movies, you do start to pick out clichés, tropes and familiar story beats, and it ultimately wouldn't hurt to have those familiar things presented in a new way, or at least, something that was done really, really well about it. Again, going back to Elemental, it was a very predictable story, but the relationship between the two leads was done really well, enough for me to overlook the weak story. With this movie, I don't really think any part is done exceedingly well, it's serviceable, it meets its quota, but it really could have been more.
The stuff with the war, the mermaids, the trident, that stuff is fine, but the stuff with Ruby and her family and her life on land and her friends, that is all stuff I wanted to see more of. Watching this movie did give me a couple Turning Red vibes, and I don't really think I'm the only one who will come to that conclusion. Maybe they went in a different direction to avoid comparisons, but like I wouldn't have minded this movie being a bit more like Turning Red. So, again, I think I like what this movie could have been more than what it actually is, but I do like what it is. It's just, I think the whole is weaker than the sum of its parts. Do I recommend it? I mean... I guess? I'm not one to disguise the fact that I am not ahead of the curve and I can make dumb calls when it comes to First Impressions. This is partly why I don't count these as actual reviews, and why I did a rereview of Wonder Park.
I think ultimately, I do have to recommend it on some level, if only because I do want people to form their own opinions about something. Even then, the parts I did like about this movie, I genuinely did like, and even the parts I wasn't a fan of, I didn't completely hate. This is definitely a movie I will have to rewatch when the time comes because my current feelings are pretty complicated. I like parts of it, I dislike other parts, I don't think the whole movie is all that bad, but at the same time I don't think it's all that great, but I also don't want to say it's somewhere in between either. Is it a well made movie? yes. Is it entertaining? Again, yes. Maybe I'm missing something, maybe I just need to give it a couple more watches, but ultimately, I can recommend it on some level. Consider this a high Slight Recommendation. Like in the same camp as movies like Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure.
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