“Luca” offers an enjoyable Italian getaway
Arriving just before the first official day of summer, “Luca” embodies the spirit of the season.
The latest from Pixar Animation Studios — a Disney affiliate and generally a creative powerhouse — is a fairly light, breezy and largely entertaining comingof-age affair set in and around a lovely seaside town on the Italian Riviera in the late 1950s or early ’60s.
Ironically, Disney decided to release it on its streaming platform Disney+ — sans an extra fee, just as it did with Pixar’s previous effort, “Soul” — so maybe save this one for a rainy day spent at home.
Less ambitious than last year’s high-concept “Soul,” “Luca” nonetheless is the slightly stronger film. (We will acknowledge, however, that “Soul” won an Oscar for best animated film at the 93rd Academy Awards this year and that “Luca” is unlikely to take home that award next year.)
It is the story of a 13-year-old sea monster named Luca Paguro (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), who is shy, polite, introverted and a rule follower. He knows little about humans, and his protective parents, Daniela (Maya Rudolph) and Lorenzo (Jim Gaffigan), have worked to make him afraid of “land monsters.”
The discovery of an alarm clock on the seafloor leads Luca to another sea monster lad, Alberto Scorfano (Jack Dylan Grazer), who likes to spook fishermen and relieve them of some of the possessions they bring on their boats.
Luca follows Alberto to the surface and experiences the magical change that turns sea monsters into humans. As long as they stay dry, these creatures from the deep look no different from anyone else breathing air instead of water.
Alberto, Luca discovers, is many things he is not — outgoing, bold and brave, for starters — and the two become fast friends. Alberto’s island hideout is home to many human artifacts, including the gramophone — aka the “magic singing-lady machine” — we see him score in the film’s opening moments, as well as a poster of a Vespa scooter.
The idea of the Vespa captivates the youths, who believe it could take them around the world. And while they attempt to build their own, the goal quickly becomes to acquire a real one.
When they venture into the town of Portorosso, they discover a possible means to that end. They meet a girl, Giulia Marcovaldo (Emma Berman), who spends her summers in Portorosso to be with her large and intimidating fisherman father, Massimo Marcovaldo (Marco Barricelli). (They watch Massimo chop fish in half and learn he’d be happy to do the same were he ever to encounter one of the legendary sea monsters.)
Giulia regularly enters a local race she describes as a “grueling traditional Italian triathlon,” the contest involving biking, swimming and pasta eating. She hasn’t fared well in the past and is bullied by a stronger racer, Ercole Visconti (Saverio Raimondo), for her past embarrassments. Eventually, the trio decides to team up, with Giulia training in the water and Luca on the bike, while Alberto must conquer the use of a fork.
If they win, Luca and Alberto could buy a low-end scooter with their cut of the prize money, they reckon.
All the while, Luca and Alberto must protect their identities from the former’s parents, Ercole and, especially, Massimo. And how would Giulia feel about what they really are?
It’s tempting to read something deeper into the film, to consider “Luca” metaphorically when examining the dynamic between Luca and Alberto — a dynamic threatened by the inclusion of Giulia into the mix. However, we’ll take director Enrico Casarosa at his word, that “Luca” is about friendship in a “pre-puberty world,” as he told Polygon in April. Viewers obviously can decide for themselves whether the movie is trying to dip its toes into some brave societal waters.
We can consider the sea monsters themselves as a metaphor for feeling different or excluded, Casarosa says in the film’s production notes, and the bond between the boys hits home, as does the friendship they share with Giulia — another “underdog,” as she puts it.
The screenplay was penned by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones — from a story by Casarosa, Andrews and Simon Stephenson — and it lends to what is a solid work, if not one at the level of Pixar greats such as “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “Up.” “Luca” is more on par with last year’s earlier offering from the studio, “Onward,” although that movie packs a greater emotional punch.
Visually, “Luca” is a notch or two below some other recent works, including the gorgeous “Soul” and “Raya and the Last Dragon,” the dazzling 2021 effort from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Nonetheless, it boasts some fun character designs and its aforementioned charming setting, Portorosso boasting lots of curved and sloped streets and period architecture.
As is the way with Pixar, the studio doesn’t pack the cast with notable names, the two exceptions being Tremblay (“Room,” “Wonder”) and Gaffigan, whose voice likely will be instantly recognizable to the myriad fans of the stand-up comic. As with others, including Rudolph (“The Mitchells vs. The Machines”) and the little-known Berman, they do fine work. The standout, though, is Grazer (“It”), whose lively performance as Alberto helps energize “Luca.”
With the way things are trending in the United States with the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of us are excited to be out and about again, but “Luca” is a pretty good reason to stay in for a bit.