Occasionally, Pixar actually makes a kids\u2019 movie. Sure, the animation studio\u2019s entire library is supposedly meant for little ones, but the films so often turn \u2026<\/b>
\nOccasionally, Pixar actually makes a kids\u2019 movie. Sure, the animation studio\u2019s entire library is supposedly meant for little ones, but the films so often turn out more like Psychology 101 class, delving into an adult\u2019s hunt for purpose (\u201c Soul \u201d) or the functions of the human brain (\u201c Inside Out \u201d) with the goal of making nostalgic millennials cry. In a welcome change of pace, its latest enjoyable flick, \u201cLuca,\u201d is seeking the approval of tykes \u2014 not Carl Jung. The film, premiering Friday on Disney+, is not as action-packed, epic or thinky as many recent Pixar offerings, but it\u2019s admirably simple and has a lot of heart. The title character (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) is a sweet, green sea monster, who lives near the coast of Italy with his mom ( Maya Rudolph) and dad ( Jim Gaffigan), and is bored of life as an underwater fish herder. He\u2019s boundlessly curious about what goes on above the surface and is floored when garbage such as record players fall off a boat and plunge to the ocean floor. Luca\u2019s got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. He\u2019s got whosits and whatsits galore. You want thingamabobs? He\u2019s got 20. But who cares? No big deal. He wants moooore! Yes, Disneyphiles, \u201cLuca\u201d sounds an awful lot like \u201cThe Little Mermaid. \u201d But \u201cThe Lion King\u201d is based on \u201cHamlet\u201d and \u201cThe Little Mermaid\u201d story, itself, was originally by Hans Christian Andersen. So what? It\u2019s different enough. There aren\u2019t any ballads here; nobody makes a bargain with an evil squid; Luca is not royalty, like Ariel, but a working-class sea hustler. \u201cLuca\u201d is confidently its own thing. One day, Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), a rebellious little monster he\u2019s never met before, coaxes Luca to sneak out of the sea against his helicopter parents\u2019 wishes. And up there on land, the two boys undergo \u201cthe change\u201d \u2014 that is, they immediately and temporarily become human while they\u2019re out of the water. Adventure time! They explore the idyllic town of Portorosso, and meet an outsider girl named Giulia (Emma Berman). Together, the trio trains for Italy\u2019s version of a triathlon \u2014 swimming, biking and pasta-scarfing \u2014 to raise the cash to buy a sleek Vespa. Director Enrico Casarosa and his team have done a gorgeous job of animating a seaside Italian village with piazzas, fountains and narrow, hilly streets. It\u2019s a scary place for sea monsters, though \u2014 the town is filled with fishermen who tell tall tales of the dangerous beasts that lurk beneath the waves and locals long to harpoon \u2019em. So, Luca and Alberto do their best to pretend to be human and fit in. They learn how to use a fork and that yelling \u201c stupido! \u201d at old ladies will earn you a slap in the face. Cute as it all is, there\u2019s a dark turning point in the story that comes as a surprise \u2014 a satisfying one \u2014 which has to do with concealing your identity to assimilate into society, and asks what you sacrifice by doing so: family, friends, your own happiness? I could be reading too much into this, but perhaps another title for \u201cLuca\u201d could be \u201c Gill Me By Your Name.\u201d For the most part, though, \u201cLuca\u201d is light and effervescent as a summertime Bellini, which is something parents can drink while the kids watch this.<\/p>\n