Except for the exceptional Toy Story franchise, I have never been a big fan of Disney-Pixar. Most of the offerings feature either too much story or too little. More importantly, they got in the habit of featuring as the main character a girl. And, to further click off the necessary societal boxes, the girl had to be...ahem...diverse. Black. Asian. Hispanic. Native American.
So what is so remarkable about the new "Luca" is that the core character is a boy. And Italian. How did this get past the woke police? By being so goddamn old fashioned, "Luca" quickly becomes one of my favorite Pixar films. Now was that so hard to do?
First kudos go to director Enrico Casarosa, who must be Italian and a welcome addition to the Pixar team. He styles the movie like it's being made in 1947 by Vittorio DeSica complete with the word "fin" at the end. And he takes a story that is simple and bring in layers that still maintain the simplicity.
Luca is a young sea monster somewhere in the waters around Italy where fishermen are catching things every day and night. Now the magic here is that, if Luca leaves the water, he transforms into a regular boy. This is disturbing to his parents who want him to stay sea-based. Now is that so complicated to understand?
On one of his adventures on shore, he meets up with another boy/sea monster named Alberto. Together, they start exploring the town to learn about life on shore. One of their desires is to win a bike race where the main prize is a Vespa.
The boys make friends with cute Giulia, whose dad is one of those folks who is chopping the heads off captured sea monsters. Naturally, there are some complications. If it rains or somebody spills water on the kids, the gills and green shading come out.
At the heart of the film is Luca's true desire to go to a regular school with children and boy, I bet that resonates with Zoom-schooled kids in 2021. And the characterizations and voices are so natural with some sporting Italian accents that you are grabbed by every scene. I mean, you can predict the complications and the ultimate resolution. But, this time, the trip getting to that inevitability is a smooth one.
You can find "Luca" in theaters or on the Disney stream. If you have never been a fan of Pixar like me, you just might find a similar transformation with this. That is, you will become a fan and not a fish.
LEN'S RATING: Three-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: Leftover shrimp scampi.
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