“Luca” Review
Jacob Tremblay voices Luca, a sea monster who goes above the water to experience to world of the surface.
It’s easy to see that Pixar Animation Studios has set the bar high for family films, with the studio turning out universally loved classics like “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “Ratatouille” and “Up” that are emotional, smart and manage to entertain adults just as much as children. So when a film comes out that falls below the bar of quality Pixar has established, but is still a fine film in its own right, it’s tricky to form a definite opinion. Such is the case with “Luca,” recently released on Disney+, which is a thoroughly entertaining film with gorgeous animation and funny characters, but fails to live up to more emotionally resonant Pixar films like “Coco” and “Soul.”
Set on the Italian Riviera, the film tells the story of a child sea monster named Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) whose curiosity of the surface world, populated by us, comes to fruition when he and a fellow sea monster named Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) journey on land where they embrace the human world. Disguising themselves as humans, they meet friends, enter a vespa race and learn what it means to embrace who you are.
One thing I’ve always admired about Pixar is how their films often take you to incredible locations in our world whether it be Paris in “Ratatouille” or Mexico in “Coco.” The Italian Riviera looks absolutely beautiful in the film and the love for the country is present throughout. Every frame of “Luca” is dripping with atmosphere and it fully immersed me in a country where I’ve never set foot.
The main characters are also very entertaining with Luca being the cautious newcomer (a literal fish-out-of-water) and Alberto being more of a risk taker. Their friendship is not only believable, but their personalities offset each other perfectly. While on land, they befriend a human girl named Guilia (voiced by Emma Berman) whose outgoing nature surprises Alberto and Luca. Together, they embark on a journey to win a race of swimming, biking and eating as much pasta as possible so Luca and Alberto can get some money to buy a vespa, which they see as the best thing humans have invented (and I’m sure Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn can attest to that).
(From Left) Giulia, Luca and Alberto ride off on their vespa in “Luca” as they wish to win a local race.
“Luca” is entertaining from beginning to end with funny characters and simple, but effective humor. One of the best running jokes is how, when they’re dry, the sea monsters look like humans, which makes blending in easy for Alberto and Luca. But if they get splashed with water, on their hand for instance, that hand turns scaly until it dries. So when Luca and Alberto are on a boat with Guilia’s dad (voiced by Marco Barricelli), who believes in sea monsters and wants to hunt them, it’s an exceptionally funny setup.
The film’s message of being who you really are and not hiding from the world is very important and can be read in many different ways. Inevitably the message can be tied to gender identity and sexuality, which is incredibly valid given the discrimination that still befalls the LGBTQ+ community, but it can also be applied to race, culture or just how you are as a person. “Luca” is also very realistic by telling kids that “it’s okay to be who you are, but people might still not accept you. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be who you are.”
But where the film falters is its simple story, which can sometimes lack the emotional weight that other Pixar films are known for. The film is much more based on character while the race is more of a means to an end, but when the race serves as the climax of the film it lacks the suspense or investment that one would expect going into a film like “Luca.”
The film’s villain Ercole Visconti (voiced by Saverio Raimondo) is also fairly uninteresting as his only goal is to win the race and he’s not especially memorable. He has some funny scenes but in terms of a villain, there could have been more effort put into the characterization.
While a fairly good film that will entertain people of all ages, “Luca” simply isn’t as powerful as past Pixar films which is a bit of a let-down considering how consistent the studio is with emotionally captivating films. While films like “Soul” or “Coco” are certainly better in comparison, “Luca” gave me a lot of laughs and some really charming characters as well as a message that I think all children should see. It’s a good film, much better than other Pixar films like “Cars 2” or “Monsters University,” but well below the high bar set by Pixar.
