Luca

Pixars reputation as an animation juggernaut is very fascinating to watch over the past few decades. Most of the time, they are very reliable in bringing excellent visuals, engaging character interactions, interesting premise concepts, emotionally connecting or thought provoking storylines, cute humor, and memorable moments that have left a lasting impact on many family audiences. With how impactful their status is, it can end up as a double-edged sword for the studio where any project they pump out carries that high expectation for success. This brings us to their latest effort, Luca, which was the directorial debut of Enrico Casarosa (who wrote and directed the Pixar short film La Luna). The marketing campaign for this was rather minimal with not showing a whole lot and Disney made the decision to pull it from a theatrical release to their streaming service Disney+. I wasn't hyped about it but was curious and after watching it, it ended up being a simple pleasant experience that won't leave an impact on me.

What's it about? Taking place in a world where sea monsters can transform into humans on land, the story follows two teenaged members of that species learning about humans in a village. Something interesting about the style of animation and tone that this is leaning towards it's how similar it feels to filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki's movie, Kiki's Delivery Service (one of my personal favorites). There's an earnest nature in how the protagonists interact and learn about this new environment they are visiting. The visuals and music are strong as to be expected but don't lean towards the immense realism shown in Pixar's Soul with the city. The narrative is very much back to basics coming of age with the cliched archetypes but is handled in a more sweet manner for younger audiences. 

For all of it's light-hearted charm and endearing spirit, however, there are issues with it that affect how memorable it is. The script feels like a rough draft as there are missed chances to expanded on some details that are only visually displayed (such as one of the protagonists issues with abandonment). The material here while fine on its own, doesn't attempt to rise above and add more meat to the thing basic plot. That's not to say it needs major stakes conflict as this is the lowest stakes out of the studios films, but with how short the actual story is, having more content would have helped. In fact, similar to an underwhelming previous film Onward (another studio film I didn't love like the majority did), having a flashback scene for the shy protagonist would have been greatly appreciated as there isn't much material for him aside for being very introverted. It should also be noted that there is a post end credits scenes but it's nothing worth fast forwarding for.

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer. The chemistry between these leads is very likable as they work off each other well in their antics together. Jacob served his lead role very well in terms of conveying excited curiosity and that endearing spirit you want to root for in overcoming his fears. Jack is pretty good as well as that troublesome youngster that thinks he knows it all and can be a bad influence on those close to him. Honorable mention goes to Saverio Raimundo for having a lot of fun being such a very cliched jerk that you love to hate (one of the very few villains in the studios projects who is purely malicious and no redeeming factors). 

Overall Consensus: Luca is a pleasant coming of age experience with beautiful animation, nice calming music, and simple likable characters but doesn't rise above a basic script needing more content and lacks much of a memorable impact. ⭑⭑⭑1/4 Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes PG

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Enrico Casarosa. You want to have a pasta dish while watching something that takes place in an American-ized Italian village. You want a laidback narrative with pretty visuals to look at with your family. You are in the mood for a basic and without deeper subtext. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Enrico Casarosa. You aren't in the mood for a basic and without deeper subtext.