Pixar has extended its streak of critically acclaimed animated features with “Luca.”
Also, The 24th film from Disney’s Academy Award-winning studio arrives on the company’s streaming service on Friday.
The movie centres on two young sea monsters, Luca and Alberto, who venture to a human town along the Italian Riviera for the first time. When they dry off on land, their scales disappear and they can pass for human boys. While hiding their identities; the boys meet a human girl named Giulia, who befriends them and ropes them into the town’s annual triathlon competition;— biking, swimming and pasta-eating.
“Luca” is visually stunning but has a hard time living up to the standards set by previous Pixar masterpieces such as “Inside Out,” “Wall-E” or “Finding Nemo.” While heartwarming and well-told, its story is a simple fish-out-of-water tale — literally — that lacks the punch of Pixar’s more ambitious projects.
“There are worse things a family summer movie can be than sweet, kind, and affirming; of interspecies friendship in all its forms;” wrote Dana Stevens in her review of the film for Slate. “But after the high-concept ambition of Pixar films like; ‘Inside Out,’ ‘Coco,’ ‘Soul,’ and even ‘Toy Story 4,’ ‘Luca,’ for all its pictorial loveliness and standout voice work, feels slightly underwhelming.”
Still, “Luca” dazzles when compared with other Disney alternatives, hence the 91% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 88 reviews. It may not be Pixar’s best, but it’s certainly a good film, critics say.
Director Enrico Casarosa is a 20-year Pixar veteran, having served as a story artist on “Ratatouille,” “Up” and the first two Cars movies. He directed the 2011 short “La Luna,” which was released in theatres with “Brave,” but “Luca” is his feature film directorial debut.