Pixar's New Film, 'Luca,' Will Be the Perfect Pandemic Escape
Published Feb. 25 2021, 10:23 p.m. ET
After watching the trailer for Pixar’s upcoming film, Luca, everyone is asking where it takes place and if it’s even a real place. Luckily for us, it is! Although unfortunately for us, many of us can’t visit with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. However, Luca will be the perfect opportunity for a little pandemic escape into a whole new world (pun intended).
Actually, if Luca had to be compared to an existing Disney film, The Little Mermaid would top the list. Luca and his best friend, Alberto, share a secret that could get them expatriated from the perfect little seaside village they find themselves in. Like Ariel, they are sea creatures, and like Elsa in Frozen, they are forced to hide their true identities. It’s an exciting story to be told against the backdrop of the Italian Riviera.
‘Luca’ takes place on the Italian Riviera.
According to Variety, the director of the new Pixar flick, Enrico Casarosa, released a statement about where Luca takes place and how that impacts the story being told. “This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship.”
Enrico continues, “Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in Luca. So in addition to the beauty and charm of the Italian seaside, our film will feature an unforgettable summer adventure that will fundamentally change Luca.”
The Italian Riviera and the wider ocean, where ‘Luca’ takes place, are reminiscent of other familiar stories and settings.
Luca is already primed to do what Pixar does best — tell a heartwarming sobfest of a story in the most beautiful way possible. One of Pixar’s first films that took animation to the next level was Finding Nemo, so it will be very exciting to see more ocean animation as Luca and Alberto dive into the water. Seeing how Pixar’s animation has developed over the years is one of the most exciting parts of watching a new Pixar movie.
And as if Pixar’s animation wasn’t already winning on its own, setting Luca on the Italian Riviera is the icing on the cake. The Italian Riviera is the northwest coastal region of Italy that goes from the French-Italian border to the Tuscan border. The town in Luca looks a lot like Cinque Terre (Italian for "five lands"), but it could be anywhere along the coast. Many people visit this region during the summer to enjoy the beautiful beaches along the Mediterranean, eat gelato, and go hiking.
One film the trailer reminded many of was Call Me by Your Name, which also takes place in northern Italy. And not unlike Call Me by Your Name, Luca centers around the relationship of two boys, though in a much more G-rated way. That may not be a coincidence though — some believe the plot of two boys hiding their true identities is an clear allegory for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Whatever the true meaning of Luca may be, we can’t wait to take a virtual vacation to the Italian Riviera.
Pixar’s Luca will be released on June 18, 2021.