References to "fish-out-of-water stories" are usually metaphoric but "Luca" is literally a fish out of the water.
Tween-age sea monster Luca lives with his overprotective parents on the Italian Riviera or, more accurately, underwater, off the coast of the Italian Riviera. Mom (voiced by Maya Rudolph) and Dad (Jim Gaffigan) are heavily invested in keeping their son (Jacob Tremblay) from straying too far from home. The reason becomes clear when Luca and new pal Alberto discover that when they breach the surface of the Ligurian Sea, they transform into human boys. Naturally, they sneak off to a nearby village to investigate Vespas, lasagna and other joys of being a person in Italy, with Luca's temporarily human parents in hot pursuit.
Does that sound un poco familiar? When Luca's mom tells him, "The world is a very dangerous place," there's a good chance Pixar fans will hear an echo of "Finding Nemo," where the clownfish's fretful dad warns him about the shark-infested world outside their corner of the ocean. And the whole idea of flopping back and forth between personhood and fishhood is very "The Little Mermaid," with a lightly-touched-upon theme of prejudice tossed in, since the human Luca and Alberto must avoid moisture in order to keep themselves disguised from the sea monster-hating Italian villagers.
The recycled story elements identify "Luca" as lesser Pixar, more in the vein of "Onward" or "Cars 3" than "Nemo" or "Up." But, with last month's "Spirit Untamed" as a reminder that animation standards vary significantly, the visual quality of "Luca" is top-notch. There are stunning renderings of the Italian coastline and its Windex-blue waters, and sharp details. They stand out, for instance, in a scene where Luca competes in a triathlon, where the three events are swimming, bicycle riding and wolfing down huge plates of pasta.
You won't find "Soul's" reflections on the human condition or "Inside Out's" examination of an adolescent's mental state in "Luca," which is buoyed by catchy Italian pop tunes and super-bright visuals. You can see where writers Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones could have gone deeper: If the movie cared more about Luca's mom, the gifted Rudolph is capable of the kind of depth we got from Albert Brooks' characterization of "Nemo's" father. Although the prejudice theme seems like an afterthought, it has promise, as does the little-seen character of Luca's grandmother (Sandy Martin), who has a kinship with her grandson that her family doesn't seem to know about. Maybe she'll get her own short film eventually?
Meanwhile, "Luca" keeps it light, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The latest from Pixar is as bright, refreshing and instantly forgettable as an Italian ice.
Chris Hewitt • 612-673-4367
Luca
⋆⋆⋆ out of four stars
Rating: PG for mild scares.
Where: Disney Plus.
