Luca

Synopsis:

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 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.

Movie Review:

“Luca” is directed by Enrico Casarosa and it is the 24th movie in the Disney Pixar’s library. It is an entertaining movie with great animation, funny moments from its amazing cast, and a classic coming of age story with a twist that I quite enjoyed. Jacob Tremblay plays Luca a lonely sea monster that dreams of going to the surface but fears it’s too dangerous.Tremblay plays Luca with such vulnerability you care for him as soon as this character is introduced. When Luca meets another sea monster Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) who teaches/shows him the outside world, a great friendship blossoms which is the heart of the film. Most of the humor comes from the character of Alberto who is very funny, especially the scenes when he tries to hide that he and Luca are sea monsters. At one point, the story does get a little silly and boring when both Alberto and Luca try to make their own scooter, but it gets more interesting when the boys meet an Italian girl named Giulian who persuades them to help her win this race that she loses every year. The race is the focal point of the whole movie. Luca’s parents are played by the very funny Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan – they are both hysterical in every scene. The problems I found with the film is: the main villain played by Saverio Raimondo (he voices Ercole a rival to Giulia who also wants to win the bike race) tries too hard to be a bully. And the story was too predictable. This movie is definitely for kids, but parents will enjoy it as well. I am giving “Luca” a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Director: Enrico Casarosa

Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, John Ratzenberger, Maya Rudolph, Giacomo Gianniotti, Saverio Raimondo and Jim Gaffigan

Runtime: 95 minutes