Review: Pixar's 'Luca' delivers an Italian-flavored Disney+ delight for kids of all ages

The new lighthearted romp “Luca” doesn't drown in the usual Pixar profundity yet still navigates coming-of-age themes quite swimmingly with some appealing animated youngsters.

With kicky retro pop songs and gorgeously rendered land and sea scapes, director Enrico Casarosa captures a throwback European vibe in his simple story of two boys having the best summer ever – they just happen to also be sea monsters. The core narrative of “Luca” (★★★ out of four; rated PG; streaming on Disney+ Friday) embraces friendship and acceptance above all else, although this Italian-flavored delight is much more interested in lifting your spirits and making you smile than wringing out tears.

The movie borrows a little from “The Little Mermaid” playbook with its main mer-boy: Shy 13-year-old Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) shepherds a barn full of fish for his parents (Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan) in their underwater home off the coast of the Italian Riviera. He’s enamored with human artifacts he finds, like the occasional deep-sixed alarm clock or phonograph, though Luca’s warned by his family of the “land monsters” who live above the surface.

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One day, Luca meets Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), a rebellious new finned friend like himself who shows Luca a mind-blowing side effect of what happens when they come out of the water: He transforms into a human kid.

As Alberto introduces him to the world he’s created all on his own, the new best buds create makeshift Vespas like the high-end scooters they adore, and they venture into the nearby town of Portorosso, where its residents are always on the lookout for fearsome sea monsters. Luca and Alberto try to avoid various watery mishaps that might show their true selves, discover an endearing fellow underdog in spunky human girl Giulia (Emma Berman), and the threesome throw themselves into training for an upcoming “Italian triathlon” of swimming, cycling and eating pasta.

While much of it is straightforward kid-movie drama – for example, of course Giulia and Luca’s growing relationship rankles Alberto and there’s naturally a Big Race at the end – the joy of “Luca” is in its appealing weirdness. Giulia’s burly, one-armed fisherman father (Marco Barricelli) adds a lot of personality, as does his grumpy cat who uncannily looks like the big guy and is constantly skeptical of the two boys. Plus Luca’s mom and dad come to the town in human “disguise,” randomly throwing kids into the fountain and squirting them with water to find out which one's their son.

The cool world of the film really pops thanks to the buoyant and old-school-cartoonish main characters as well as their fantastic animated surroundings. There’s a timeless, rustic quality to the Italian town – the movie’s set in the 1950s though it also feels like it could be yesterday – that’s contrasted with the trippy underwater environment and the designs of the sea fauna. Luca and Alberto’s flipping between fishy and human modes make for some of the best scenes, and Luca’s very strange Uncle Ugo (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen) is a deep-sea dwelling delight.

Whether you see yourself in the film's protective parents or the adventurous children, the most lovable aspects of “Luca” are its young heroes, the coolest “Pixar” kids this side of Miguel in “Coco” and Russell in “Up.” When not scarfing down gelato or pasta, they tussle with local bullies, careen off cliffs in a janky scooter and have flights of fantasy through the air in Da Vinci’s wing machine. They also deal with universal struggles, especially that doubting inner voice we all have some words with now and then. The movie’s both a reminder to always believe in ourselves, and believe in that old Pixar magic.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Luca' review: New Pixar film delivers a lighthearted Italian delight