Luca Review

June 16, 2021 at 8:24pm
By Jason Stettner

Luca is a Disney+ Original animated film based around the journey of summer, and youth between young males. While perhaps not the deepest of the Pixar films, Luca is still rather heavy in terms of tone. It follows two young boys as they make their way towards the dream of having a Vespa.

It sounds odd; but both being from the sea, the idea of free exploration on the surface is enticing. It follows both Luca (Jacob Tremblay), a more sheltered youth and then the slightly older Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) that is wild and attempting to teach the ropes of land to Luca. Together they start blending into the city, which is hard since any water turns them into their normal sea monster type of look.

It’s both a film that explores the excitement of a big summer in youth, and dealing with others that are different. It even hits jealousy a bit as Luca is quite obviously very enticed by the educated and friendly Giulia (Emma Berman). This causes some of the film’s conflict, that and Luca possibly having to be sent off with his wacky deep sea uncle.

It’s certainly a slower start, at times feeling a bit boring. That being said, once things roll on they continue to hit with some deeper scenes. It’s really interesting how that’s handled, and it leaves you with a mix of sorrow for the season ending, and excitement as the next step for all seems enlightening.

Being an animated film this once again pushed the boundaries in ways only Pixar could. A beautiful selection of scenes from deep below the ocean, to the majestic Italian inspired town above it. Scenes were filled to the brim with details and lots of background action.

It was very colorful, never shying away from having the sun coating the area with a warm feeling to it. The water in particular is really well done. Whether you’re seeing how the creatures of the deep live with funny sheep creatures, or when water gets thrown into the action on the surface.

Speaking of creatures, the cat was a highlight of comedy for me throughout the viewing. A really fun addition for sure, though minimal in appearances. When it comes to the voice acting I thought it was generally fine, you get a range from the core two youth to a wacky but thoughtful close girl friend and the various parents too.

The Conclusion

Luca is a charming, easy going look at youth and friendship across a summer. It’s not particularly deep, but it has some harder hitting moments later on that provide what I would call a bold experience. The start is a bit boring, and I looked for deeper themes coming across some as it progressed.

There were the ideals of friendship, relationships and how you treat people despite them being different. It has some brief laughs to it, and the journey towards a Vespa sure had some turns despite being fairly straight forward.

Luca Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Disney

Rating Overall: 7.1