See: Monster

Pixar fans can once again look to Disney+ (or their nearby re-opened theater) for the latest film from the animation powerhouse: Luca.

Luca is the story of the young boy of the title... who also happens to be a sea monster. (Kinda-sorta: a merboy.) His fascination with the surface world leads him to discover that he can masquerade as a human when outside of the water, and together with his new friend Alberto, they have adventures in the nearby Italian village of Portorosso.

I found Luca quite good, and I think even more highly of it as I reflect on it. But part of why I had to warm to it is that nearly a third of its roughly 90 minutes come across as a knockoff of The Little Mermaid without the songs. Writer-director Enrico Casarosa says he was inspired mainly by other sources, and certainly most people don't have a problem with, say, 100 murder mysteries that all start pretty much the same way. But there just haven't been many animated stories about impulsive young mer-children who become fixated on the world of humans... so the similarities work against the movie for a bit.

Eventually, though, Luca does strike its own very distinct path. Things start to diverge when Luca picks up his best friend Alberto, and still more when both arrive at the village and pick up a third friend in misfit girl Giulia. Before you know it, the movie has introduced a lot of emotionally sophisticated material about remaking yourself to fit in, clashing with friends as you grow to want different things, and more. The metaphor of "hiding the truth about yourself" is very flexible and very relatable, and there seems to be a lot of online discussion about how an audience can map it to various situations. Many have likened it to the LGBT+ experience, and while it's pretty clear the movie itself is not interested in romance (another departure from The Little Mermaid), reading the film that way is not much of a stretch.

It's a Pixar movie, so it goes without saying (but really should always be said) that it looks amazing. Everything from setting to character design to costumes look fantastic. And the performances are great too. This one hinges on younger actors, an inherently riskier way to go, but Jacob Tremblay (as Luca), Jack Dylan Grazer (as Alberto), and Emma Berman (as Giulia) are all easy to cheer for and play well off each other. Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan are well-chosen as Luca's parents; they get a largely comedic runner throughout the movie that makes good use of their comedic talents.

I had been thinking of Luca as about a B+ as the end credits rolled. But, like I said, I find myself thinking better of it ever since. So I think I'll just officially nudge that to an A-. I suppose that could be uncharitably described as "near the bottom of upper-tier Pixar"... but I think I'd be comfortable putting it in the upper tier.