Luca

[Palanan]

Just here to recommend Luca, which dropped yesterday on Disney+.

It’s hilarious, whimsical, sweet and great fun, well worth a watch.

Spoiler: Form and Function

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Pixar is in fine form here, and the characters, story and music are all very well done. As you can expect, friendship and earning acceptance are the major themes, and these and other issues are handled very deftly.

I especially enjoyed the screen time given to astronomy—and accurate astronomy at that—and I loved the nod to Da Vinci’s flying machine. Italian culture and expressions are lovingly woven throughout the movie, and both pasta and gelato figure prominently in some scenes. (I had plenty of both when I was in Italy, and now I’m craving them again.)

If there was one aspect which seemed a little lesser by comparison, it’s the animation, but that’s due to the design choices rather than any technical failings. There were a couple truly beautiful moments, in particular a dream sequence involving luminescent fish, but for the most part the animation tended to be workmanlike rather than exceptional.

That said, there was certainly nothing wrong with it per se, and the movie as a whole is most definitely recommended.

Spoiler: One Oddity

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There is a reverence for the Vespa which must be an Italian thing, or possibly even a pan-European thing. Devotion to the idea of owning a Vespa is a major motivation for the main character, which smacks somewhat of commercialism, although in this case the freedom provided by the Vespa is the real draw.

And maybe that’s why there’s such reverence for the Vespa, because it makes travel easier and affordable? They’re completely nonexistent where I live, so I simply don’t have that same cultural awe for them which seems to be in the background here.

[Wraith]

I watched it with my daughter, who is 6. She enjoyed it, but its a Pixar film that doesn't feature the typical Disney songs, so I feel like it's aimed at kids a little bit older than her - ones who can relate to the themes of growing up and finding independence like the characters, that sort of age.

I thought it was pretty good - I've sat and watched far, far worse to keep my kid entertained, and I enjoyed it well enough. It's far from Pixar's best story or spectacle and is a bit generic in so far as whimsical animation goes, but I'm glad that I watched it and wouldn't complain if I had to again. I know that doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic, but it's absolutely meant as a compliment.

[JeenLeen]

I saw it over the weekend and definitely enjoyed it. As did my kids. I loved how it expressed ignorance about land-life and mannerisms, and I'm willing to forgive that the sea creatures apparently speak the same language as the land folk. (And the oddness of occasionally breaking into Italian, when presumably they are always speaking Italian... but, hey, works for movie-dialogue emphasis.)

I like the prospect of nitpicking the setting and worldbuilding--like, they seem freaked out by the prospect of people hunting fish, but they herd fish and eat sea cucumbers--but honestly it was well-done and nothing nitpick-worthy ruins the immersion of the setting.

As a parent, I dislike the message of "If your parent says not to do this dangerous thing because it might get you killed... eh, probably okay to do it", but a lot of movies have that. Just, in this one, it really was a life-threatening danger.

Spoiler: main nitpick, with the ending

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No way things will end up well for the seafolk after the events of that movie. Someone, official or unofficial, is going to be raiding that town and the nearby seas and at least dislocating that entire region's mer-society.

I did laugh when the two grumpy old ladies turned out to be sea creatures, though. That was a nice surprise at the end. Not related to the overall story, but a real funny addition.

[JadedDM]

I was waiting for this movie to show up for free on Disney+ (and by 'free,' I mean not behind a paywall in addition to the normal subscription fee), but then I learned today that it isn't. It's available normally on Disney+, and I feel like Disney really didn't put any effort into making that well known for some reason?

But anyway, I loved it. In fact, I would say I enjoyed it more than Raya and the Last Dragon (not crapping on that movie, mind, just saying of the two, I enjoyed Luca more).

[JeenLeen]

But anyway, I loved it. In fact, I would say I enjoyed it more than Raya and the Last Dragon (not crapping on that movie, mind, just saying of the two, I enjoyed Luca more).

In an odd sense, I'd say I like the story and metaplot of Raya better, but I enjoyed Luca more.
I generally like some solid worldbuilding and metaphysics in my stories, even cartoony Disney ones. Raya's wasn't great or well/fully-explained, but it was there and cool to contemplate. Luca didn't really have anything--not a criticism as it didn't need it to explain sea monster kids exploring and making friends and learning about life. But, looking back, I guess it's that I enjoy thinking about Raya more, but I enjoyed the actual watching of Luca more.

The humor in Luca also appealed to me more. Raya had too much anachronistic and immersion-breaking "using teen/pop slang" sort of humor for the setting, whereas Luca's felt more authentic and in-line with the story.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by JadedDM
It's available normally on Disney+, and I feel like Disney really didn't put any effort into making that well known for some reason?

It was an oddly muted rollout, probably because it’s sandwiched between Cruella and Black Widow, and of course Loki came out just beforehand. I’ve been constantly seeing commercials on TV for Loki, but nothing for Luca.

Originally Posted by JadedDM
But anyway, I loved it. In fact, I would say I enjoyed it more than Raya and the Last Dragon….

Very much agreed. Raya tried to be weighty and messagey, but Luca is just fun.

Originally Posted by JeenLeen
Raya had too much anachronistic and immersion-breaking "using teen/pop slang" sort of humor for the setting....

A thousand times yes. This drove me nuts, and was one of the main reasons I could never really buy the setting and the culture. It was much worse in the first act, which is when you need to establish audience buy-in for the world, and for me it stands as a major miscalculation.

The occasional slang term or pop-culture reference is inevitable in a Disney movie, and once or twice I can stand; but in Raya it was a constant barrage, and that really undercut the world-building for me.

As an aside, for me the cleverest use of a modern term in a recent Disney movie was in Elsa’s first song in Frozen 2, when she sings, "I’m sorry, secret siren, but I’m blocking out your calls.” It was a modern reference, but written cleverly enough that it fits the story and setting. Raya, sadly, did not have that subtlety.