Set against the enchanting backdrop of the Cinque Terre, the first “Italian” Disney-Pixar film, Luca, is an unmissable hymn to the friendships that help us grow. The plot and the story. Set against the enchanting backdrop of the Cinque Terre, the first “Italian” Disney-Pixar film, Luca, is an unmissable hymn to the friendships that help us grow.
It is a true love letter to his Italy, and to his Liguria in particular, that director Enrico Casarosa (Oscar-nominated for the short film La Luna) has written with his feature-length debut Luca, released on 18 June for streaming on Disney+. More than a letter, it is an animated postcard full of nuances capable of evoking our country and immortalising its beauty as few others have managed to do. The credit goes to an infallible combination of talent and personal experience that allowed the director to put to good use a professionalism long nurtured at Pixar, working on an "autobiographical" story rooted in childhood memories.
But Luca is much more than a simple tribute to an idealised dolce vita of the Belpaese (which, in fact, works better than the best advertising). It is a coming-of-age story that tackles the delicate and fundamental moment of pre-adolescence in a genuine and far-from-obvious way, with flashes of creativity and a wealth of references to Italian popular culture and to cinema in general, which make it all the more enjoyable and entertaining for adult audiences while leaving a precious legacy for younger ones.
It is no surprise, then, that Luca has already won near-unanimous critical and public acclaim, establishing itself as one of the must-see films of summer 2021. So much so that BBC critic Nicholas Barber was moved to write: "If you don't live in Italy, and if you're not planning a holiday there, watching Luca is the third best thing you can do."
Thirteen-year-old Luca Paguro is a sea creature who lives with his family at the bottom of the ocean. His only duty is to herd a flock of red mullet and keep well away from the surface. But, like a certain Little Mermaid (of literary and Disney memory), he too dreams of discovering what lies beyond the sea. His mother's warnings about the monstrous intentions of the people who live on dry land fall on deaf ears, because for a curious, lively boy the desire to learn and to grow is simply too strong. And so when fate leads him to the shore and brings him face to face with the bold Alberto Scorfano, the die is cast. His new friend, who appears to be human, turns out to be a "sea monster" just like him. Luca thus discovers that he is a shapeshifter, capable of taking on human features when out of the water. Thanks to Alberto, who has lived for years in a crumbling tower on the beach, collecting keepsakes, the protagonist quite literally discovers the world. The two boys become inseparable and, dreaming of one day owning the beautiful Vespa that blazes from a small poster hanging in Alberto's tower, they decide to venture into the nearby village of Portorosso.
This is where the second part of Luca's adventure begins, as he makes the acquaintance of the extrovert and vivacious Giulia Marcovaldo, her father Massimo, a burly one-armed fisherman, the local bully Ercole Visconti, and a whole colourful cast of characters. Together with their new friend, the two undercover shape-shifters form the team of losers, competing in the annual race for the coveted Portorosso Cup: a triathlon of swimming, cycling and a pasta-eating challenge, which would allow them to win the money needed to buy the longed-for Vespa. And so, amid feasts of trenette al pesto, delicious gelato and hair-raising adventures to conceal their true identities from everyone, Luca and Alberto discover that dangers really do exist, but that to chase a dream it is always worth facing them with determination.
This film is about the friendships that change our lives. It's a love letter to the summers of our youth, those formative years when each of us discovers who we are.
Enrico Casarosa, director of Luca
Luca is "Pixar's first summer coming-of-age story," Casarosa explained. Together with producer Andrea Warren (Lava, Cars 3) and part of the Italian voice cast, he attended the world premiere of the film, held on 13 June at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, launching three charity evenings organised by Medicinema at the Acquario di Genova to raise funds for cinema therapy for children. These are symbolic places for the director, a Genoa native, who spent many summers here and along the Ligurian Riviera in the company of his closest childhood friend, Alberto Surace — who, as well as lending his name to the film's co-protagonist, was invited to voice a fisherman. A blend of reality and fantasy reworked by its creator to serve as a vehicle for universal themes. Because while not all friendships are destined to last, some remain etched in the memory and contribute greatly to each of our journeys of growth. And the film Luca tells this magnificently.
The inspiration is me and my best friend, and our friendship. We met when we were about 11 or 12. I was very shy and cautious, while he was free to get into trouble, to run around. That really opened the world up to me! Those endless summers can truly seal a friendship forever."
Enrico Casarosa, director of Luca
The bond between the two protagonists and Giulia is full of that chemistry and immediacy that only childhood can offer, yet which we should all always aspire to. While Alberto spurs Luca to come out of his shell and overcome his shyness and many reservations, Luca in turn, with his boundless curiosity and his great heart wide open to life, helps his friend to shed the armour he has been forced to wear (the reason for which we later discover) and face reality. An example of that authentic friendship that helps us grow and discover ourselves. The friendship that accepts the other's imperfections too, recognising them as precious qualities. Because, as we will discover in the film, each person's difference can become a source of richness for everyone and even a spur to personal growth (even if we must accept the fact that not everyone we meet will manage to understand us).
Luca is a magical coming-of-age story. It's centred on the idea of remembering the people who shaped us along the way.
Andrea Warren, producer of Luca
Luca is also a story about the fear of the other and of difference. On one side, the humans of Portorosso fear the "sea monsters" spotted off their shores and conjured by legend; on the other, the inhabitants of the deep keep well away from the unknown, uncertainty-filled world of dry land. A mutual mistrust born of ignorance, which the arrival of Luca and Alberto among the townspeople will irreversibly shatter.
Fundamental to this narrative balance is the friendship the two form with Giulia. Despite being the only human in the group, it is she — with her strong personality and open mind — who feels like a fish out of water among the inhabitants of the small town. This trio of characters, full of spontaneity and joy, is undoubtedly the driving force of the film, which manages to engage the viewer on multiple levels, moving from the most surface-level emotions down into deeper ones. And it does so by drawing on that magic formula with which Pixar always manages to speak to several generations at once. Whereas with Soul it had explored more metaphysical depths, connecting better with an older audience, and with Raya and the Last Dragon it had drawn on more fairy-tale and legendary atmospheres with an eye to younger viewers, with Luca the American production house embraces its entire audience. Amusing and moving for children, nostalgic and pleasant "like relaxing in the sun" (quoting Barber again) for adults.
Born and raised in Liguria, Enrico Casarosa (born 1971) is a classic example of the "brain drain" that Italy has watched emigrate in order to take flight. Having moved to New York at the age of twenty to study animation at the School of Visual Arts and Illustration, Casarosa went on to build a brilliant career in the world of animation, eventually making it to the Mecca of modern animated cinema: Pixar Animation Studios. There he became a storyboard artist on films such as Ice Age, Robots, Ratatouille, Up and Coco, and then screenwriter and director of the short film La Luna, which earned him an Oscar nomination at the
