Download Luca Review: Pixar Movie Is an Ode to Friendship — and Vespas for free
Luca is an ode to friendship. The 84-minute Pixar film on Disney + from the feature film debut Enrico Casarosa is inspired by his own childhood – Luca is dedicated to Casarosa’s best friend Alberto Surace, whose name he lends to the deuteragonist and best friend of the title protagonist – on the Italian Riviera in the 1970s and 1980s. It takes place in a world that is set after the fifties and sixties, because Casarosa is not (yet) that nostalgic about the eighties. but LucaIt’s also a fantasy world. The aforementioned Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay from Room) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer from Shazam!) Although technically they are amphibians that change their shape, become fish in the water and humans on land.
For Casarosa this is the center as it allows Luca to explore what she wants to talk about. At the core, Luca shows how prejudice and fear of the unknown – people like Luca and Alberto are often referred to as “sea monsters”, but never do anything monstrous – can divide us. You can also think of it as a film about xenophobia, a timely message in an increasingly nationalist world where people use our physical differences to discriminate against oppressed minorities. Or you can even look at it through an LGBTQ + lens, as many already have. Although Casarosa has said that it was not intended, Luca is not so bad. It’s a coming-of-age story of two boys in their 60s who, fearful for their lives, have to hide their true selves from everyone around them.
Naturally, Luca – written by Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Mike Jones (Pixars Soul) – it’s about more than that. Luca is literally a fish in the water in the new Pixar movie, and he’s naturally fascinated by the trails and creations of people. The focus is on Luca and Alberto’s shared love for Vespa, the Italian scooter brand that made a name for itself as a style icon in the second half of the 20th century. Luca also examines the importance of facing one’s fears – embodied in Luca of a running “Silencio Bruno!” gag – and the role that friends play in pushing you out of your comfort zone. It’s also about giving them space to grow and still be there for your friends.
All of this is brought to life with some of the stylized animations from Pixar to this day – Casarosa & Co. talked about how they got from traditional 2D animations, Japanese woodblock prints, many Italian film classics and the works of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. were inspired – and combined with sparkling background music by Dan Romer (Beasts of the Southern Wild), which is cheerful, playful, tingling and epic at the same time.
Through Luca to The Family Man, which will be streaming in June
Under the surface, Luca Paguro leads a simple shepherd’s life. Except that his flock are fish, since he lives in the sea. While Luca’s grandmother (Sandy Martin, from Napoleon Dynamite) pampers him and his father Lorenzo (comedian Jim Gaffigan) lives in his own world, Luca’s mother Daniela Paguro (Maya Rudolph, from bridesmaids) is very strict and protective of him. She makes sure that Luca always comes home on time and asks him every day whether he has seen boats from these “land monsters”. When Luca came across human artifacts while grazing one morning, he followed the breadcrumbs and collided with another sea monster, Alberto Scorfano. It turns out that Alberto lives in the country, which is both shocking and terrifying for Luca, since he has been told to stay away from the human world for the rest of his life.
The curious Luca is both amazed and fascinated by his short time above the surface. Of course, Luca comes back the next morning to visit Alberto, but it turns out to be a bit boastful. Alberto is a self-proclaimed master of “human stuff” and claims that his (missing) father told him everything and that he has been alone for some time. But Alberto also thinks that the stars are all fish, so he’s obviously trying to hide his insecurities behind a facade. Luca doesn’t know any better and is too busy staring at everything human anyway. This is how Vespa comes into play. Impressed by a Vespa poster, Luca and Alberto start dreaming of their own Vespa and build a rudimentary scooter to feel the thrill. There is even a dream route full of tons of Vespas.
All that love for the Vespa may have felt like product placement Luca wouldn’t it be so sincere. Casarosa infuses the Pixar film with the sheer joy of discovering something remarkable for the first time as a child. When Luca and Alberto enter the nearby human city of Porto Rosso, Luca introduces a shiny red Vespa, much like a traditionally oriented rom-com film emphasizes the female lead when she first steps into the same room as the male lead. It’s the apple of her eye, but it’s connected to that too Luca Plot. The owner of the red Vespa, Ercole Visconti (Saverio Raimondo) turns out to be the proud winner of the Porto Rosso Cup, an annual triathlon tournament involving swimming, cycling and … food (because it is hosted by a local pasta maker).
With the realization that they earn money with the Porto Rosso Cup, with which they can buy a Vespa – initially strange because they are even alien to the term money and purchases – Luca and Alberto allied themselves with the eternal outsider Giulia Marcovaldo (Emma Berman ) who messes with Ercole, the tyrant. And while they are preparing for the triathlon, when they discover he is gone, Luca’s parents begin looking for him in the seaside town.
Loki, Luca, MasterChef Australia and more at Disney + Hotstar in June
Giulia, Luca and Alberto in Luca
Photo credit: Disney / Pixar
Luca and Alberto’s introverted-extroverted combo adds a lot to the early fun Luca. Although Luca was brought up to play by the rules and is inherently risk averse, the free-roaming Alberto craves adventure and goes headlong for it without a thought. Casaraosa has spoken about his own best friend Alberto pulling him out of his shell as a child, and Luca describes this happily and shows how two opposing personalities can befriend each other so quickly. The introduction of Giulia adds an exciting third spice to the mix, not least because she is written as someone who is always just herself – important in a society where girls are asked to be quiet, gentle, and invisible. Luca also discusses how children become jealous or possessive easily.
But in the end it will keep you going through thick and thin – as the old saying goes, a friend in need is actually a friend – and having the courage to put yourself in a vulnerable position for the common good. Luca it is essentially about how some people have to pretend to be who they are not and try to adjust to what is accepted as normal. That is, why Luca works like a coming-out movie. Casarosa may not have intended it – in fact, Luca could have gone much deeper with the allegory had it been laid out in this way – but once a film is released, it belongs to the audience, not the filmmakers. Change begins with a person Luca States, and it can destroy power structures, promote acceptance and bring everyone together. In an increasingly isolated world, that’s a great message.
Luca hits Disney + and Disney + Hotstar worldwide on Friday, June 18. In countries without Disney +, Luca will be in theaters. Available in India only in English with a Disney + Hotstar Premium subscription.
