Luca (2021) Movie Review
Pixar has continuously churned out entertaining movies for adults and children alike. Luca is set off the coast of Italy near a town called Portorosso. The main character is obviously and fittingly named Luca (Jacob Tremblay). He is a pre-teen sea “monster” who spends his day shepherding fish for his family. His mother, Daniela (Maya Rudolph), is a worrier and frets over Luca going to the surface. One day he meets a fellow sea monster named Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) and goes to the surface. Upon exiting the water, Luca and Alberto morph into human boys. They only revert back to their true sea monster selves when they come into contact with water. Alberto shows Luca the ways of humans and they bond over their fascination with Vespas. You can see right away that Alberto’s puffed chest of confidence is a cover for his insecurities. His general vagueness about his past leads you to conclude that he is not always telling the truth.
Eventually Luca must return home and he is greeted by parents that have completely freaked out over his absence. They threaten to send him to live with his uncle in the deep sea, so naturally he runs away and goes to live on land with Alberto. When they arrive in the city of Portorosso they befriend a young girl named Giulia (Emma Berman) who is obsessed with winning the Portorosso Cup. The cup is a triathlon that consists of biking, swimming, and eating pasta. She enlists the boys to join her team and they begin training for the cup. Predictably, Luca becomes close with Giulia spawning some level of jealousy from Alberto. The rest of the movie involves the three navigating their new friendship while trying to work together to win the Cup. Luca’s parents eventually make an appearance on land in an attempt to find their son and bring him back home. There are several hilarious scenes of the parents haphazardly throwing water on random children to see if Luca appears.
Luca is a sweet story but it isn’t anything new for Pixar. The pains of growing up and finding your place in the world is a theme that has been explored in a variety of Pixar films. Several viewers have been quick to point out some moments that could be interpreted as queer. Alberto and Luca are close friends and share their hopes and dreams with each other. When Luca gets close to Giulia, Alberto gets jealous as he sees his friend begin to pull away. The two boys being labelled “monsters” and cast as different from the rest of the humans residing in the city could have been a nice metaphor for how some queer people feel growing up. But the LGBTQIA+ theme is still a little bit too dangerous for Pixar and director Enrico Casarosa insists that it is not a pre-teen romance story. It’s a little disappointing and seems like a missed opportunity but Luca is also a compelling story about friendship.
Luca benefits greatly from the bright colors and beautiful setting of Italy. However, none of the voice actors are actually Italian and it feels a bit slimy to have Italy be such an important part of the story without including Italian actors. Alas, it’s an animated movie and sometimes we have to set aside these bothersome elements to enjoy the movie. Luca is extremely sweet and most will be able to identify with his longing for adventure and freedom to do as he pleases. His friendships with both Alberto and Giulia are refreshing and help him to grow as a person, as all good friendships should. Alberto tells him to say “Silencio Bruno” to quiet his intruding thoughts of anxiety and nervousness. Giulia gives him books and they geek out over the stars together. It’s a cute triangle of friends and each one is struggling to find themselves and their place in the world.
I enjoyed Luca immensely and felt extremely happy and optimistic when the movie concluded. However, I wish Pixar would step outside of its safety net and do something truly out of the box that would make you say, “Wow, I can’t believe they pulled that off!” Unfortunately we will have to wait until next time to experience that feeling. In the meantime, Luca is a fun, entertaining, and sweet tale of a young boy yearning for freedom and the friends who help him along the way.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You want to watch a feel good movie
2. You like animated feature films
3. You like fantastical stories of friendship
