Pixar is a studio that can take any subject, and give it a coming-of-age journey. Inanimate objects, intelligent animals, parts of the psyche, and mythical creatures have all gotten this treatment, to various levels of success – so it is no surprise to find the studio tackling the very human growth of a pair of young sea monsters in the waters of Italy in its latest film, Luca, now available to stream via Disney Plus.
The feature-length directorial debut of Enrico Casarosa, Oscar-nominated for his previous Pixar short, La Luna, the film is quirky and adorably animated. Indeed, there are some character design similarities between the short and Luca, and the saturated, colorful joy of his Italian Riviera town of Portorosso and its submerged sea monster community is as whimsical as his luminous Moon.
The focus of the film is the unlikely friendship between young Luca (Jacob Tremblay), a sheltered fish shepherd whose parents forbid him to journey to the surface of the shallow sea, and Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), who spends most of his time as a human on land. Through the keen curiosity and enthusiasm of his friend, Luca begins to dream of a life on the open road, touring the whole of the world on the back of a Vespa while he opens his mind to new experiences. When his parents threaten to send him away to the darkest depths of the ocean with his uncle, Luca joins Alberto in Portorosso, where the boys decide to try winning a race so they can buy their ticket to the world. But neither of them is a complete expert on humanity, and with the town bully Ercole (Saverio Raimondo) determined to ensure they lose and the father of their new friend Giulia (Emma Berman) a fisherman who hopes to harpoon some sea monsters, they have their work cut out for them while they dodge Luca’s worried parents – who have themselves surfaced to find him.
Luca is a charming tale
about acceptance, perseverance, and the deep kind of brotherhood bond that
surfaces in the friendships of young boys with big dreams. The emotional beats
that follow the connection between Luca and Alberto don’t strike as intensely
as the strained but loving relationship between the brothers of Onward,
however – and it feels as though this story has already been told in better
ways, even by Pixar itself. And, much as Onward was challenged by
turning a magical world mundane, so too does Luca suffer in spending
most of its time making mystical monsters human.
With unlimited potential to discover a world of sea monsters based on Italian lore, why a film like this feels it has to make the boring world of humans on the surface the ultimate goal just seems a mystery. The Little Mermaid’s Ariel was enticed by a handsome prince, but Luca simply seeks to expand his young mind with books and new friendships. Surely he could have experienced both without becoming human – but this idea goes bafflingly unexplored. The result is a somewhat lackluster lesson about accepting those who are different, which takes a backseat to the conflict in the friendship between the two boys, which could have easily been depicted with ordinary human characters. Making them sea monsters is a fun visual gimmick, and it provides some funny animated gags – but it otherwise doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose.
As
Pixar films go, Luca is sweet and fairly lighthearted. The conflict
resolves itself in a fairly predictable fashion, and the kind of
heartstring-tugging drama that makes Pixar unique is largely absent. A lovely
film visually, it feels disappointing from a narrative standpoint and seems at
home as a streaming release without a theatrical run. Pixar has set the bar for
animated storytelling absurdly high, and unfortunately, this latest offering
swims just beneath the surface of that bar.
--Dana Culling
