Coming out Luca, the new Disney-Pixar film: it is set in Liguria. The trailer

A new Disney-Pixar film is set in Liguria, Italy. Titled Luca, the animated feature will be released worldwide on June 18, 2021, on the Disney+ streaming platform and not in theaters as initially planned (it will be released in theaters only in countries where the American company’s on-demand platform is not yet available). Luke is the twenty-fourth film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, the multinational company that, since 2006, has belonged to the Walt Disney Company: an adventure that began in 1995 with Toy Story, the first feature film in history entirely developed in computer graphics, and continued with highly successful titles such as A bug’s life, Monsters & Co., Finding Nemo, Cars Ratatouille, Wall-e, Up, Inside Out, Coco and many others.

Luca is moreover the first Disney-Pixar film to be directed by an Italian director, the Genoese, born in 1970, Enrico Casarosa, who therefore wanted to evoke the atmosphere of home with his film. Casarosa is making his first feature film but has a long experience: he has lived in the U.S. for 30 years and has long worked for Pixar (he was storyboard artist for Cars, Ratatouille, Up, Cars 2, The Incredibles 2, and before that for The Ice Age, and was storyboard supervisor for Arlo’s Journey). His Luca is the story of a young boy (Luca, precisely) who lives in the imaginary village of Portorosso, inspired by the villages of the Levante Ligurian region (particularly the Cinque Terre) who has adventures together with his best friend Alberto: however, the two are actually sea creatures eager to learn about the world above the sea. The idea for the film came precisely from the childhood stories of director Casarosa and his friend Alberto (thus paid homage to the film’s co-star). “My best friend Alberto was a bit of a troublemaker, while I was very shy and had a somewhat secluded life,” Casarosa tells Disney’s official website. "We couldn’t have been more different. We were also a little ’weird,’ so it felt right to use sea monsters to express the idea that we felt a little different and not cool as kids. Alberto pushed me out of my comfort zone and off many cliffs, metaphorically and otherwise. I probably wouldn’t be here if I didn’t learn how to chase my dreams from him. Those are the kinds of deep friendships I wanted to talk about in Luca, and that’s the heart of this film."

Casarosa then allowed himself to be influenced by Italian tradition and folklore, including also the legend of the village of Tellaro: in fact, it is said that in 1660 six galleys of Saracen pirates approached the village in the Gulf of Poets to plunder it, but a huge octopus came out of the sea, climbed the bell tower of the church of San Giorgio, and rang the bells alerting the villagers, thus bringing them to safety. The director, while not mentioning the name of the village, also spoke of this legend-these are the stories that inspired the film. “This film,” he said, "is a love letter to my homeland, to my roots. We Ligurians have the sea inside, always, with Luca I wanted to enhance it and show it to the world, with many details, such as Edoardo Bennato’s music, related to my childhood."

In addition to friendship, Luca also talks about a very topical issue, that of respect for others. “We’ve always liked the idea that the metaphor of the sea monster can apply to so many different things,” says producer Andrea Warren. “There’s the theme of openness, of showing up and accepting yourself, as well as the theme of acceptance.” The hope is that the sea monster, Casarosa explains, “can be a metaphor for all the ways we feel different, whenever we feel strange. It seemed like a wonderful way to talk about this issue and the fact that we need to accept ourselves first, no matter how we feel different.”

In Liguria, enthusiasm is sky-high because it is thought that the film can be a great world showcase to take the beauty of the region anywhere in the globe: the regional president, Giovanni Toti, is of this idea. The film was premiered in Genoa, first at the Palazzo Ducale and then at the Aquarium, last Saturday, and on the occasion Toti said precisely that “this film is an extraordinary showcase in which our region appears in all its beauty and at its best, with its splendid sea and its villages. It is a story that recalls and evokes all the beauty of our Liguria and an important, I would say fundamental, moment of promotion of the territory. This, too, we hope will help to forget this difficult year and a half and, above all, to start again.”

“This is an important day for us and for all of Liguria,” said Ilaria Cavo, the region’s culture councilor-"I thank Disney-Pixar and I thank the director Enrico Casarosa, a great talent who was able to return with a gift for his land. I also thank Medicinema Italia Onlus for being here. I believe that this image, that of Portorosso is the meaning of everything, the great example of how culture, in this case film culture, can be an important vehicle for promotion. In this Portorosso everyone will see a part of our region, will see the Cinque Terre, the most vivid image of our coastline. Those who have already been there will rediscover it, and those who have not will want to come to our land. In Luca there are the places, the atmosphere, the colors, and then there are the characters. And so our land is also joined by values: friendship, curiosity, exploration and solidarity. In fact, the preview of the film has a charitable purpose. A film designed for children will also benefit them through Medicinema’s projects. This is the best way to embody our values and our land. Thank you very much for matching this with Liguria."

Luca is scripted by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones and features, among the voice actors, Alberto Vannini as Luca, Luca Tesei as Alberto, and Sara Ciocca to voice Giulia, the female lead. Celebrity voice actors include Ilaria Stagno, Fabio Volo, Luca Argentero, Marina Massironi, Saverio Raimondo, Orietta Berti, Luciana Littizzetto and Fabio Fazio. Below is the trailer for the film.

Coming out Luca, the new Disney-Pixar film: it is set in Liguria. The trailer

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.