Luca is a 2021 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Enrico Casarosa and written by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones from a story developed by Casarosa, Andrews, and Simon Stephenson. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, it stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Maya Rudolph, Marco Barricelli, and Jim Gaffigan. The film is set on the Italian Riviera in the 1950s, and centers on Luca Paguro (Tremblay), a young sea monster boy with the ability to assume human form while on land, who explores the town of Portorosso with his new best friends, Alberto Scorfano (Grazer) and Giulia Marcovaldo (Berman), experiencing a life-changing summer adventure.
Luca draws inspiration from Casarosa's childhood in Genoa, Italy. Several Pixar artists were sent to the Italian Riviera gathering research from Italian culture and environment to create Portorosso, the primary setting. The sea monsters, a "metaphor for feeling different", were loosely based on old Italian regional myths and folklore."Inspired: Deanna Marsigliese, The Art of the Pivot ", Inside Pixar, season 1, episode 2, Disney, 2021. As with the short film La Luna (2011), the design and animation were inspired by hand-drawn and stop motion works and Hayao Miyazaki's style. Casarosa described the result as a film that "pays homage to Federico Fellini and other classic Italian filmmakers, with a dash of Miyazaki in the mix too". Development on Luca lasted for five years, with production being done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Romer composed the film's musical score.
Luca premiered at the Aquarium of Genoa on June 13, 2021, and was released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ in the United States on June 18, 2021. It was released in theaters in countries without the streaming service, and given a simultaneous one-week theatrical run at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, from June 18 to 24, 2021. It was theatrically released in the United States on March 22, 2024.
The film received positive reviews from critics, and was the most-viewed streaming film of 2021, with over 10.6 billion minutes watched. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 79th Golden Globe Awards and the 94th Academy Awards. A short film, Ciao Alberto, was released on Disney+ on November 12, 2021.
Plot
In the summer in the 1950s, timid sea monster child Luca Paguro herds goatfish off the coast of the Italian town of Portorosso. One day, Luca meets Alberto Scorfano, a fellow sea monster kid living alone in an abandoned lighthouse. Alberto demonstrates how sea monsters transform into humans when they are dry. Luca begins sneaking out to meet Alberto against his parents' order to stay away from the surface, fearing that he might be hunted by humans. The boys quickly become friends, wishing to own a Vespa and travel around the world.
Upon discovering Luca's actions, his parents decide to send him to live in the deep with his uncle Ugo. To avoid this, Luca runs away from home and hides in Portorosso with Alberto. The boys run afoul of Ercole Visconti, the local bully and five-time champion of the Portorosso Cup, a triathlon of swimming, pasta-eating, and biking. When Ercole tries to soak Luca in a fountain, Giulia Marcovaldo, a young little girl, stops him. In hopes of winning the money needed for a Vespa, the boys team up with Giulia for the triathlon.
Giulia invites them to stay at her house and introduces her fisherman father, Massimo, who is prejudiced against sea monsters. Meanwhile, Luca's parents infiltrate the town to find their son. Giulia and Luca bond over their love of learning, to Alberto's ire. When Luca shows interest in attending school, Alberto intentionally reveals his own sea monster form to Giulia to prevent it, frightening her. Unwilling to give himself up, Luca feigns shock at the transformation, and a betrayed Alberto flees as Ercole's gang arrives to hunt him. Shortly after, Giulia finds out that Luca is a sea monster as well, and sends him away for his safety.
Luca heads to Alberto's hiding place in an effort to reconcile with him, and learns that Alberto was abandoned by his father long ago. Though Alberto declines to participate in the triathlon, Luca promises to win the Vespa to rebuild their friendship. The triathlon begins with Luca and Giulia competing separately. Luca successfully completes the swimming race in a diving suit and the pasta-eating contest without revealing himself, but it begins to rain during the bike race. Alberto shows up to give Luca an umbrella, but Ercole knocks it away, exposing Alberto's sea monster form and shocking the spectators and Ercole. Luca rescues Alberto, revealing his own true form, and the two bike towards the finish to get to the sea.
Giulia deliberately collides with Ercole's bike to stop him from harpooning Luca and Alberto, falling off her bike in the process. Luca and Alberto unintentionally cross the finish line before turning back to help Giulia. When Ercole and the other townsfolk confront the boys, Massimo stands up for them and insists that they have won. Luca is reunited with his family and the townsfolk accept the sea monsters, except Ercole, who is thrown into a fountain by his much-abused henchmen Ciccio and Guido.
Luca and Alberto buy an old Vespa with their winnings, but Alberto sells it to get a train ticket for Luca, allowing him to go to school in Genova with Giulia. Luca's family, Massimo, and Alberto see Luca and Giulia off at the train station, where they all promise to stay in touch. Luca meets Giulia's mother and attends school with Giulia, while Massimo adopts Alberto as his son.
In a short post-credits scene, Ugo talks to a stray goatfish about his great life in the depths of the ocean.
