Republished from the show notes of my other site, Fuds on Film.
The latest Pixar film is a fairly broad adaptation of the Suzanne Vega song, it must be said. Although he does live fairly high up at some points in the film, probably a reference to the second floor. Yes, that’s probably what happened.
Off the shores of Italy, young sea monster Luca (Jacob Tremblay) lives a sheltered life herding goatfish, fearing the vicious land monsters that stalk the local town of Portorosso, although he cannot help but be curious about it. That curiosity leads him to Jack Dylan Grazer’s Alberto, a slightly older sea monster who spends much of his time on land, and who helps Luca adjust to the magical changes that occur to a young boy as he moves from sea to land, that being looking like a common or garden human boy when dry, and a sea monster when wet.
The two become fast friends, in part over a shared love of the Vespa they see in one of Alberto’s posters, but Luca’s parents find out about his expeditions on land and threaten to send Luca to the deep sea. Not fancying a diet of whale carcass, Luca and Alberto go on the lam to Portorosso, where they meet Emma Berman’s Giulia, a fellow outcast and an ally against the local bully Ercole. Another friendship forms, this time with a goal of winning the Portorosso Cup Triathlon, with the funds affording them an opportunity to buy a rather less cosmetically impressive Vespa than they might have hoped for.
Needless to say things do not go to plan, with Luca’s parents searching for him and the constant threat of, well, any water at all revealing the seamonstericity of Luca and Alberto, making them fair game for the town’s bounty hunters, and Ercole and his henchmen being a continual thorn in their side.
Now, you could reasonably accuse this film of being Pixar by numbers, and I think in a potted plot recap it certainly comes across that way. In fact it doesn’t sound all that far away from Onward, which isn’t a good sign, but I think Luca has a great deal more heart to it than we’ve seen from Pixar lately, and even if it is ploughing a fairly familiar field, this is the most fun I’ve had watching one of their films since Coco. It’s funny, has an abundance of charm and captures the feeling of childhood friendships adroitly. My heart was warmed.
I don’t think I have a great deal more to say about Luca, so for once I’ll resist the urge to dribble on to fill time and just recommend it to everyone, bar any hardcore Pixar haters.