| “ | Chelsea: I've waited fifteen years for this. Fifteen years waiting to get revenge on your mother... Ruby: What? Chelsea: Dethrone your grandmother, and lay waste to the kraken kingdom. Ruby: Chelsea? Nerissa/Chelsea: (chuckles evilly) Oh, there is no Chelsea. I... am... Nerissa! Ruby: What's-what's happening to you? Nerissa/Chelsea: Surprised? "I'm a flipping mermaid!" And you're just a dumb teenager!! All that ra-ra-ra was so that you could free this for me-me-me, my super sea girl bestie! Ruby: But I trusted you! Nerrisa/Chelsea: (chuckles) You just got played, dum-dum! |
„ |
| ~ Nerrisa/Chelsea revealing her true colors to Ruby Gillman. |
| “ | It feels so good to be back, and this time, I’m going to get rid of you for good! | „ |
| ~ Nerissa before attempting to kill Agatha and Grandmamah. |
| “ | I HATE high school! | „ |
| ~ Nerissa's most famous quote while attempting to kill the children from the prom, Ruby’s family, and everyone by launching a large wave. |
| “ | You'll never win, Ruby Gillman! You're just a dumb teenager! You know what's really pathetic? That you thought someone like me could ever be friends with a monster like you! (Ruby: I am not a monster! I’m a kraken!) | „ |
| ~ Chelsea taunting Ruby and mocking her for thinking that someone like her would ever be friends with her while torturing the latter. |
Nerissa (also known by her alias Chelsea Van Der Zee) is the main antagonist of Dreamworks Animation's 44th full-length animated feature film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.
She is the newest and most popular student at Oceanside High School and the former best friend and arch-nemesis of Ruby Gillman as well as the Gillman family. Chelsea also manipulates Ruby into giving her a mythical trident, which she plans to use to increase her power, avenge her kind and kill all the krakens.
She was voiced by Annie Murphy in her first villainous role.
Her Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Her Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- During the war between the mermaids and the Krakens, she used the powerful ancient weapon, the Trident of Oceanus, to execute almost all of the Krakens. Her actions and war crimes also left a devastating effect on the Gillman family as Agatha ran away with her infant daughter so she and her family could live a normal life at Oceanside as normal human beings to keep them safe. This makes Chelsea indirectly responsible for Ruby Gillman growing up as an outcast.
- While disguising herself as a human, she took Ruby Gillman's credit for rescuing Connor when it was the former who rescued him.
- While she did rescue Ruby when the latter was about to be captured and killed by Gordon, this was only to gain her trust.
- After pretending to be Ruby's friend for a long time, she successfully tricked her into helping her get the Trident of Oceanus before she took it from her and revealing her true colors, depowering her and trapping her under rocks.
- While she was in search for Agatha, she destroyed a house that belonged to a couple, making them homeless.
- She tried to kill Arthur and Sam just for throwing dodgeballs at her.
- She tried to kill Ruby, Agatha and Grandmamah to stop them from interfering with her plan to conquer the ocean.
- While she was fighting Ruby, she threw her down into the ocean, which could have potentially killed hundreds of people on the prom boat (including her friends) and also Gordon Lighthouse by a giant ocean wave. She would have killed all of them if it wasn't for Ruby.
- During the battle, she knocked Ruby down and tried to stab her again, all while calling her pathetic for thinking anyone would ever want to be friends with a “monster” like her. Also, she angrily rejects Ruby's offer to settle things peacefully and give up the trident before she was finally defeated and captured by Gordon Lighthouse.
- While she seems to be remorseful by claiming that she's just misunderstood instead of evil, this is merely fear and not regret. Despite the public humiliation, she also had the nerve to ask about how many likes Gordon’s stream was getting and if her hair was straight. She was also just relieved the heroes didn’t intend to kill her.
- While she underwent a tragedy of being isolated, abandoned and left alone after the previous war, it is too petty to justify her actions of attempting to commit genocide against the Krakens since the mermaids are the most ruthless and dangerous creatures in all of the seas. After she revealed her true nature to Ruby, all sympathy was immediately thrown out of the window and her heinous actions outweigh her tragedy.
- Though she wanted to avenge her kind due to the lives that were lost in the past war, there is little to no indication that she genuinely cares for them apart from pride in her species because she is power-hungry, egotistical and obsessed with herself.
- While she was genuinely affable to Ruby at first, she subverts it when she betrayed her and tried to kill her.
- Although she had some comedic moments in her early appearances (like calling herself a "mother-flipping mermaid"), these all took place before she revealed her true form, and as such, she is later taken more seriously as a villain and has enough screen time to establish herself as a dangerous threat.
What Prevents Her from Being Pure Evil?[]
- While she's later taken much more seriously after revealing her true colors, she still has a few comedic moments that detract from her heinousness, such as several people taking pictures of her, Arthur and Sam throwing dodgeballs at her with the intent to get on her nerves, and her defeat that has her pathetically begging for mercy when she was captured, becoming self-conscious about her hair and asking about how many likes she was getting while being livestreamed by Gordon.
Trivia[]
- Director Kirk DeMicco claimed that Chelsea genuinely believes she's the hero of the story and the mermaids really were forced into hiding for over 15 years after the Battle of the Trident. This is backed up by co-director Faryn Pearl, who reinforced that Chelsea wasn't lying about being alone for 15 years and it was her genuinely relating to Ruby Gillman's own plight.
- Darren Webb's early animatics for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken originally had Chelsea Van Der Zee actually being the late Queen Nerissa's daughter, instead of being her like in the finished film, who wished to avenge her mother's death at Agatha Gillman's hands in addition to conquer the sea. However, the filmmakers ultimately resolved to make Chelsea and Nerissa the same character so Agatha wouldn't have blood on her hands. If Chelsea and Nerissa had been separate characters like originally intended, it's possible that her Near Pure Evil status could have been affected.
- Although it is not said in the film, the film's director Kirk DeMicco confirmed in a tweet that Chelsea was in love with a human named Frapi with whom she had a relationship, this was not presented in the film because that love relationship did not fit with the story.
- She may be a villainous parody to Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Coincidentally, both Chelsea and Ursula are Near Pure Evil, while Ruby Gillman and Ariel are both Pure Good.
External Links[]
- Chelsea Van Der Zee on the Villains Wiki
- Chelsea Van Der Zee on the DreamWorks Wiki
[]
 Near Pure Evils
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Animated Television See Also | ||
