Luca (2021)

 

Luca (2021)

6/10

Starring the voices of

Jacob Tremblay

Jack Dylan Grazer

Emma Berman

Saverio Raimondo

Maya Rudolph

Directed by Enrico Casarosa

The movie will not break any norm, be a standout or even be engaging enough to hold the attention of some older viewers. The movie plays it safe and doesn’t try anything risky. This new Disney/Pixar animation is made very colorful and focuses more on friendship, jealousy and the fear of being alone. The innocence of the characters and how their focus is on being free believing all they need to achieve this is to get a vespa. There is no love story in this one and as animations goes, the antagonist is just way to much into himself to notice that he was losing the crowd.

Luca is a sea monster (based on humans interpretation) they are sea creatures more like mermaids. He is a goatfish herder, who always dreams of being free and getting himself into various adventures. His parents try their best to keep him safe in the underwater world, and Luca’s nativity and fear made it more sure he will never venture beyond his home. While herding one day he came across a human picture and an alarm clock, when another young boy sea monster (Alberto) swam to him and says it is his. Luca gave it up and followed Alberto who took him to the surface. It turns out when these creatures get out of water their whole body changes from fish form to human form.

 Luca panicked when he was drawn to the surface by this stranger. He calmed down and soon Luca and Alberto became friends with Luca coming to the surface against his parents wishes to visit Alberto. Alberto claim to be an expert in surviving in the human world and everything human, but it was fun watching him dish out childish fantasy knowledge to Luca who believed every word as he does not know any better. Together they dream of running away the moment they can lay their hands on a vespa.

Luca’s trip to the surface was found out by his parents and he was supposed to be sent to the underwater for punishment. Luca runs away to Alberto’s home up above and together they take a risk by going to the Italian town. There they were being harassed when a young girl named Giulia saved them. Conversations erupted between them, then they formed a team to take part in the local triathlon. With the hope of using their winnings to buy a vespa. Luca and Giulia became close and she showed him things about the world that blew his mind and he wanted to explore more, which made Alberto jealous and soon, these two start to have issues, while Luca’s parents too have ventured to the lands of the humans to search for their son.

The main magic in this film is the visuals the effects of the water, the colorful nature of the Italian setting. It’s main setting also follows the Disney narrative of a single parent setting. As our two leads Luca and Alberto meet Giulia who stays with her father in the summer. Which means her parents are separated, and the magical friendship bond she had with this two magical creatures was a summer partnership which seems set to reignite every summer. The movie also covers abandonment as Alberto was abandoned by his father and was able to find a home in the most unlikely place, the world of humans to which these sea creatures are told to stay away from.

For me, it took a while to get into the animation, but when I did it was an ok ride until the end. I feel they should have left the mystery cap on, instead of the kumbaya ending.

You can catch Luca on Disney+ and selected cinemas.