Luca (2021 film)

Luca is a 2021 American computer-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 and Jack Dylan Grazer, with 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, 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. As with 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". 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, and was originally set to be released theatrically in the United States on June 18, 2021. However, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released direct-to-streaming on Disney+. It was also given a simultaneous one-week theatrical run at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, from 18 to 24 June 2021.