‘Luca’ movie review: A charming little Italian adventure, sans the quintessential Pixar magic

Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to Luca — Pixar’s latest offering — is that the animated film set in ‘50s Italy, leaves you with an insatiable yearning to travel instantly. To be transported to this delectable seaside town on the Riviera, (fictional though it might be) and immerse yourselves in plates of heavenly pasta, next to the glorious twin palettes of yellow sunshine and blue waters… is a befitting vision to banish pandemic memories. If only there was a Portkey or Midnight in Paris-style car around.

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Yet, watch from home we must, and the studio’s first direct-to-streaming release is such a beautiful visual tribute to Italian culture and its folklore, that you can’t help wishing for the film to have had a big-screen release.

It all begins with little Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay), a little boy who harbours dreams of exploring the world above his ocean home. That’s because he and his parents are sea monsters (as adorable as they come) to the humans who live over the surface, and both realms believe they are terribly dangerous to each other. Naturally, curiosity gets the better of him, and with the help of a new best friend Alberto Scorfano (Jack Dylan Grazer), Luca discovers to his astonishment that once he steps onto dry land, all his ‘monster’ camouflage disappears to leave him looking assuredly human.

From there on, it’s a merry charade of adorable supporting characters who populate Luca’s world, as he chases his dreams of co-existing with humans, riding a Vespa scooter, trying different types of pasta, and even going to school! Coming-of-age lessons are dispensed in naturally charming fashion, as friendships and familial bonds find closure, in trademark Pixar style.

Director Enrico Casarosa and his team of magicians do a magnificent job of bringing small-town Portorosso to life, giving it a warm, lived-in feel, and the immense amount of research that went into recreating the ethos of the era is well-justified. The underwater portions too, while fondly reminiscent of Finding Nemo, are most enjoyable, as the friendly sea monsters have been created with painstaking attention to detail; watch out particularly for a cameo from Luca’s “see-through uncle”.

‘Luca’ follows a little boy and his best friend, both who are sea monsters, turn into humans and explore a small town on the Italian Riviera