Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is quickly clawing its way to becoming an unprecedented Dreamworks hit and the studio’s recent box office bomb Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken makes Puss' triumph even more impressive. Dreamworks announced the sequel to the spinoff Puss in Boots (2011) to the excitement of fans itching for another installment in the Shrek universe. While the titular ogre wasn't at the heart of the sixth installment of the fairy-tale led franchise, audiences were fortunate to experience an insightful adventure comedy that peaked at a whopping 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score with critics.
What works at the paws of the suave, sword handling cat, Puss in Boots, is quite a far cry from Dreamworks' latest animation attempt, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. As a matter of fact, Ruby Gillman is representative of the other side of success for the major studio, delivering the worst-ever opening for Dreamworks in its near t30-year-long history. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken's catastrophic effort at box offices, while disheartening for the animation studio, is insightful of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish's winning formula and how Dreamworks should probably maneuver in the future - at least until its original movie flop blows over.
Dreamworks' Box Office Failure Puts Puss In Boot 2's Success Into Perspective
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken has several distinctive attributes like that of the surefire, age-old tale of struggling to fit in, beautifully bold animation and soundtrack choices, and a pretty notable cast that includes Annie Murphy, Jane Fonda, and Toni Collette. But its footing wasn't secure enough, and it stumbled tremendously at box offices, barely scraping up an overall gross of $12.8 million. What's worse is Ruby Gillman's historic unsatisfactory opening for Dreamworks covers a mere 18% of its massive $70 million budget.
The hard numbers put Puss In Boots: The Last Wish into perspective at the same time that they frame general animation film attempts today. Comparatively, The Last Wish overtook Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken by a landslide at $480.9 million grossed worldwide and at a budget only $20 million more than what it cost to make the latter film. Not only does Puss in Boots: The Last Wish place sequel animations at the front of economic opportunity, but it also proves that not every contemporary animated movie, as indicative of 2023's Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, is a guaranteed hit.
Puss In Boots 2 vs. Ruby Gillman Proves Why Dreamworks Needs Sequels
The Last Wish flourished over Ruby Gillman in part in because of several ingrained characteristics of the beloved franchise. The Last Wish was padded with the expressive voices of new and returning Puss in Boots cast such as Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, who reprised their roles of Puss and Kitty respectively against fresh performances by Harvey Guillén (as Perrito) and Florence Pugh (as Goldilocks). The built-in following of Shrek's franchise couldn't on the chance to experience Puss alongside the unexplored narratives of Goldilocks, the Three Bears, and more, adding to the allure of what the sequel had to offer within the fairy tale universe.
And, additionally, the sequel provided further understanding into the nuances of principal character Puss as he explored the last of his nine lives. Ultimately, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish turned out to be one of the best Shrek films to occur in the last two decades, rooting itself in nostalgia and burgeoning into an intricately deep narrative that made a case for successful Dreamworks sequels thriving over original creations. If The Last Stand wasn't already convincing on its own, recent Dreamworks animations like The Croods: A New Age and The Boss Baby: Family Business, sequel titles that have also far sured Ruby Gillman, further indicate Dreamworks need for future sequel endeavors.
Why Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Failed For Dreamworks
Granted Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken did not fail because it wasn't a sequel box office hit like The Last Wish. It failed on of aspects that an animated sequel film just may not have encountered as tragically as Ruby Gillman did. The Dreamworks original had little to no marketing consideration right out of the gate, which was a damnatory decision when set up against the other much more notable June animation premieres of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and Elemental.
When considering that Disney's long anticipated Elemental didn't even receive the critical and box office response it was expected to, it truly may be time for major animation studios to consider what sequel films can bring to the table. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Boss Baby 2, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, and other sequel titles all had established followings and smartly expanded on already existing storylines. Unfortunately, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken was doomed from the start with no predecessor to help it stand its ground, contrary to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which could stand its ground on its own, but most certainly had a little help from its legacy.
