#Luca review movie#

#Luca review movie#

The fictional town of Portorosso - and with it the whole Italian recreation of the movie - seems almost a bit too stereotypical sometimes. So you’ll hear “aspetta,” “silenzio,” “forchetta” and “piccoletto” and be able to understand their meanings in context. The characters speak English with sort of an Italian accent, and here and there they say some well-known words in Italian - a little bit in the same way Coco did with English and Spanish.

Other Italian pop songs are scattered throughout the movie, like “Il Gato E La Volpe” by Edoardo Bennato and “Viva La Pappa Col Pomodoro” by Rita Pavone. The film, which is set during the summer months in the late 1950s and early 1960s, transports you to Italy from the opening credits set to “Un Bacio A Mezzanotte” by Quartetto Cetra. Also, Alberto lives by the motto that “everything good is above the surface” and believes that Vespas are “the greatest things humans ever made.” Let me add here that the transformation from sea monster to human comes with some Disney-suitable modesty garments made of seaweed. Guided by Alberto, the two kids leave the seas and go to Portorosso in search of adventures and the Vespa that will make them possible - when dry, sea monsters transform into creatures indistinguishable from humans and definitely able to ride scooters. Luca is a shepherd and herds his family’s goatfish but dreams of bigger things.

The thing is - and here’s where my discontent arose - Alberto and Luca are not regular teenagers but sea monsters who live underwater in a world hidden from humans. He finds a best friend in Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer), and they spend a dreamy summer at Portorosso in the Italian Riviera. The latest animated film from Pixar, which opens on Disney+ this Friday, June 18, tells the story of the 13-year-old Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay). I was initially disappointed by the setting of Luca.