Luca- A sea of lessons

Luca, Disney Pixar’s animation movie, made in 2021, is a heartwarming narrative about battling inner conflicts, building courage, overcoming self-doubt, and finding friendships. Set in a charming Italian context with the backdrop of a quaint village, the movie is a visual delight. The story is about Luca Paguro, a young sea monster who is always full of curiosity. However, he feels somewhat inhibited in his underwater bubble. Despite the fact that his overtly protective parents constantly instill a fear of the land or “the surface” as a horrendous place full of demons, Luca still develops an uncontrollable urge to explore unchartered territories beyond the deep sea.

He meets a fellow sea creature, Alberto Scorfano by chance, and befriends him. Free-spirited Alberto pushes Luca to overcome his fears and ascend to the lands above. The movie has depicted brilliantly Luca’s deep conflict between his itch to explore, and his conditioned fears of the unknown. In many ways, this relates to the dilemmas we face while making difficult transitions in life.

Finally, Luca breaks free to discover to his utter surprise that he transforms into human form and sheds his scales the moment he is out of water. This too beautifully portrays metaphors of metamorphosis or shedding skin to make way for newer experiences. Together, Alberto and Luca set off to taste the exciting new flavours of the human lands.

Over a series of connected incidents, Luca finds warm friendships in the new world whilst trying to stay out of trouble. He has to be on constant guard so as to not reveal his hidden sea-monster self, as he realizes that several humans see his clan as foes and would not hesitate to kill them. Somewhere, this facet of the movie speaks about the fears that we often harbour, of being judged for being different.

The story takes a poignant turn as Luca finds love and acceptance from his loved ones despite being “anomalous”. As Luca’s worldly-wise grandmother quotes: “ Some people, they’ll never accept him, But some will. And he seems to know how to find the good ones.”

We all constantly battle our inner demons and live with our fears of judgement. But if we do not take that first step across the threshold, we may never experience the joys that lie on the other side. All we need is to believe in ourselves and stay close to those who believe in us. Luca is full of layers and life lessons, and it is bound to leave you teary-eyed and filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling towards the end.

A must-watch for all age groups.

#disney #luca #moviereview