Luca

Luca
Starring Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo
Directed by Enrico Casarosa

I remember my childhood days, carelessly out gallivanting with my neighbor's children as we adventured out into the wild world of our backyard during the summer, and not having a care in the world. Those were obviously simpler times, where bills, jobs, and the ultimate negativity of the world had no effect on us, and life was just one big wild adventure. "Luca" is a film that celebrates that youthful innocence, while showcasing the importance of being yourself, having trusted friends, and appreciating your underdog nature.

Outside the port city of Portorosso, Luca (Jacob Tremblay) is a teenage sea monster who spends his days herding his family's goatfish while dreaming about what life on the surface is like, but would never venture up there due to his fearful nature brought on by his overbearing (yet loving) parents Daniela (Maya Rudolph) and Lorenzo (Jim Gaffigan). One day he meets fellow teenage sea monster Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), who's more free-spirited, fearless, and knowledgeable than Luca, and convinces the young monster to come to the surface with him, and once they dry off they immediately shed their scaly skin and become human. Luca continues to fear the world, with Alberto prodding him on to tell his inner fear "silenzio, Bruno,"  and the two become very close friends. When Luca's parents threaten to send him to the murky deeps to keep him safe, Luca and Alberto flee to the city in hopes of finding a Vespa and traveling the world.

While in town they see Ercole Vicsonti (Saverio Raimondo) riding around in a Vespa, and learn that he bought it with money he got from winning the annual Portorosso Cup Triathlon, and while it seems the other people adore him, it's because they fear him because he's an egotistical jerk who looks down on others, especially fellow competitor Giulia Marcovaldo (Emma Berman), a spry tomboy whose only dream is to defeat Ercole. The three become fast friends as they enter the race, and Luca and Alberto continue to try to hide their identities from the townspeople who are eagerly seeking out sea monsters. Meanwhile, Luca's parents come to the surface in hopes of finding their son before he gets into danger, but as Luca learns more about the surface world and spends more time with Giulia, he becomes less fearful and finds his own inner strength.

Pixar has churned out some life-affirming, memorable films since its 1995 film "Toy Story," and "Luca" is no exception - it's a perfectly polished, beautifully animated, joyful film - but it's also extremely "safe." It's a film that adults and children can easily enjoy as the kids will love the animation and the characters, while the parents will appreciate its deeply thought-out themes, but in the end it doesn't really tread on any new territory, and it won't be one that I'll remember fully like the "Toy Story" franchise, "Soul," "Up," Inside Out," WALL-E," or "Monster's, Inc." That's not to say it's a bad film - far from it - but drawing parallels to Pixar's other work, it feels very simplistic and generic.

"Luca" is a celebration of friendship, and especially those first friends you make when you're young, the ones that hopefully last a lifetime, and whose influence spurs you to reach beyond yourself. The friendship between Luca and Alberto is one such friendship, and personally crafted by director Enrico Casarosa, who created the two characters based off his own life experience. Luca embodied himself as a child, and Alberto was Enrico's real-life first friend, who's name was also Alberto. Luca (like the director) was a sheltered, fearful child who wouldn't take unnecessary risks, while Alberto (like the director's real life friend) was carefree and free-willed, more than willing to explore the world and be wild and crazy. The best friendships are often formed from differing personalities, as you learn from one another and also appreciate your differences, and you can sense this deep connection between the two characters. When Giulia enters the picture, it treads traditional territory of the third wheel mentality, with Alberto getting jealous of Luca and Giulia spending more time together and feeling ostracized because of it, leading to the two friends to butt heads in - again - very generic ways. Yet the characters have been so well developed by that time that you really feel for them and yearn for this friendship to come back together (not really a spoiler, as this is a Pixar movie after all), and want the three scrappy underdogs to defeat the seasoned, egotistical pro.

The voice actors were perfectly chosen for the film, as Jacob Tremblay can literally do no wrong (he's been a film mainstay since his breakthrough performance in "Room," and has only elevated his talent in genre-bending films like "Doctor Sleep," "Wonder," and "Good Boys") and his youthful energetic voice gives Luca a very comforting, natural feel as you can clearly associate with the character. Likewise, Jack Dylan Gazer has some deep career-defining performances already under his young belt (his best known work having starred in the Stephen King horror films "It" and "It: Chapter Two"), and gives Alberto a sense of false bravado as he claims to know everything about everything, while hiding deep insecurities that bubble to the surface. Newcomer Emma Berman rounds out the trio as Giulia, who is the most underdeveloped character out of the three, and who should've been more developed. She wants to win the Portorosso Cup Triathlon to beat Ercole, she lives with her father in the summer and goes to school and lives with her mother the rest of the year, and she's more knowledgeable about the world than the boys. It's interesting that her character is so underwhelming in the light of the events of the film, and more or less serves as unintentional fodder for Luca and Alberto's fights, and she needed more to her story than what we got.

The animation of the film is, as expected, beautiful, but yet it seems like a step backward compared to other Pixar works. It's almost too simplistic but it's still lavish, with vibrant colors everywhere, and aptly designed characters, especially Luca, who's given bigger eyes as he's constantly exploring everything for the first time with a wide-eyed wonder. Yet - as I unfairly am doing - when you compare the animation here to Pixar's finest like "Soul," "Up," and the like, it's not as polished overall.

It sounds like I'm bashing the film, but I'm really not - I guess I was just expecting more, but what I got was still a fantastic tale about the importance of being yourself, valuing your friendships and family, and never giving up on your dreams no matter what. It was told through beautiful animation and committed vocal performances, but in the end it felt almost too simplistic for a Pixar film, and one that I probably won't remember as fondly as some of their other masterwork.

Focusing on the values of friendship, family, and self-acceptance, "Luca" tells a beautiful story through thoughtful characters, lighthearted humor, and lovely aesthetics, serving as a capable addition to the fine line of Pixar work.

The Score: A-