Tolerance, and a Thirst for Knowledge: A Faith- Based Look at 'Luca.'

 Hi friends, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
We will now be concluding our annual partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church by taking a look at the fourth and final film in their Summer at the Movies series. For this one, we will be checking out Disney- Pixar's brand- new animated coming- of- age film, 'Luca.'

              (Credit for this image goes to the user Xbox One User at the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Luca?file=Luca_poster.jpg)

In this movie, which seems to take place some time in the 1950s- 1960s, the title character is a humanoid sea monster, whose life at the start of the movie seems to consist of just helping to herd his family's flock of goatfish. However, he befriends another of his kind named Alberto, and that's when everything changes. We find out that, when their species leave the water and go on dry land, they become human, and change back when they get wet. Luca and Alberto defy the wishes of Luca's family by remaining on land, somewhere in coastal Italy.
To live their own way, they head to the village of Portorosso, intent on acquiring a Vespa scooter (Which they have deeply loved ever since they first saw it) and traveling together. To make enough money to hopefully get one, they decide to enter a triathlon race(And a very interesting sort of race, involving swimming, bicycling, AND pasta- eating) with the help of a spunky local girl named Giulia. They face opposition from the self- absorbed town bully Ercole Visconti, who has won the event several years in a row and intends to keep this winning streak up even though he is clearly too old for it. All the while, Luca's parents have come to land too, and are actively looking for him. Wedges are driven between friends, minds are opened to new possibilities, and the triathlon looms and leads to a funny and action- packed climax.

While not my favorite of the movies we looked at in this series (That honor would have to go to the previous film, 'Onward'), 'Luca' was still a very enjoyable and at times moving film.

One of its major pluses is the set designs, especially for Portorosso. You can tell the animators really did their homework, it looks just like how I'd picture an Italian coastal village from around that time period. It's also nice to hear how much of the Italian language they incorporated into the film's dialogue.

The music similarly fits with Italy nicely. The animation and character designs, while not as detailed as they are in some of Pixar's other films, are still unique and imaginative. I especially liked Giulia's design, such as her curly red hair.
Now, for the character run- down:

Luca himself was a nice enough hero, pretty relatable. You can see the balance between his cautious nature, and his curiosity about the surface world. Many of Pixar's protagonists are characters out to find themselves and gain a sense of identity, and Luca fits that perfectly.

Alberto is the right balance of funny and moving, and plays off of Luca well. While Luca is shy and cautious, Alberto is bold and daring, and encourages his friend to silence his fears and inhibitions with the funny mantra of "Silenzio, Bruno!" Admittedly, it's never specified who this "Bruno" was, but it still makes for a memorable phrase to help Luca (And all of us) keep fears in check.

Giulia makes for a good supporting character. She's brave, but also rather insecure, wanting to win the Portorossa Cup mainly so it'll make everyone in town start to like her for a change. It's nice to see her let her guard down and admit when she needs help, and then to see her open up a bit more to Luca and Alberto. She also has the amusing trait of often saying "Santo" or "Santa" followed by the name of a kind of Italian cheese when frustrated or impressed (i.e. "Santa mozzarella," or "Santo pecorino").

 Her father Massimo is a fun character too. He's big and tough and seems scary at first, but you soon see the good heart he has deep down. He's a real "Gentle giant" kind of guy. Even her cat, Machiavelli, provides a lot of laughs with how suspicious he becomes towards the boys (He quickly learns they are part- fish, and of course we know how cats feel about fish).

The bully Ercole is honestly kind of a lame villain, and I'd say one of the only real weaknesses the movie has. While Pixar's baddies usually aren't very memorable compared to the ones Disney produced (Though there are exceptions to this rule, such as Syndrome from 'The Incredibles,' Charles Muntz from 'Up,' and Lotso from 'Toy Story 3'), Ercole is particularly forgettable; He's just a generic spoiled, arrogant bully who bosses everyone around and pretty much demands that they all worship and fawn over him.

Nevertheless, 'Luca' remained a charming, entertaining film that I'm glad I got to watch in preparation for this series.

Now, for the theological meat of the matter:

As those who've read the devotional I wrote for Pastor Danny to pass out would know, I think the first Scriptural message that can be taken from 'Luca' is on acceptance of those who are different. While the humans of Portorosso initially feared and hated sea monsters (Luca's race) as deadly beasts that should be hunted, and Luca's family in turn initially hated humans due to believing that they were all heartless, fish- killing barbarians, each side eventually learns that the other isn't so bad and is perfectly capable of kindness and compassion, largely through the impact that Luca, Alberto and Giulia each have on them. It brings to mind Peter's comment in Acts 10:28 that "“…God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”  We, too, shouldn't look down on those who may be of a different race, nationality, or social class than ourselves, ESPECIALLY if they are fellow Christians. We are all children of God, who saw each and every one of us as worth loving and worth dying for to redeem.

Another faith- based lesson that could be taken from 'Luca' relates to being more open to the world around you. Luca knows very little about the surface world, other than what Alberto has told him about it, and much of that isn't very accurate. Giulia helps him to learn more about the larger world and even universe around him (Giulia has an interest in stargazing that she helps him to gain as well), and gain even more wonderful curiosity about everything he sees. As he discovers, one you start learning new and interesting things, it tends to pique your interest and make you want to learn even more! The pursuit of knowledge and keeping a curiosity about the world is a Godly trait. Proverbs 18:15 says that "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." God has created a beautiful world and indeed universe around us, and He wants us to learn as much about it as we can, so we can more effectively serve Him. It's why He gave us brains in the first place! Like Luca in the film, we should always seek to gain more knowledge of the things we see and hear, and find ways to put them to good use.

There you have 'Luca,' a nice addition to the Pixar universe that helps us see why we should be more accepting of others, and maintain a curiosity and desire for knowledge about the world God made for us. Bravo!

That's it for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience, as well as for this year's partnership with St. John's UMC for their Summer at the Movies series.
However, as summer isn't quite over yet, I do have a couple more summer- themed entries in mind, keep an eye out for them to come out very soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!