LIKES:
Animation Is Fluid
-Very quirky and colorful throughout giving you a few worlds within one world.
The Pace: -Fun and perfect for a kid's attention span, the movie is fast and working quickly to tell the tale.
-It keeps elements in time with the feel of the movie, doesn't get too bogged down in adventures and keeps to high school features -And gets it done in a 90 minute time span to again do well with those that don't want massive time requirements.
-Very engaging for a young adult coming of age story in the modern generation.
The Music: -Small victory for most, the music adds a pop music theme in most aspects to get toes tapping -The energy gets revved up with it and during the montage really does a lot for being in the background -The ending really works with a song I like, though oddly fits, and adds that finish that this series needs for an opener.
The Voice Acting: -Fonda is fine in her role, playing pretty much the same high collar she does with that sass that she delivers.
-Condor is great in her role, so many emotions of a teenager coming of age that sells the teenage feel and gives a relatable character that I enjoyed in this odd experience.
-Toni Collette surprised me with her lighthearted comedy as concerned parent and giving some pop vibes from her usual low energy role.
-The rest do well, a chemistry establishing an ecosystem that is fun, and surprisingly deep in this seaside community with odd shaped characters.
Surprisingly Deep: -Emotions run high in the world, and many find a heavy-handed emotional tale gold.
-Gillman's story is actually deeper than I anticipated, with morals that work well and teach some good lessons from both sides.
-The potential agenda stuff is not too much, and the story goes well with it to teach, but not bore, leading to a good tale that is again fun and engaging.
-And that led to better characters from one angle at least that was really fun to experience.
Fun Overall: -The movie is very lighthearted and just a good time, a real escape from most problems of reality -The movie knows how to have fun and add a little adventure to the mix that was just a good use of time to escape the darkness -Dialogue is corny, but not too bad for some parts. The morals help shine some good levels to balance out the tropes and teenage dialogue. And the comedy is okay to be quirky, but not the worst in annoyance either.
DISLIKES:
Comedy Gets A Bit Old -It's meant for younger groups, kids, and so you have a lot of childish antics and meme worth faces/quotes to get stuck on.
-The comedy is a bit old and without having the timing and deeper levels, it was lost on me a bit not being into the TikTok like features -Uncle Brill was a fun character, and though had some better moments, his humor was hit or miss for me, alongside several other forced jokes.
The Climactic Action Was Bland: -A fight that pulls a lot of punches, this watered down fight was "exciting" when it came to the age group it was intended.
-It lasted 6 minutes at most, quick compared to the buildup, with again very few stakes or even choreography to be honest.
-The blowhard conversation felt like old DBZ, and despite the monologue, the movie just did nothing with the fight scenes to warrant the need in my opinion.
-It at least maintained the style with it. A win in my book.
The Movie Moves Too Fast?
-The movie has a good pace for the primary audience, but for others like me, might be too fast -The character development is deep, but so quick it loses something for me, and the obstacles are shaved away by the time to fantasy levels.
-It leads to lackluster plot elements, little stakes, and again this quick reward for little work that did nothing to give me the engaging tales other animated hits have done.
-More time could have solved this. Added dimensions to the movie like character inclusion, obstacles or a puzzle to uncover the truth, and maybe some more engaging history that was not so she said-she said.
-Another example of condensing a story and cutting too much to meet attention spans.
Too Limited an Audience?
-It hits the target audience well, a real plus in my eyes for delivering what the trailers promised.
-But the focus on that audience might just be bad for the chaperones and boring, the trivial thin development not as engaging as you might hope.
-Thus, that limited scope is a bit of a killer and took away from the movie, leading to wanting more from the potential the movie had to offer.
THE VERDICT: Ruby Kraken's first venture was not that bad for me and on many levels better than the trailer made it out to be. A coming of age movie with fun animation, a style that's not the most stunning, realistic, or mind blowing. However, the unique style works for the theme of the movie, and engages in building a very fun and energetic world that I enjoyed watching. It's got a decent story theme for coming of age, with promising characters that are brought to life by good voice acting and the pace will keep many entertained for the focus of the target audience. And to have sch a fun character that is enjoyable and holds relevant characteristics to many, you can't quite beat that. Yet, the movie is a bit simplified to what it could have been and needs some balance to help make the movie reach the full potential I think the envisioned. The extreme kid antics and the coming of age drama is a bit much at times, and the character balance is lackluster with some agenda lining topics, but the movie really struggles to add excitement feeling like a middle school read. It's not horrible, just limited and mundane, which more time and training could have done very well like How To Train Your Dragon did long ago. Thus, the movie is a fun afternoon out with the family or a field trip, but most likely will be better suited for watching at home than anything else. My scores for the film are:
Animation/Action/Adventure: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0.
