As someone who actively finds time to watch Studio Ghibli films, specifically in theaters,it’s easy to gush over the animation in Pixar’s Luca, a freeing and simple summer bromance through the Italian Rivera. While it’s not the jaw-dropping step forward in animation that Soul was, Luca’s animation is much more stylistic and fitting to its setting. The colors are bright and vivid, with the summer sun beating down for most of the film. There’s something super open yet tight about the landscape that makes the film’s central seaside town of Portorosso incredibly varied and eye-catching. It gives off this great familial, relaxing vibe that makes you instantly want to be there. Just looking at Portorosso, it’s hard not to be reminded of European-looking Ghibli films like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Porco Rosso—which is actually where Portrosso’s name stems from.
It’s a setting that’s perfect for hosting the summertime adventures of Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Glazer), two young sea monsters who leave their watery homes just off the coast of Portorosso to live alongside humans. Although Luca fears walking among the humans at the risk of upsetting his parents or facing a swift death since the humans hunt and kill sea monsters, Alberto acts as a constant inspiration to him and the two grow a relatable and warm bond. Like brothers, Luca always backs up Alberto’s crazy schemes and Alberto protects Luca and builds his confidence by telling him to silence the negative voice in his head that he lovingly names Bruno. Honestly, watching these two do anything is a total blast and the looming threat of water getting on them–which would reveal their sea monster scales–adds some solid suspense and great animation.
The film plays with the characters having to keep their identities a secret through some fun gags that see them nearly being caught. At times, this can get a little old and feel like the film’s only trick, but it does create some funny moments and keep Luca and Alberto on their toes—or fins or whatever. These moments are also incredibly well animated, as they seamlessly transition from sea monster to human. The transitions are super impressive with how specific they can be to where water hits them. The sea monster design is friendly with some mythological elements and the human designs almost look like claymation, with Alberto giving off some Italian Wallace and Gromit vibes.
Luca and Alberto are probably one of Pixar’s greatest duos because they just have so much heart to their stories and adventures. Their dreams of traveling the world together on a Vespa are easy to attach yourself to because of how it’s such a simple pleasure, and their sense of maturity is really interesting and well-explored. Luca’s inquisitiveness about humans speaks to his desires to grow up while Alberto’s belief that he knows all shows how he believes he’s more mature than he actually is. Both Tremblay and Glazer bring their respective characters’ personalities out perfectly and it’s great how the characters’ time on the surface changes them and makes their relationship more complex.
As they spend more time on the surface, Luca grows a strong bond with a human girl named Giulia (Emma Berman) who teaches him more about her life and makes him interested in wanting to stay human. It leads to this great crossroad in Luca and Alberto’s friendship, since Alberto wants him to stay by his side and believe what he believes. Through that conflict, there’s a greater fleshing out of Alberto’s issues and the storyline really brings out the film’s coming-of-age elements. There are even themes about acceptance, hate, and the importance of really getting to know people more than just skin-deep that could easily draw comparisons to real-world issues of race, sexuality, gender, etc. In the end, Luca and Alberto’s friendship fills your heart and makes you misty-eyed in the ways that Pixar does best and it’s a coming-of-age story that leaves you mostly fulfilled.
Even for all its greatness though, Luca still doesn’t feel as great or remarkable as other Pixar originals and, to be honest, it’s kind of tough to pinpoint exactly why. Maybe part of it is that this story is so focused on Luca and Alberto and so simple that it doesn’t leave much else to linger on. There’s basically no lore developed for the island’s hatred of sea monsters or the life of the sea monsters, so the other characters just pale in comparison to Luca and Alberto. There are sprinkles of delightful Pixar humor here and there, but its comedy just doesn’t hit as strongly. With a Pixar movie, there’s always this expectation of big world-building or all of these great, memorable characters and moments, but Luca is so focused that a lot of the studio’s strongest storytelling elements aren’t here.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it is actually pretty impressive that this story is a bare as it is and still manages to deliver a strong, very focused story of friendship. However, it leaves you wishing there was more to it and the film isn’t all that rewatchable. Luca is definitely not Pixar at their best, but it still manages to be an easily enjoyable animated adventure of friendship and self-discovery that still makes it a unique story.
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