Luca (2021 film)

Luca
Two boys on the water (Luca Paguro and Alberto Scorfano), with half of their bodies in their aquatic forms with sea monsters hiding under a dock. Above the water, various characters with a village as a backdrop.
Release poster
Directed byEnrico Casarosa
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Enrico Casarosa
  • Jesse Andrews
  • Simon Stephenson
Produced byAndrea Warren
Starring
Cinematography
  • David Juan Bianchi
  • Kim White
Edited by
  • Catherine Apple
  • Jason Hudak
Music byDan Romer
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures[a]
Release dates
  • June 13, 2021 (2021-06-13) (Aquarium of Genoa)
  • June 18, 2021 (2021-06-18) (United States; Disney+)
  • March 22, 2024 (2024-03-22) (United States; theatrical)
  • April 5, 2024 (2024-04-05) (United Kingdom; theatrical)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$51.1 million[1][2]

Luca is a 2021 American animated coming-of-age fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Enrico Casarosa in his feature directorial debut, produced by Andrea Warren and written by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones from a story by Casarosa, Andrews, and Simon Stephenson. It stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Marco Barricelli, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan, Peter Sohn, Lorenzo Crisci, Marina Massironi, and Sandy Martin in supporting roles.

Set on the Italian Riviera in 1959, the film centers on Luca Paguro (Tremblay), a young sea monster boy with the ability to assume human form while on land, who explores the town of Portorosso with his new best friends, Alberto Scorfano (Grazer) and Giulia Marcovaldo (Berman), experiencing a life-changing summer adventure.

Luca draws inspiration from Casarosa's childhood in Genoa, Italy. Several Pixar artists were sent to the Italian Riviera gathering research from Italian culture and environment to create Portorosso, the primary setting. The sea monsters, a "metaphor for feeling different", were loosely based on old Italian regional myths and folklore.[3][4] As with the short film La Luna (2011), the design and animation were inspired by hand-drawn and stop motion works and Hayao Miyazaki's style. Casarosa described the result as a film that "pays homage to Federico Fellini and other classic Italian filmmakers, with a dash of Miyazaki in the mix too".[5] Development on Luca lasted for five years, with production being done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Romer composed the film's musical score.

Luca premiered at the Aquarium of Genoa on June 13, 2021,[6] and was released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ in the United States on June 18, 2021 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in theaters in countries without the streaming service, and given a simultaneous one-week theatrical run at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, from 18 to 24 June 2021.[7] It was theatrically released in the United States on March 22, 2024.[8]

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was the most-viewed streaming film of 2021, with over 10.6 billion minutes watched.[9][10] It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 79th Golden Globe Awards and the 94th Academy Awards. A short film, Ciao Alberto, was released on Disney+ on November 12, 2021.[11]


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  1. ^ "Luca (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Luca". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference IndieWireLuca was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Inspired: Deanna Marsigliese, The Art of the Pivot ", Inside Pixar, season 1, episode 2, Disney, 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference LucaEmpire1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Film "Luca" progetto di solidarietà: tre serate in anteprima mondiale per costruire una sala di cineterapia". IVG (in Italian). May 31, 2021. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  7. ^ "Luca Image: New Look At Main Characters In Pixar's Next Original Film". ScreenRant. January 19, 2021. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Boxoffice staff (December 5, 2023). "Disney and Pixar's SOUL, TURNING RED, and LUCA are Heading to Theaters Nationwide in 2024". Boxoffice Pro.
  9. ^ Hailey McCullough (January 24, 2022). "Disney/Pixar's Luca Was the Top Streaming Movie of 2021". CBR. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  10. ^ Richard Fink (January 22, 2022). "Pixar's Luca Is The Most Streamed Movie of 2021 According to Nielsen Charts". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  11. ^ Brandon Novara (November 7, 2021). "Luca Sequel Short Ciao Alberto Trailer Brings Us Back to the Italian Riviera". movieweb.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.