Luka is not like the latest Pixar cartoons. And this has its own charm

But in the case of "Luka" the authors decided to take a slightly different path. The plot of this cartoon is almost devoid of conflicts and ambiguity. Director Enrico Casarosa, making his debut in full-length animation, simply allows you to remember your childhood and plunge into the atmosphere of summer holidays.

Nostalgia for childhood and summer

Luca, 13, leads the typical life of a calm and obedient teenager. He helps his parents, dreams a lot and studies the world around him. But there is one detail: the hero and his family are sea monsters that live under water. Although in fact their family is completely harmless and is very afraid of fishermen.

One day, Luca meets a young energetic relative Alberto, who shows him that sea monsters can get out on land and turn into people. Newly made friends get to the fishing town of Porto Rosso and decide by all means to get their main dream - a Vespa scooter. To do this, they get to know a local girl, Julia, and are going to participate in a competition with a cash prize.

The first thing that will conquer the cartoon audience of absolutely any age is the incredibly warm atmosphere of the Italian Riviera. This is not surprising. For director Enrico Casarosa, the whole story is pure nostalgia. He spent his childhood in Genoa and was simply trying to reflect his memories on the screen.

For this, the cartoon team went to the author's homeland, traveled to many Italian cities in order to convey the atmosphere as accurately as possible. And at the same time, Kasarosa introduced the film crew to his family and even jumped into the sea from a 9-meter cliff. The director had such fun as a child. Young cartoon characters will do the same.

Sincerity and warmth can be seen literally in every important scene of Luka. Characters ride bicycles, do dangerous but funny stunts. Surely every adult viewer will have their own associations with at least one of the moments. And it is simply impossible to calmly watch the heroes eat pasta with appetite: you immediately want to order or cook something similar.

This is a story about a time when the main dream could be a motor scooter, even if it was rusty through and through, and the local bully became the main enemy. That is why the cartoon does not try to tell about any complex topics, but only reminds of the obvious truths.

Simple but important moral

Pixar often makes children and teenagers the protagonists of its cartoons. But quite often the plots catch on rather adults. The famous "Puzzle" literally analyzed the thoughts and feelings of the young heroine. And "The Secret of Coco" did tell about the child's acquaintance with death.

"Luka" does not even try to swing at such topics. It's just a story about knowing the world around you. The young hero was always told that terrible and dangerous monsters live on land. It is no wonder that the real beauty of the city and its difference from the usual habitat conquer Luka.

The heroes are not trying to reconcile the two worlds or even somehow sort out family values. Here you can even complain a little about the missed opportunities. In the plot, morality literally immediately suggests itself: the inhabitants of the land and the ocean consider each other monsters, but in fact they turn out to be similar. Very relevant to the current political situation.

But in Luka, the reconciliation of different types occurs by itself against the background of major events. Authors are much more interested in telling about the feelings of the main characters. It's a more personal story about changing authority and dealing with self-doubt. That literally everyone lived. At first, Luca believes only his parents, then Alberto becomes his idol, who seems to know everything. In fact, he is mistaken in many ways, or even outright lying. But the language will not turn to call the new friend a deceiver: so much he himself sincerely believes in his fantasies.

Then the bright Julia appears in the company, which inevitably causes friendly jealousy. But no less important is the background story of the affection of the girl's father Massimo for Alberto. This line is almost imperceptible, but it reveals the characters in a very touching way. After all, in the end, everyone should get exactly what he lacked.

For the same reason, in "Bow", as in many of the later Pixar cartoons, the villain is as secondary as possible. The arrogant caricature Ercole, who annoys the heroes, does not frighten at all. It is needed to strengthen the friendship between the characters. Although, of course, there is also an evil cat. He does not play a special role in the plot, but without him this cartoon would not be so beautiful.

With such simple themes and soothing narrative, Luca may seem less emotional than other Pixar works. For example, the ending of the film "Forward" hysterically told that the closest and most important person in life is sometimes simply not noticed. The Puzzle dealt with adolescent depression. In the new cartoon, family values are obvious from the very beginning. There is excessive custody on the part of Luke's parents, but there is no doubt about their sincerity and kindness.

"Luka" looks touching, because it makes you remember the stages that everyone went through in their lives. And to understand that in most cases conflicts are not needed, you can just be kinder to each other. And especially to those who are different from the rest and feel like a stranger.

Bright animation and elaboration of details

Pixar cartoons are renowned for their incredible visuals. Authors always prescribe the smallest details to make the picture as realistic as possible. Suffice it to recall the famous "Soul", where during the performance of the musicians on the stage, their parts fully corresponded to the soundtrack.

In this regard, if you look at the image of people in "Luka", the cartoon may seem more primitive than other works of the studio. But there are several explanations for this. Firstly, the children's plot implies a kind of grotesque. Such characters are easy to remember or even redraw. Although they still added details that turn them into living people. For example, Alberto's more tanned skin tone contrasts with Onion's paler skin, which darkens over time on his cheeks and nose.

Moreover, human characters coexist with images of sea monsters, which certainly should not look realistic. Kasarosa tried to combine in them the anatomy of the real inhabitants of the depths, images from the paintings of the Renaissance and human features. It turned out very similar to Japanese animation, which the author loves so much.

And secondly, if you look at the cartoon itself, it will be clear that the creators bet on something else. They conveyed the entourage as realistically as possible. The atmosphere of Porto Rosso truly immerses you in the life of a true coastal town in Italy. The elaboration of streets, buildings, the sea and even the sky with stunning sunsets makes you doubt whether this is a drawing at all? Therefore, in order to preserve a sense of fantasy, people also look cartoonish.

You can forget about the grotesque characters by the middle of the cartoon. Everything here works specifically for the atmosphere: the visual range, temperament and speech of the characters who regularly jump into Italian (while the text remains understandable), and even the soundtrack. It is ironic that the famous Viva La Pappa Col Pomodoro sounds in "Luka", which we know from the translation "I love pasta". But in the original, the composition is dedicated to tomato soup. A Russian version would be more appropriate.

The sum total is a very lively picture, reminiscent of the story of some enthusiastic child about the Italian Riviera.

Luca is one of Pixar's simplest and most straightforward work in recent years. The cartoon is not trying to seriously analyze conflicts between different worlds and answer philosophical questions. A vivid history only makes you remember your childhood and dream of a trip to some old European city by the sea. This is a completely summer, light movie that will give a lot of pleasant sensations, although, perhaps, it will not touch as deeply as "Forward" or "Soul". But delving into complex topics is not always necessary.