Luca       3 ½ stars

Luca, the animated feature from Pixar/Disney and directed by Enrico Casarosa, takes the theme of The Little Mermaid and puts it on the Italian Riviera. Thus we get some Italian flavor including a seaside village, some homemade tagliatelle, and riding bicycles over cobblestone streets. We also see a friendship formed between two young boys, the younger one being Luca and the older one is Alberto. They have a secret though. They are both sea monsters who are masquerading as humans. It seems that these creatures who live in the sea are occasionally glimpsed by humans from the village but after they leave the sea and dry off they can transform into human form and have the ability to walk and speak normally. This experience creates the desire in Luca to learn all about his new surroundings including to ride a Vespa and to make friends with a local human girl, Giulia. Unfortunately, for our sea monster friends they are under constant threat of getting wet which can make them change back to monster form and be revealed to the humans. It has some other elements similar to other Pixar movies like a local bully and a climactic event like a bicycle race so is not particularly original, but should be very enjoyable for the younger audience. Luca is not Toy Story but is worth a look.