Luca – Film Review

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, the original animated feature is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta, and endless scooter rides. Luca  (voice of Jacob Tremblay) shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: he is a sea monster from another world just below the water’s surface.

It’s genuinely extremely surprising that I haven’t seen or heard much about Enrico Casarosa’s Luca seeing as how it is a Disney and Pixar movie and those typically tend to be marketed like crazy to the point where practically every ad you see is a poster or new commercial promoting the new release. But I actually hadn’t seen too much about Luca except for one or two television commercials and so I essentially didn’t even know what it was about or what to expect from it.

This is actually a good thing because I ended up not liking the film which was kind of disappointing to be honest, considering how much I adore Disney and Pixar films. Just last year they put out Onward which, while considerably weaker than their other outings, still managed to be a highly emotional journey of two brothers trying to bring their father back for just one more day.

But their greatest achievement in years was also released in 2020 – Soul, directed by Pete Docter. It never shied away from being too serious and excellently discussed themes such as death and the afterlife and seemed to resonate with audiences all around the world, including me.

So jumping from Soul to Luca was a massive step-down. But even just watching Luca as its own thing, it’s still not a good movie. The opening fifteen to twenty minutes are actually not too bad at all and I greatly enjoyed the Italian setting. Most of these Disney/Pixar films are set in a typical place such as New York City or maybe some mystical land but Luca takes its story to Italy and even the sea, and I have to admit that the welcoming atmosphere and vibes the film gave off were wonderful.

But aside from the film looking absolutely stunning and the voice cast doing a stellar job, there’s not a whole lot I adored about Luca. Its story is nothing groundbreaking and that’s totally fine. There have been Disney/Pixar films in the past that have had fairly standard stories but the reason why they work so well is because of the writing and the characters.

These movies usually find a way to make even grown adults cry. Trust me when I say that during my opening night showing of Toy Story 4 back in 2019, I saw a couple of adults crying and wiping tears in the theatre, and the same can be said about my showing of the aforementioned Onward. I don’t see anybody getting too terribly emotional during Luca, mainly because it never strives to be too emotional.

And truth be told, there was rarely a scene where I found myself getting deeply invested either. The stakes don’t feel too high and the story doesn’t really go anywhere too exciting. It’s a literal fish out of water story that never dares to be anything too bold.

Don’t get me wrong though, there is nothing awful about this movie whatsoever. I watched it all in one sitting with absolutely no problems and I didn’t find myself fidgeting or anything because it is mildly entertaining thanks to the gorgeous animation and fun voice performances, especially from Jacob Tremblay, but it also isn’t the kind of movie that’ll reel you in and take you on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s decent enough if you want to throw it on with your kids for a family movie night but if you’re an adult, you’re probably not going to remember it a week or two later, sadly.