Voice cast
Jacob Tremblay as Luca Paguro, a 13-year-old Italian "sea monster" boy who is curious about the world above the sea. He lives in the waters next to the Italian coast, in a farm where he herds goatfish with his parents. Although he has been warned his whole life that the human world is a dangerous place, he longs for something beyond his quiet farm life, so when Alberto takes him to explore Portorosso, his eyes open up to a whole world of possibilities. He and all other sea monsters take on human form when they are dry. Paguro means "hermit crab" in Italian. Jack Dylan Grazer as Alberto Scorfano, a 14-year-old Italian "sea monster" boy who is enthusiastic to explore the human world. He is a free-spirited, expressive, and gregarious boy who is "all about having fun". Despite his outgoing and free-spirited nature, he secretly hates living alone, as it is revealed that his only parent figure abandoned him in an island tower, leading him to feel lonely and insecure. Scorfano means "redfish" or "scorpionfish" in Italian. Emma Berman as Giulia Marcovaldo, a 13-year-old Italian girl who is something of an outcast in Portorosso, and befriends Luca and Alberto. She is an "outgoing and charming adventurer with a love of books and learning". To prepare for the role, Berman did some research by visiting a local Italian restaurant in San Francisco and met with an Italian waiter working there, who taught her how to speak Italian through some Zoom sessions. Saverio Raimondo as Ercole Visconti, an 18-year-old who is a cowardly bully. A repeat champion of the town's Portorosso Cup race despite many people pointing out he is too old for it, he is "a Vespa-owning, pompadoured blowhard who believes that everyone loves him and enjoys watching him eat sandwiches". He has two followers, Ciccio and Guido, who are ready to do his bidding. Voicing him, Raimondo was partly inspired by Giuseppe Anatrelli's performance as Luciano Calboni in the Fantozzi film series. Raimondo reprised his role in the Italian-language dubbing of the movie. Maya Rudolph as Daniela Paguro, a sea monster, Lorenzo's wife, and Luca's mother who is overprotective and determined to keep her son safe. Marco Barricelli as Massimo Marcovaldo, an Italian fisherman, cook and Giulia's father. He is an imposing and tattooed man born with only one arm. Despite Luca and Alberto being intimidated by his big size and skill with a knife, Massimo has a soft heart, especially for his daughter. Jim Gaffigan as Lorenzo Paguro, a sea monster, Ugo's brother, Daniela's husband, and Luca's father, a "well-meaning, but sometimes distracted dad who's very passionate about raising his prize-winning crabs"; Gaffigan based his performance on his own parenting skills. Peter Sohn and Lorenzo Crisci as Ciccio and Guido, Ercole's cronies. Marina Massironi as Mrs. Marsigliese, a lady who runs the Portorosso Cup race and its sponsor. Massironi also performed her role in the Italian-language dubbing of the movie. Sandy Martin as Grandma Paguro, a sea monster who is Luca's grandmother. Grandma knows that breaking some rules is a part of growing up and she is a little too happy to look the other way if Luca's rebellious side should emerge. Sacha Baron Cohen as Ugo, an anglerfish-like sea monster, Luca's uncle, and Lorenzo's brother who lives in the depths of the ocean and has a see-through torso.
Additionally, Giacomo Gianniotti and Gino La Monica voice Giacomo and Tommaso respectively, two local fishermen (also performing these roles in the Italian-language dubbing of the movie). Elisa Gabrielli and Mimi Maynard play Concetta and Pinuccia Aragosta, two elderly women who are later revealed to be sea monsters. Francesca Fanti voices a police officer that gets annoyed with Ercole's antics. Jonathan Nichols voices Don Eugenio, a local priest (voiced by Gino D'Acampo in the British version). Jim Pirri voices Mr. Branzino, a sea monster who is the Paguro family's neighbor. Director Enrico Casarosa voices an angry fisherman and a Scopa player.
Production Development
On July 30, 2020, Pixar announced a new film titled Luca as an "Italy-set coming-of-age story", with Enrico Casarosa directing and Andrea Warren producing. It is the feature-length directorial debut of Casarosa, who has previously directed the 2011 Academy Award-nominated short film La Luna. It is the first Pixar film to be made almost exclusively at crew members' homes because of the closing of Pixar campus in Emeryville, California, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Casarosa stated it took five years to complete the development of Luca.
Casarosa has described Luca as a "deeply personal story", being inspired by his childhood in Genoa, Italy, with the title character based on himself and Alberto on his best friend Alberto Surace (who voices a fisherman in the Italian dub version). Casarosa has stated: "my summers were spent on beaches ... I met my best friend when I was 11. I was really shy and I found this troublemaker of a kid who had a completely different life. I wanted to make a movie about those kinds of friendships that help you grow up."
He also stated that the film's core is a celebration of friendship:
According to Casarosa, the result is a film that "pays homage to Federico Fellini and other classic Italian filmmakers, with a dash of Miyazaki in the mix too". In addition of Fellini and Miyazaki's works, the films La Terra Trema (1948), Stromboli (1950) and Stand by Me (1986) were also cited as source of inspiration, and Aardman Animations and Wes Anderson's stop-motion films influenced Casarosa's artistic sensibilities.