Luca

Luca, a 2021 Pixar outing tells the story about a fish out of water, literally! The titular character is a mermaid living off the coast of a small Italian town known as Portorosso, and this story here is about how his entire life changes once he decides to go further than what's expected of him. He comes from a traditional Italian mermaid family who constantly discourages him about his interest on the surface. But things absolutely upends when Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) meets Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) and they both venture into an adventure as surface people. Luca learning how to walk, curiosity about human items and the very first time witnessing his own transformation from mermaid to human are absolutely adorable!

The one aspect in writing that could have been explored more / articulated better is the protagonist's lie. Yes, we understand Luca is constantly told what he can't and can do throughout and him breaking out of it to decide what's best for him is the overall arc, but we only understand it; we don't feel it. Just a bit more expansion on this part, especially on how boring his life is by just following what he's told to do would have punctuated the impact a whole lot more. Only then him enjoying the things he enjoys at the surface would have felt genuinely life-changing. In addition to and because the protagonist’s lie isn't clear, his goal constantly wanders. It goes from wanting to go to the surface, wanting a Vespa to later wanting to go school! Due to this ever-shifting goal post, the quest feels broken into parts and… random.

By far the best conflict present in the plot is the rift between Luca and his best friend Alberto. As soon as Luca becomes close to a mutual named Giulia (voiced by Emma Berman), he starts learning new knowledge - actual knowledge that defeats whatever Alberto told him prior. This snowballs into a series of interesting conflicts, from Alberto jealous of Giulia, Luca frustrated with Alberto and the audience ourselves unsure if this friendship they share is genuine or mostly about Alberto dominating / grooming Luca! The ending to all of this is Luca calling Alberto 'sea-monster' just like the surface people, which breaks everyone's heart watching it, especially Alberto. Nevertheless, this comes to a beautiful resolution that pushes both of them to reveal their true selves during the intense final race! They can't hide anymore and they'll have to embrace the damn fact of who they are. With a finale that's truly touching, Luca ends up as a heartfelt friendship story. Alberto sending Luca off to school is a tearjerker moment! And the end credits are interesting since the makers show the post-film lives of these characters!

Water and dead fishes are always present throughout Luca and Alberto's journey as a threat. The sense of mystery and curiosity about the tales told around the fishing area in the beginning is spookily intriguing! When it comes to animation quality for a Pixar movie, you already know there's nothing much to be said about this - the quality is always on the bleeding edge! Photorealism for the sceneries and overall graphics is simply staggering! Every element of the movie including the pet cat that has been drawn as an Italian are simply hilarious!