In a fantastical world where sea creatures exist just below the ocean’s surface, we meet our protagonist and namesake Luca Paguro, a lively yet skittish fellow who dreams of exploring the environment around him, if not for the limitations of his appearance and strict surveillance of his parents that keep him grounded to his blue and green-hued aquatic village. 

It is but fate that he encounters another sea creature of his exact age that has had the opportunity to live as a human on the surface. Alberto Scorfano, his newfound friend and ally, is the one to introduce him to the world of the warm-blooded. Soon enough, their duo becomes a dynamic trio as they team up with Giulia Marcovaldo, a human girl, to compete and win the Portorosso cup, each having their own reasons for wanting to win. What is to follow is a film filled with witty dialogue, overcoming obstacles, and facing the trials that come with friendship.

“Luca” is the rich product of Enrico Casarosa’s childhood and own imagination, placing his characters in a 1950s coastal Italian village. The 95-minute film is able to capture its audience’s attention through its crisp animation and usage of vibrant colors that set up each scene to mirror the emotions it plans to elicit. 

Meanwhile, Dan Romer, the ingenious music director, has created a soundtrack that pulls watchers into this unique fictional world filled with sea creatures and imagination, oftentimes returning to the same lullaby tune that can be heard in various moments of the film, specifically to give a more whimsical feel to it all.

Released on June 18, “Luca” has proven to have become a wildly famous success, receiving a rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. A movie about friendship, staying true to one’s identity, and overcoming hardships has proven itself repeatedly with every watch it is given by viewers.

 “Luca,” although branded a film of upbeat nature and only slight melancholy, runs much deeper than the narrative of adventure and camaraderie. it preaches of a world where although full acceptance may still be a work in progress, there should never be a reason to not stay true to one’s identity or abandon it for the comfort of others, a message that resonates with many minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community,

We can also see how much “Luca” has affected its viewers between various social media platforms, specifically the more recently popular one, TikTok. Within just a few days post movie release, many videos were created and posted under the simple hashtag “#Luca,” many being fan reactions, video edits, and other special review videos of people expressing how they relate to various aspects of the film

The most notable impact being through the creation of a viral audio that combined the “Silenzio Bruno” dialogue shared between Alberto and Luca and the well-known ABBA song “Chiquitita, where many used it as background noise to express their love for the movie and its characters while also creating the trend of encouraging people to shoot for what they want in life, following directly after a very good example set by Luca himself. The hashtag has amassed views worldwide in the past three months of its release, the views sitting at an outstanding 4.5 billion at the time of writing.

It has become blatantly evident that the film’s success spans farther than its viewership and has reached audiences through its metaphors of truth, acceptance, and friendship. Through a combination of the film’s writing, animation, and musical soundtrack, “Luca” has become one of Pixar’s staple comfort films that viewers can always return to whenever they’re in the mood to relive the downfalls and triumphs of three kids who are simply trying to find happiness as they learn to live for themselves.