Movie #7 of 2022:Luca (2021)This Disney-Pixar adventure about an underwater creature who appears hum
Movie #7 of 2022:Luca (2021)This Disney-Pixar adventure about an underwater creature who appears human when dry is probably unlikely to go down as an all-time classic, but it’s still charmingly fun. The coming-of-age storyline involves the hero first hiding and then embracing his true self alongside an older boy who shares his identity and outsider status in the face of family worries and a world prepared to hate them for it — which has strong queer undertones to me, though I understand the studio has officially denied that that was their intended reading. But even on a basic level of generic pro-tolerance and anti-bigotry, it’s a good message for kids in the main audience to take in (along with the normalized appearance of a supporting character with just one arm, whose disability is never coded as villainy). I like how the two species respectively call one another sea monsters and land monsters, too, subtly emphasizing the ways language can frame Otherness as a threat.The mid-century Italian setting adds some further distinctiveness to the affair, offering a locale that’s quaint, endearing, and hopefully only mildly offensive in its pasta-guzzling stereotypes. The low-stakes plot revolves around a bike race to show up a town bully, which is one of the reasons I wouldn’t say this is a must-see if you don’t have young children in your household yourself. But it’s a significant cut above the likes of Onward or The Good Dinosaur or the umpteenth Cars title, at least.★★★★☆Like this review?–Throw me a quick one-time donation here!https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke–Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!https://patreon.com/lesserjoke–Follow along on Goodreads here!https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler–Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!https://lesserjoke.home.blog -- source link
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