Luca (2021) – Movie Review

Silencio, Bruno

A sea monster is drawn to the surface world by his curiosity, where he, disguised as a human, learns more about the world and friendship.

Luca was a heartwarming and wholesome story about friendship and acceptance. It had some similarities to The Little Mermaid – an aquatic being longing to explore the unfamiliar surface world – but instead of focusing on romance, Luca focused on people putting aside their differences in the name of friendship, and in the end, realizing they were never so different after all. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this other than it was a Pixar movie, and as usual, they did a great job.  

Something I like about Pixar is that they tell stories that shine the spotlight on other cultures, like with Ratatouille, Coco, Brave. Luca presents a day in the life of a small Italian town on the coast, complete with colorful buildings, pasta and Vespas.

Luca’s visuals were very well done, both on the surface and underwater. I liked the idea of the sea monsters who, after getting out of the water and becoming dry, are disguised to look like people.

I thought the score could have been a little stronger. It was good, but there was just something missing to give it that iconic and emotional feeling, like in many of the other Pixar movies.

Overall, I’d rate Luca 4/5 stars. I liked it more than I thought I would and would definitely recommend checking it out. I mean, it’s Pixar. They always deliver quality heartwarming family movies, and Luca is no exception. Luca is now streamable on Disney Plus.