Luca is a 2021 movie from the good folks at Pixar. Before we get into the actual movie, I want to talk about the production and release. The majority of the movie was made by some very talented people while they were working at home during the pandemic. The fact they were able to make a movie of this quality while working from home is a real testament to their talent.
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The Movie Review
Also, Disney would release this on Disney Plus! Not as a premium offering, but this was released on Disney Plus without having to pay any extra for it. Movie-wise, Disney has had a real solid last 12 months despite the pandemic. With Soul, Raya, the live-action Cruella, and now Luca, Disney are still nailing it despite the state the world is in.
The setting for Luca is the Italian Rivera during the late 50s early 60s. I love the whole aesthetic of the movie and the smaller location of Portorosso has a lot of charm to it. The movie is a real coming-of-age story along with a bit of “trying to fit in” as well and overall the movie has a ton of heart and that Disney/Pixar magic dust sprinkled all over it.
The movie is about a young boy who also happens to be a sea monster. Luca lives under the sea with his mom and dad. He is a fish herder, but he longs for something more and one day he finds some items that have fallen from the surface. He is besotted with these items, but his life is changed forever by another sea monster called, Alberto who is roughly the same age as him.
Alberto lives on the surface in the remains of what I think is an old lighthouse. Alberto shows Luca that sea monsters can go to the surface and they will take human form. However, when they get wet, they turn back into a sea monster. Luca who has lived his whole life under the sea and who has been told horror stories about the surface and humans is at first scared, but his curiosity gets the best of him.
Before long, Alberto takes him under his wing and shows him the ways (well Alberto’s ways) of the surface. It is a lot of fun seeing Luca embrace this and Alberto is a great big brother figure to him. The pair of them are obsessed with riding a real Vespa and they decide to head to Portorosso to find one!
Here they also meet a young girl called Giulia and she takes them home where they meet her father who also takes a liking to the boys. They have a run-in with the local bully/jerk and before long they are taking part in a contest where if they win, their Vespa dreams can come true.
If you watch the trailer for Luca, you will think it is just all about sea monsters having fun and screwing around on the surface, but that is not the case. In typical Pixar fashion, this movie has a ton of heart and seeing Luca and Alberto grow and try to find their place in the world is great. The ending put a big smile on my face and in all I had a lot of fun with this movie.
I will admit that I was worried Disney threw this on Disney Plus because it was not a “proper movie”, but I was wrong. This movie has all of the polish that you would expect from a Pixar movie. It has some great performances from a talented cast and in all, it is the kind of movie that is great no matter how old you are.
