Luca
Short description
Luca is a Pixar animated adventure set on the Italian Riviera, where a boy named Luca spends a summer filled with gelato, pasta and scooter rides alongside his new best friend, Alberto. Their enjoyment is shadowed by a secret they must keep from the townspeople: the two are sea monsters who take human form on land. When Luca's parents threaten to send him back to the ocean depths, he and Alberto run away to a nearby coastal town, where their adventures begin.
Enrico Casarosa directs, following his short La luna and preceding Gatto in his filmography. The screenplay is by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones, with Andrea Warren producing for Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar. Jacob Tremblay voices Luca, Jack Dylan Grazer voices Alberto, and Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Maya Rudolph and Marco Barricelli round out the main cast.
Released in June 2021, the film runs 95 minutes. Made on a budget of about 200 million dollars, it earned roughly 51 million dollars worldwide, reflecting a release shaped by circumstances beyond the film itself. On IMDb it holds 7.4/10 from 221,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8/10 from 9,132 votes. A critics' rating of 7.3/10 from 307 reviews places it close to the audience scores, indicating broadly similar reception across both groups.
What's left behind the scenes
- Explaining why he gave the film that title, Enrico Casarosa said that “such a name also sounds good in America”.
- Uncle Ugo was deliberately made as frightening as possible in the style of Disney films, so that Luca would be afraid to live with him. According to the director, this character is based on creatures from his nightmares.
- The town of Portorosso appears on advertising posters in the window of a travel agency in Pixar’s previous project, "Soul" (Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, 2020).
- The phrase “Piacere Girolamo Trombetta!” is a popular pun that, according to the director, was popular among children in the Ligurian town where he grew up. The first word, “piacere,” translates to “nice to meet you.” The remaining words sound like a name and surname, but in reality, the “name” Girolamo is somewhat similar to giro la mano (which means “I twist your arm”), while the “surname” Trombetta means “trumpet.”
- Director Enrico Casarosa drew inspiration from the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Initially, the protagonist was to be given the surname Portorosso (a reference to the anime "Porco Rosso"), but ultimately he was given a different surname, and Portorosso became the name of the town.
- The film is dedicated to the memory of the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone (1928-2020).
- Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jack Dylan Grazer recorded his vocal parts at home – in a closet, where the acoustics turned out to be the best.
- At the end of the credits, there is an inscription stating that the film was created “in the bay area while we were all in slippers.” This is a reference to the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that "Luca" was the first film created at home.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
