Luca: An Italian Coming to Age Story

Picture yourself spending the summer in an Italian fishing village with gelato and hand while riding a Vespa down the cobbled streets. Suddenly two strangers with a secret show up in town.


Pixar's Luca follows Luca Paguro, a green sea creature, with a family who warns him about swimming up to the surface. Luca's fascination with the surface leads him to land where he instantly changes into a human. He meets another shapeshifting sea creature, Alberto, who takes Luca in and shows him the wonders on land. The two preteen boys share the same goal of getting a Vespa scooter to leave the world they know behind and travel together.


Luca and Alberto spend multiple montages trying to make their own out of discarded items, but it isn't the same. They head into town with the sole purpose to get their own Vespa. With the help of Giulia, they begin to train for a triathlon where they win a Vespa.


Sounds cute? The gag is that everyone in the town is into killing fish.


Disguising yourself in a fish-hunting town seems easy but one drop of water will reveal their true selves. Going a step further this hints at a queer allegory that is central to the story. It is played off really broad that not everyone would make that comparison. The message of the film shifts into Luca fearing things or people who are different from you.


Although this is a Pixar film it is not a Pixar film. The Italian saga drops Pixar's usual realistic animation and goes for something more childlike and playful that adds to the story. Overall it is a simple movie that doesn't try to challenge anything.