Sea monster Luca, encouraged by his friend Alberto, decides to explore the nearby human town despite being warned not to. Determined to fit in with the humans, they attempt to absorb all they can only to find themselves getting in more trouble than they hoped for.
Luca is Enrico Casarosa’s feature film debut. He previously has worked on Pixar’s films Up!, Incredibles 2, and La Luna amongst others. This animated film also shares the distinction of being the first Pixar movie created with everyone working from home. Pixar was in the midst of working on the movie when the pandemic shut them down.
From a Den of Geek article written by Don Kaye, Casarosa explains that they had to work through the technology to make it work, but in the end it was doable. He gives an example:
We really had to learn how to record people from their homes. We thought that would be a problem. We thought that would be a huge loss in quality, but actually there’s enough technology that can clean it up. So that did not turn out to be a huge problem. But there were amusing things, like spending an hour with Maya Rudolph trying to figure out her iPad and not acting, but actually doing our own IT remotely.
Casarosa wrote and directed the Pixar short film, La Luna which followed a young Italian boy learning his family’s trade from his father and grandfather. He and the Pixar team bring that same warmth to Luca. Watching the trailer makes you feel you are right on the Italian Rivera with them, on one hand understanding how humans live, but also feeling like the “fish out of the water.” Can’t wait for June 18th!
From Pixar.com:
Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.
Luca will be released on Disney Plus on June 18, 2021.
See the official trailer:
Note: Robin Musetti-Denmead helped with this post.
