Yahoo Finance Luca film review: Pixar’s Italy-set sea monster flick is bellissimo (unless you’re a fish)
Fish get a raw deal in Pixar’s new fluorescent fancy, but more of that later. Set in a 1950s Italian village, Enrico Casarosa’s feature-length debut wryly charts the coming-of-age of sea-monster Luca (Jacob Tremblay). The whimsy on display owes much to the work of Hayao Miyazaki. There’s even a cat who resembles a cool cross between iconic fluff-ball Totoro, and Studio Ghibli’s real-life office pet Ushiko. Luca, basically, is great news for film nerds and wonder-starved kids.
In this universe, sea-monsters change into humans whenever they’re on dry land but revert to their scaly selves when they come into contact with water. Family-coddled Luca discovers these facts through an encounter with recklessly optimistic orphan, Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer; great as Freddy in Shazam!, just as beguiling here).
The two monsters, united by a passion for Vespas, wind up passing as humans in the village of Portorosso, where a smart, red-headed girl, Giulia (Emma Berman), encourages them to enter a triathlon-style race, much to the horror of the preening reigning champ (Saverio Raimondo).
Luca’s parents (reliable Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan), having initially sought help with their errant son from potty uncle Ugo (Sacha Baron Cohen; a hoot), now head to the village. Meanwhile, the two young monsters are faced with a dilemma – who and what will they betray in order to become make their dreams come true?
Alberto has a little keepsake that contains a photo of Marcello Mastroianni, a poster for Fellini’s La Strada adorns a wall and the villain’s surname is Visconti. As in Pixar’s superlative Coco, a non-American culture dominates the landscape. And the Italian accents sound authentic (despite the majority of the cast not being Italian). The best way to describe this ode to friendship, underdogs and letting your freak flag fly? Bellissimo!
Just one quibble. Pixar (and parent company Disney) are famous for taking the point of view of the demonised and hunted, but this movie only sort of does, because the sea-monsters are happy to exploit fish. In fact, they help the townspeople murder hundreds of them. For veggies and vegans (especially ones who’ve watched Netflix documentary Seaspiracy) Luca will be one long horror-show. You have been warned.
Luca is available to view on Disney+
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