Disney/Pixar's "Luca" Is As Beautiful As It Is Adorable
Starring Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph, Marco Barricelli, Jim Gaffigan
Rated PG
Animated
Run time: 1 hr, 35 min
Directed by Enrico Casarosa
On Disney+ June 18
For not the first time in the last sixteen months, I finished watching a movie on a streaming service, sighed and wished I’d gotten to see it on the big screen. I almost hadn’t heard about Luca, Disney/Pixar’s newest animated film about “sea monsters” that become friends and try to follow their dreams. While having no expectations going into a movie does often seem like the best way to go about it, I worry this one will get passed over by many a movie-watcher, which would be a big mistake. When I tried to figure out what to compare it to, I was able to find DNA from so many previous Disney/Pixar films, everything from Finding Nemo to Beauty and the Beast, but it still managed to create a unique story.
The film centers around Luca (Jacob Tremblay), a so-called sea monster that seems more mermaid than Nessie, who is part of a rare breed of creature who is a fish when underwater and a human when on land. He’s a young man who dreams of a world he’s never seen, and may be too scared to venture out into, or at least too scared of what his mother (Maya Rudolph) may do if he tries. Or at least until he meets Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), another sea monster who has embraced the land part of the world and is determined to make sure Luca sees what all is out there. The two bond over everything from a desire of adventure to a deep love of the idea of a Vespa, and the friendship is cemented almost immediately. The two go on a journey, meeting Giulia (Emma Berman) along the way and making plans of how to do everything they’ve ever dreamed, mostly riding a Vespa.
There’s no other way to say it. This movie is ridiculously cute. The story manages to be familiar without being overly predictable, and almost every character that appears on the screen is overwhelmingly endearing, from Luca’s grandmother who sees more than she lets on to a suspicious cat named after a philosopher. It’s a perfect length for an animated film - just over 90 minutes once credits are factored in - and I don’t remember once checking how much time was left in it, which is a bigger accomplishment than it may seem. Luca is a seemingly standard coming-of-age tale, but with a fantastical twist. One of the best things is that there isn’t really an explanation of why these sea monsters exist. There’s no exposition dump that explains the mythos of them or gives details about the low-key war that exists between them and the humans. Shockingly, this is an aspect I also enjoyed about A Quiet Place Part II (we really don’t need to know why the creepy alien-predator things do what they do), and that may be the only solid comparison between my two most recently seen films that I can come up with.
There’s something so comforting about a Disney movie, even when one is well past the target audience’s age. When you add that to the gorgeous landscape of an Italian village on the water and the vivid colors of a world under the sea, you get something that is truly captivating. I was immediately invested in Luca, his friends and his journey, and I felt very satisfied with the whole tale as the credits rolled. Some parts of this movie may be a bit cliche, but isn’t that what we need sometimes? As the world opens back up, venture back into theaters when it’s safe and you’re able, but don’t forget to check this one out at home.