DreamWorks Railed for Disney Rip-Off

Although Disney has been struggling at the box office with some of its recent releases, they’re not the only studio treading water with its animated summer blockbusters. Repeating their habit of sticking it to the house of mouse, DreamWorks’ take on The Little Mermaid just went belly-up at the theaters.

Dreamworks has tried to compete with Disney for decades by essentially releasing variants of their films and other projects. Where Disney has a slew of fairytale characters, DreamWorks has Shrek. Pixar made A Bug’s Life, DreamWorks made Ants. The pattern continued for years, but Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is more than a rival’s response; it’s a blatant ripoff.

DreamWorks Vs. Disney: Battle of the Mermaids

Mermaids and their mythology are a popular fixture in modern media this year due to Disney’s live-action remake of their animated classic, The Little Mermaid. While seeing a variation of the narrative flipped on its head where sea monsters take center stage while the mermaids are the villains is undoubtedly fascinating, Ruby Gillman’s plot has already been done not only twice already, but twice by Disney.

Related: ‘The Little Mermaid’: Ariel’s Decision To Give Up Her Voice Was Never About Eric

Taking the mermaids out of the equation for a moment, consider the plot of Dreamworks’ latest disaster. A teenage girl discovers she has an ancestral gift that turns her into a giant creature with superpowers which she attempts to hide from her high school peers while trying to prevent a destructive disaster, all while juggling the struggles of coming of age. Does any of this sound familiar?

If you said Turning Red, give yourself a prize. It’s one thing to poke fun at The Little Mermaid, but to practically steal an entire plot is downright underhanded. It’s a miracle Disney’s lawyers weren’t immediately on the line.

Related: DreamWorks Starts War With Disney: Calls People “Stupid” for Liking Mermaids

Granted, the idea of mermaids being monsters despite cultural depictions is interesting, and one most would love to see on the big screen. However, Dreamworks was openly using the film to provoke Disney by turning one of their most iconic animated characters into the film’s villain.

Given the film’s popularity and relevance, it’s understandable why a competitor studio would want to at least reference Ariel in a movie about mermaids and sea monsters, but Nerissa’s character model is blatantly a high-def version of Disney’s favorite redhead.

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Even her human form is a carbon copy of the original Ariel, and everyone can see it. The ripped-off plot paired with the practically obscene snub at Disney won’t win the studio any fans, nor will its biggest box office bomb.

Did you see Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken? Tell Inside the Magic what you thought about it in the comments below!