Luca is a new Disney+ exclusive animated movie. It follows the story of a group of sea monsters who transform into humans when they go on land but turn back into sea monsters when they get wet. The story revolves around a young sea monster called Luca who escapes to the surface to get away from his parents who are going to send him to 'the deep'.

I've been looking forward to seeing this new Disney+ movie. I had seen multiple of the trailers on social media and thought that it was a clever idea and looked quite good. I was right with it being a clever idea. The movie felt new and inventive and something Disney hadn't tackled before. The story was slightly weird but it was swelling and left the audience feeling some emotions.

In animated movies, the voice actors have to work extra hard to convey emotions through their voices because the audience isn't able to see the emotion on their faces. Yes, the animators are often able to show the emotion on the animated characters' faces but it isn't the same as seeing the actor's face. The voice actors in Luca did a commendable job of communicating feelings through their voices.

Something Luca lacked was keeping its audience engaged and I think that the music was partly to blame. Although the music reflected the atmosphere of Italy, it felt a little slow and didn't reflect what was happening on screen as much when compared to other Pixar movies. The movie also didn't introduce the characters well at the beginning of the movie. This meant that initially, the audience had no one to cheer for and consequently ruined the pace of the film. As the movie progressed we did begin to learn a lot more about the characters and were eventually able to empathize with them. But reflecting on the movie now, I can think of ways where some of the characters were inconsistent with their views. This wasn't screamingly obvious but a little disappointing.

Along with elements such as the music, Luca excellently imitated the character and nature of Italy. Everything about the movie, from the characters to the architecture, felt Italian and reminded me of a time of international travel. As the credits played, my dad pointed out that most of the crew's names were Italian which was appropriate.

The target audience of Luca wasn't all that clear. The general vibe of the movie made it feel like it was a children's movie but there were actually quite a few sad and emotional moments. Because of its slightly boring nature, adults or teenagers wouldn't last the whole movie. So I think Luca might be more of a family movie, particularly aimed at families with younger teenagers.

Luca is a touching movie with a unique story and commendable voice work. Although the run time wasn't long, the movie dragged a little but reflected the atmosphere of Italy perfectly. Stream Luca now on Disney+.

Director: Enrico Casarosa

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman

Year released: 2021

My rating: 6.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 20/06/2021