Luca Review: Original, Fun, and Incredibly Beautiful
I was so excited to finish up at work yesterday. Not only because it was Friday, and well, who doesn’t love leaving work on a Friday when you’ve got the weekend to enjoy? But also because Disney+ subscribers were graced with the release of Disney/Pixar’s latest film, Luca.
I always seem to count down the days to the latest movie release from Pixar, especially when original stories are being told. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the Toy Story franchise, but the 2010s were littered with sequels from Pixar with Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011), Finding Dory (2016), Cars 3 (2017), Incredibles 2 (2019), and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Since 2020, though, Pixar has returned back to what made the studio so unique, with original ideas being explored in each of their past three films: Onward, Soul, and now, Luca.
From a general standpoint, not much was known about Luca prior to the film’s release, outside of a few trailers, as it was only officially announced on July 30, 2020. On March 23, 2021, it was announced that the film’s theatrical release would be canceled and Luca would be available exclusively on Disney+.
The film, directed by Enrico Casarosa (also director of the Pixar short, La Luna) follows a young sea monster named Luca who ventures to the surface of an Italian Riviera with his new friend, Alberto, both of whom are able to take on human form while on land.
I had pretty high expectations for this film from the time of its initial announcement. The concept art and color pallet looked so refreshing, so from a design standpoint, I was sold from the start.
My oh my, the colors and animation did not disappoint. This film is so incredibly stunning. Fantastic landscapes, bright and joyful colors, and unique and playful character designs make Luca such a treat to watch!
Additionally, the animation is also breathtaking. The transformation scenes as characters switch from human to sea creatures and vice-versa are exceptional and proof that Pixar is always going the extra mile when it comes to the incredible attention to detail. I’ll also take any chance I can to praise the evolution of water animation as well because it is one of my absolute favorite things that Disney and Pixar continue to get better at with the release of every animated film.
I’ve seen quite a few reviews and tweets stating something along the lines of “this doesn’t look like a Pixar movie” or “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs looked better than this” and quite frankly this is one of my favorite things that Luca brought to the table and seem rather negative, And to that, I say, “Silenzio Bruno!”
Not once while I was watching this movie did anything like that cross my mind. Yes, the animation is different from what many have come to expect from Pixar, but part of the beauty of the film is how well that style fits in with the story and setting.
The colors and scenery also flow perfectly with the beautiful musical score, composed by Dan Romer, and additional pieces of Italian music from the 1950s and 60s. All of these elements come together to set the tone of the film perfectly.
The story flows well throughout the entire movie. While the writing is clever and pulls a few Italian stereotypes into small gags but in subtle, comical ways, in addition to multiple nods to Italian history. I particularly enjoyed the consistent exclamations of “Santo [insert Italian cheese name here]!”
While I would have loved to have heard some relatively unknown voice actors from Italy for the roles of the main characters for cultural purposes (think Coco and Moana), the castings were pleasant and fit the characters well.
I particularly enjoyed Jacob Tremblay as the titular character, Luca. While I didn’t initially love the character of Alberto, Jack Dylan Grazer did a fine job in the role as well. Emma Berman’s Giulia also grew on me as well. Comedic icons Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan, and Sacha Baron Cohen also lend their voices in supporting roles and do not disappoint. Make sure to watch (or skip through) to the end of the credits for a little extra improvisation.
Like many great Pixar films, Luca provides plenty of heartwarming fun and emotional twists pieced into a pleasant coming-of-age story. I won’t be shocked at all if Pixar takes home their 12th Academy Award for Best Animated Feature come March 2022.
It really is a shame that the film was not given a theatrical release and was sent directly to Disney+. Luca is an excellent movie and deserved more than the streaming treatment that it received. Though, hopefully, it allows anyone who would have been on the fence about seeing this movie more likelihood of giving it a try.
What were your thoughts about the film? Let us know in the comments!
