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Luca: Two sea monsters enjoy summer vacation in first sun-kissed teaser for Pixar's next film
Summer is still a few months away, but Pixar is here to warm up your day and put you in a vacation state of mind with the first sun-drenched trailer for Luca. It's basically The Little Mermaid and Ponyo crossed with Super Mario Sunshine, which...come on, doesn't that just sound incredible?
Directed by Enrico Casarosa (who nabbed an Oscar nod in 2011 for the animated short, "La Luna"), the studio's latest effort is a coming-of-age tale set in the Italian Rivieria. The title refers to a teenage boy, Luca Paguro, (voiced by Room's Jacob Tremblay) spending an unforgettable summer of gelato, pasta, and scooter rides with his friend, Alberto Scorfano (Shazam!'s Jack Dylan Grazer). However, the pair of carefree youngsters are harboring a secret: they're actually sea monsters from another world beneath the waves. While the kids' fins and scapes disappear when they're out of the water, their true identities come to light after they befriend a human girl, Giulia (Emma Berman).
"It's a bit like two kids going to the big city for the first time," Casarosa told Empire Magazine for the publication's March 2021 issue. The director used his own childhood in Genoa, Italy as a basis for the story, while drawing on filmmaking muses like Hayao Miyazaki and Federico Fellini.
Watch the trailer now:
“This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship. Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in Luca,” Casarosa said when the project was first announced in July 2020. “So in addition to the beauty and charm of the Italian seaside, our film will feature an unforgettable summer adventure that will fundamentally change Luca.”
The voice cast also features Maya Rudolph (SNL) as Daniela, Luca’s mother; Jim Gaffigan (Troop Zero) as Lorenzo, Luca’s father; and Marco Barricelli (The Book of Daniel) voices Massimo, Giulia’s father.
Check out the poster and two other production stills below:
Andrea Warren ("Lava," Cars 3) is producing the flick. Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Mike Jones (Soul) penned the project's screenplay.
Luca swims into theaters everywhere June 18, 2021.
