Though not quite on the same level as Pixar's best, this is one charming reverie of friendship and growing up.
here used to be this person in my film studies class – it feels rather strange referring to my university degree in past tense now, something more to add to the gnawing emptiness of being in between education – and she was the biggest Disney fan you ever saw. It bordered on blind obsession actually, maybe a symptom of some childhood trauma, who knows. She lived, breathed and talked Disney. Everything she wore was Disney, from the shoes on her feet to the headband in her hair. She based every assignment around Disney and the ones which couldn’t possibly fit Disney into them, she somehow shoe-horned it in. Needless to say, she just about passed the course and will probably never even think about film ever again. I bring up the horrible recollections of this person because she once said something which I actually agree with – maybe the only thing she’s said that I agree with, that Disney has lost its way in recent years. Even Pixar have. On the other hand, however, how can I take the opinion of Disney fan seriously who doesn’t even know what Fantasia is. But there is some truth in what she said. With a rise in their detail in animation, came a nose-dive in enjoyment and quality. Soul (2020) was good enough to restore about half of my faith in them. Then one day in a polish cinema where I could understand none of the words, I watched the trailer for Luca (2021) and thought,
“Hmmm, this is fishy. ‘Tis a bit soon for another Pixar film don’t you think?”
Based purely on the animation style, my excitement was minimal and I wondered why it looked so much like Finding Nemo (2003) meets Onward (2020). It felt like a huge stepdown in premise and quality from Soul, but then again, the benefit of the doubt was somewhat needed seeing that I didn’t really get what they were saying in those heavy polish utterances. My girlfriend and I watched it the other day on Disney+, and I’m happy to say that my initial views on the film have been overturned.
We find ourselves under da sea with the eponymous fish monster who yearns to escape from the suffocating bounds of his underwater life. By a chance encounter he becomes friends with Alberto who introduces him to the world topside, where they change into humans as long as they stay away from water, igniting his desire for freedom and as much adrenaline as his body can shoot. They both also want to own a Vespa; I mean who wouldn’t? This is one very charming and gentle film, a love letter to the bounteous opportunities that come during the most formative years of one’s life; true friendship and getting into trouble. There are two sorts of people in this world; people who are Italian, and people who want to be Italian. It’s very obvious which category I fall into, which is why the setting of the film alone melts away any reservations I have. A very welcoming and quaint quality is animated in the Italian Riviera, despite the fact that the locals are vicious fishermen who look like they’ve had one eventful past. There’s a magical Fellini-esque feel to the town itself too, some sort of inexplicable presence of his which colours Luca and Alberto’s dreams of living the sweet life. Furthermore, the eagle-eyed among you will be able to spot some film posters tacked on walls in alleyways around town, I spotted La Strada (1954) and Roman Holiday (1953).
The Vespa is an ongoing symbol within the story and all the fantasy sequences of the duo riding across the world on their shiny Vespa have an amazingly dreamy, almost psychedelic quality to them. There’s so much detail in each little movement and object as it flies across their imagination, leaving glittering trails of possibilities. Not bound just to the dream sequences, the animation in some scenes is so hyperdetailed that it teeters on the photorealistic; water washing up on the stony shore and foaming away, the grass waving in the wind and the sunlight beaming through the leaves. I suppose thematically the reason for this could be to show just how resplendent and lovely the world on the surface is, especially the soul of nature. It’s almost as if the trailer was holding out on all the good stuff.
Luca and Alberto’s friendship is of the purest sort, one which takes no gender, creed or provenance into thinking, just the twinkly-eyed curiosity and wonderment of children who have the entire world at their footsteps. The manner in which their friendship develops will most certainly jerk a tear or two out of you by the end. Along with them, all the other characters are very charming and likable, except Ercole, he’s a cunt.
I would actually really like to watch this film in Italian next time if I ever get round to rewatching it. This flu is really working on my brain and half of my thoughts are blocked behind a wall of mucus so I’ll stop here as I think I’ve covered the important bits. I would certainly recommend you watch this film if you find yourself on Disney+ with nothing else to watch, it’s not mind-blowing or out of this world, but under the surface it’s a very kind, hopeful and tranquil film about the beauty and sensibilities of childhood friendships in an age where sex and hormones don’t get in the way.
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