Luca (2021)

The streaming service straight to streaming model is unfortunate, as many quality movies fail to receive proper recognition or attention. Of course there are also movies which aren’t anything special but every once in a while there’s a real gem which gets buried under all the new content being released, not to mention all the content being released on all these new platforms, as well as the advertising for the standard movie theater release movies. What makes the cut to go to theaters while some are primarily of the service I dont know but I think Disney made a big mistake releasing Luca straight to the service rather than giving it a proper theatrical run.

Luca is a gem of a movie. It hits all the Disney Pixar emotional notes as you would expect it to. It’s charming, smart, and full of beautiful scenery and animation. It revolves around a seaside town which is hard not to fall in love with and is elevated with a sublime score. The characters are very relatable as we all probably had a friend like the one’s Luca makes and had a summer of mischief and adventure just like him. Luca quickly became one of my favorite Pixar movies as I was watching it. The movie was able to so effortlessly transport me back to my childhood and the sense of adventure and of making new friends that I used to have. The plot of the two boys being Mermaids becomes secondary; this is a movie about friendship, family, and adventure. The movie flows at an effortless pace, engaging the viewer, and keeping him enraptured throughout.

It’s a shame Luca wasn’t given the theater run it deserves. It has the heart and soul to compete with Pixar’s best and I think it will go down as such if people are able to give it the recognition and time it deserves.