Thanks to *gestures vaguely at everything that happened the past year* Supreme Emperor of Animation Pixar Studios had not one but two new films ultimately pulled from their planned theatrical runs and released on Disney+. Back in January, we checked out ‘Soul.’ Now, it’s time to hitch a ride on a day dream to Italy for ‘Luca.’
Beneath the sea off of the Italian coast, we enter into the hidden world of a race of sea monsters. It is there we find Luca (Jacob Tremblay) a curious and clever young fish shepherd who, not unlike past sea-dwelling heroes of the Disney mythos, dreams of exploring life among the humans on dry land. For when a sea monster leaves the sea, they transform, indistinguishable from a human, as long as they stay dry.
Luca gets his first taste of life beyond the waves when he meets Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), a carefree loner who spends more time as a human than as a sea monster, living in an abandoned lookout tower on an island. The two quickly become inseparable friends… until Luca’s protective parents find out and plan to send him away to The Deep with his Uncle Ugo. (If this movie does have a flaw, it’s that it only gives us about a minute of screentime for Sacha Baron Cohen as the transparent, delightfully creepy Ugo.) And so Luca runs away from home, fleeing with Alberto into the human village in search of fun, freedom and Vespas.
‘Luca’ is set apart from its Pixar brethren down to its very skeleton. The animation style is something we’ve never really seen from the studio before. It’s softer, warmer and more cartoonish, but not in a way to sound diminishing of its merits. It is dream-like, fitting for the day dreams Luca frequently finds himself in, and feels like a storybook turned 3D, appropriate given the tale the art is weaving.
‘Luca’ is not some deep, ground-breaking exploration of the human condition. It isn't set in some fantastical world of souls or robots, the undersea home of the sea monsters is quickly left behind. There is no devious supervillain, just a simple bully. The story is really nothing new or groundbreaking. It’s a fairly standard coming-of-age tale with a colorful sea-monster twist. But it is in their execution that Pixar and director Enrico Cassarosa show their mastery of the art. Even the simplest of stories can be beautiful and powerful when in the right hands, and that is exactly what they do here.
The gorgeous seaside town of Portorosso comes vividly to life, along with its inhabitants - most memorably the small family that takes in our wayward heroes - the fiercely stubborn Giulia (Emma Berman), her quietly strong father (Marco Baricelli) and Machiavelli, an adorably suspicious cat. It is a vivid, evocative environment - while Pixar has mastered the art of shockingly realistic digital environments, this more traditional style may not LOOK alive, but it FEELS alive.
Compare Machiavelli to the now-famous Toy Story 4 cat. Machiavelli doesn't LOOK like a real cat, not really. He is a storybook cat, a day-dream cat. That is what the animation has achieved here - a tap into a universal imagination that doesn't ask to be believed but to be dreamed. It is the cozy village of a school-day fantasy, with the sun on your back and the salt in your nose.
Of course, growing up isn’t all fun and games. It can be terrifying. And unsurprisingly, the Pixar team captures that as well. There is no evil schemer in Portorosso, but there is an arrogant teenage bully, people who fear those that are different and the duel threats of losing friends and the world not accepting who you really are. These issues are faced head on and overcome by the power of family, both those we are born with and those that we are blessed with the chance to choose. By the end, both of Luca’s families are united and, confident at last in his identity, he is ready to take on the world, knowing that he will never be alone.
In the end, the dazzling, colorful scales of Luca and Alberto’s aquatic forms are ultimately window-dressing for their heartfelt journey. And that is what makes it so special. It shows that while we may age, the eternal hopes and fears of coming to terms with our identity will always ring true. It’s a simple story, but one everyone can relate to. Like an old family recipe or a hand-crafted Vespa, sincere love and care can fix up a tale told a million times and sing it straight to the hearts of a million more souls.
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