Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken | 2023 | PG | – 1.3.1

Why is “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some action, rude humor and thematic elements.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of kissing scenes, a couple of flirting scenes, several scenes of a teen kraken girl transforming into a giant kraken and causing people to run in fear and to attack her, a near drowning of a teen boy, many arguments, discussions of lying, and some name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Animated tale about a 15-year-old girl (voiced by Lana Condor), who discovers that the reason her mother (voiced by Toni Collette) won’t allow her to go into the ocean is because she is actually a mythical sea creature feared by humans. Also with the voices of Jane Fonda, Colman Domingo, Blue Chapman, Will Forte, Liza Koshy, Ramona Young, Eduardo Franco, Jaboukie Young-White and Annie Murphy. Directed by Kirk DeMicco & Faryn Pearl. [Running Time: 1:30]

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A teen kraken girl kisses a teen boy on the cheek. Teens in the background of a scene seem to be kissing.
► A kraken man and a kraken woman hug and their young son makes a gagging sound. A teen kraken girl swoons over a teen boy in a few scenes and imagines going to prom with him. Teen dance together at a junior prom.
► A teen girl is celebrated by other teens as “the new girl;” one teen girl holds a banner that reads, “Marry me” and she tells the girl, “I love you.”

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – Kraken family members are shown with blue skin and ears that resemble gills and a family pet is shown with antennae.
► A mermaid stabs a teen kraken girl with a glowing trident, zapping her powers, and the kraken sinks to the ocean floor where she is covered by large boulders (we see her OK later). Two krakens and a mermaid fight, and then the mermaid and a teen kraken girl fight: they hit each other with a glowing trident as a giant wave roils toward them and a boat filled with teens; the teen kraken girl lifts the boat out of the water and holds it safely until the wave passes. There’s a scene of an undersea battle between kraken and mermaids with laser blasts and a glowing trident is being thrown (there are no evident injuries).
► A teen kraken girl swims into heavy currents that swirl around under the ocean, she throws a shipwreck into the currents and it is thrown back out as a crumpled ball of metal. A teen kraken girl swims in the ocean, she becomes ensnared in lines attached to a ship on the surface, the captain of the ship shoots harpoons at her, a mermaid arrives to help her as the captain throws an explosive into the water and his boat is thrown into the air (he is OK). A teen kraken girl transforms into her giant kraken form with huge tentacles, gills and glowing suckers and she later has glowing laser eyes; she hides in a library startling the librarian (they both scream) and she bursts through the roof destroying the building; people outside scream and run, and she walks away to hide. A teen kraken girl dives into the ocean and transforms into her kraken self; she swims following a kraken male among whales and jellyfish, until they reach a kraken kingdom. A woman driving a car erratically chasing her daughter hits something and when she stops we see a pile of leaves that swirl and a male kraken stands up from under them. A video shows the captain of a boat recording a giant kraken in the background as people on land and on his boat yell in fear; the captain is shown with a wooden leg and he says that the kraken is after him.
► A confetti cannon is accidentally fired in a boy’s face, he stumbles backward and falls over a railing into the ocean, where he sinks under the surface, unconscious; a teen kraken girl dives into the water to save him, they are thrown around in the waves, the kraken girl begins to transform sprouting tentacles with glowing suckers and the boy is pulled out of the water by something else and shown drenched but unharmed later. A male kraken accidentally shoots a spear gun and the spear lands in his head causing one of his eyes to swivel unnaturally (he is shown OK later).
► A teen kraken girl punches a male kraken in the face and her fist disappears in his gelatinous flesh. A male kraken slaps another male kraken in the face. A young kraken boy plays dodgeball in a couple of scenes and we see opponents being struck by the ball in rapid succession (no injuries are seen). A male kraken is surrounded by seagulls when he holds a corn dog on a stick. A boat’s captain pulls a glowing creature out of the ocean, it jumps on the man’s face and he declares that it is a kraken baby. A crab jumps on a woman’s face and she screams. Two sea creatures swim through the ocean, jumping in and out of the water. A teen kraken girl uses her laser eyes to disable teens’ phones. Three krakens shoot their laser eyes at a trident causing it to explode and shoot glowing particles around the area.
► A teen kraken girl that has transformed into her giant kraken-self hides behind a lighthouse tower and pleads with her mother not to be mad; they talk and the teen cries giant tears. A teen kraken girl screams into her beanbag chair. A teen kraken girl says, “I hate my mother.” A teen girl kraken complains that she is never allowed in the ocean and her friends try to convince her to lie to her mother so that she can go on a prom boat with them. Kraken parents tell their children that they are not lying, “Just omitting,” by hiding their real identities. A kraken parent tells his family to have a “very human day.” A kraken teen tells people that she is from Canada when they remark about her blue skin. A teen kraken girl yells at her mother for lying to her about what she really is. We hear that only the female kraken grow to be giants. A teen kraken girl is told that her grandmother is a warrior queen. A teen kraken girl says, “I’m having a panic attack.” A female kraken warns, “Brag alert,” when she tells her granddaughter about a war between the kraken and the mermaids. A mermaid says she’s a “fish come true.” A woman kraken worries that her teen daughter will hate her and run away from home, as she did. A woman kraken and her teen daughter argue in a few scenes. Two women kraken argue bitterly. A teen kraken girl says, “I’m gonna be sick.” A teen kraken girl says, “I’m gonna be sick,” and a teen girl asks, “Is she gonna barf?” (there is no vomiting).
► A teen kraken girl is nervous about asking a teen boy to prom and she plans to use a confetti cannon to make the invitation more elaborate. A teen girl kraken wakes up and spits out a retainer (she puts it into a glass). A young kraken boy makes a gagging sound when his parents hug. A young kraken boy puts his face in his plate of kelp when his father makes a pun. A teen kraken girl breathes heavily during a panic attack, runs to a bathroom where she sits on the closed toilet and cries.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken LANGUAGE 1

 – Name-calling (bloodthirsty, monster, dum-dum, tadpole, irrational, horrible, freak, guppy girl, narcissists, selfish, vain, dumbest smart person, normal, abomination, catastrophizing, stupid, post-colonial patriarchal construct, flippin dumb teenager, son of an angler fish, salty, pathetic, corny, fake, moist, deary, naysayer, messy tiny genius), exclamations (epic, weird me out, I’m a mother flippin’ mermaid, geeking out, too much, legit, bit of a spicy tuna, I’m offended, whoa, make good choices, don’t start), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy magoley, OMG). | profanity glossary |

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Undersea worlds, mythical sea creatures, lying, solidarity, deception, legends, teenage relationships, big risks lead to big rewards, destiny, sacrifice, mathletes.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken MESSAGE

 – Knowing who or what you are is critical in finding happiness.