Animation Is Fluid
- Cute and fun design that may not be the most realistic, but is cute and very in line with the movie's theme
-Very quirky and colorful throughout giving you a few worlds within one world.
The Pace: -Fun and perfect for a kid's attention span, the movie is fast and working quickly to tell the tale.
-It keeps elements in time with the feel of the movie, doesn't get too bogged down in adventures and keeps to high school features -And gets it done in a 90 minute time span to again do well with those that don't want massive time requirements.
-Very engaging for a young adult coming of age story in the modern generation.
The Music: -Small victory for most, the music adds a pop music theme in most aspects to get toes tapping -The energy gets revved up with it and during the montage really does a lot for being in the background -The ending really works with a song I like, though oddly fits, and adds that finish that this series needs for an opener.
The Voice Acting: -Fonda is fine in her role, playing pretty much the same high collar she does with that sass that she delivers.
-Condor is great in her role, so many emotions of a teenager coming of age that sells the teenage feel and gives a relatable character that I enjoyed in this odd experience.
-Toni Collette surprised me with her lighthearted comedy as concerned parent and giving some pop vibes from her usual low energy role.
-The rest do well, a chemistry establishing an ecosystem that is fun, and surprisingly deep in this seaside community with odd shaped characters.
Surprisingly Deep: -Emotions run high in the world, and many find a heavy-handed emotional tale gold.
-Gillman's story is actually deeper than I anticipated, with morals that work well and teach some good lessons from both sides.
-The potential agenda stuff is not too much, and the story goes well with it to teach, but not bore, leading to a good tale that is again fun and engaging.
-And that led to better characters from one angle at least that was really fun to experience.
Fun Overall: -The movie is very lighthearted and just a good time, a real escape from most problems of reality -The movie knows how to have fun and add a little adventure to the mix that was just a good use of time to escape the darkness -Dialogue is corny, but not too bad for some parts. The morals help shine some good levels to balance out the tropes and teenage dialogue. And the comedy is okay to be quirky, but not the worst in annoyance either.
DISLIKES:
Comedy Gets A Bit Old -It's meant for younger groups, kids, and so you have a lot of childish antics and meme worth faces/quotes to get stuck on.
-The comedy is a bit old and without having the timing and deeper levels, it was lost on me a bit not being into the TikTok like features -Uncle Brill was a fun character, and though had some better moments, his humor was hit or miss for me, alongside several other forced jokes.
The Climactic Action Was Bland: -A fight that pulls a lot of punches, this watered down fight was "exciting" when it came to the age group it was intended.
-It lasted 6 minutes at most, quick compared to the buildup, with again very few stakes or even choreography to be honest.
-The blowhard conversation felt like old DBZ, and despite the monologue, the movie just did nothing with the fight scenes to warrant the need in my opinion.
-It at least maintained the style with it. A win in my book.
The Movie Moves Too Fast?
-The movie has a good pace for the primary audience, but for others like me, might be too fast -The character development is deep, but so quick it loses something for me, and the obstacles are shaved away by the time to fantasy levels.
-It leads to lackluster plot elements, little stakes, and again this quick reward for little work that did nothing to give me the engaging tales other animated hits have done.
-More time could have solved this. Added dimensions to the movie like character inclusion, obstacles or a puzzle to uncover the truth, and maybe some more engaging history that was not so she said-she said.
-Another example of condensing a story and cutting too much to meet attention spans.
Too Limited an Audience?
-It hits the target audience well, a real plus in my eyes for delivering what the trailers promised.
-But the focus on that audience might just be bad for the chaperones and boring, the trivial thin development not as engaging as you might hope.
-Thus, that limited scope is a bit of a killer and took away from the movie, leading to wanting more from the potential the movie had to offer.
THE VERDICT: Ruby Kraken's first venture was not that bad for me and on many levels better than the trailer made it out to be. A coming of age movie with fun animation, a style that's not the most stunning, realistic, or mind blowing. However, the unique style works for the theme of the movie, and engages in building a very fun and energetic world that I enjoyed watching. It's got a decent story theme for coming of age, with promising characters that are brought to life by good voice acting and the pace will keep many entertained for the focus of the target audience. And to have sch a fun character that is enjoyable and holds relevant characteristics to many, you can't quite beat that. Yet, the movie is a bit simplified to what it could have been and needs some balance to help make the movie reach the full potential I think the envisioned. The extreme kid antics and the coming of age drama is a bit much at times, and the character balance is lackluster with some agenda lining topics, but the movie really struggles to add excitement feeling like a middle school read. It's not horrible, just limited and mundane, which more time and training could have done very well like How To Train Your Dragon did long ago. Thus, the movie is a fun afternoon out with the family or a field trip, but most likely will be better suited for watching at home than anything else. My scores for the film are:
Animation/Action/Adventure: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0.