BWW Blog: Is Pixar's 'Luca' an LGBTQ+ Love Story?

Pixar's latest film, Luca, follows a journey of two young sea monsters throughout the human world. Set on the exquisite coast of Italy, Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) discovers that that he becomes human once he leaves the ocean. He soon encounters another morphed-to-human sea monster, Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) who is Luca's age.

The pair travel to the human village to escape Luca's parents, who are strictly anti-surface. The human villagers fear sea monsters and set out to kill any that they see. The two new friends meet a human girl, Giulia (voiced by Emma Berman), and team up with her for the local triathlon. The prize money won will allow Luca and Alberto to purchase a Vespa, and run away from home together.

Any contact with water exposes their sea monster characteristics, thus providing the story with its running gag as well as the major reveal at the end. During the triathlon, it begins to rain, and Alberto and Luca are discovered to be sea monsters. The townspeople come to understand that Luca and Alberto are not to be feared. The humans accept them and celebrate their win, both literally and metaphorically.

The core message of the film is expressed in a quote uttered toward the film's end by Luca's grandmother: "Some people... they'll never accept him. But some will. And he seems to know how to find the good ones." The experience of being different and not always being accepted for who you are is evident, especially in this story where Luca finds his own rare "good ones".

Many critics opine that PG rated Luca is not a story of friendship, but rather a love story, similar to the one told in the R rated Call Me By Your Name. Pixar denies this claim, yet it is widely accepted as true by many, critics and fans alike. (Side note: shout-out to this brilliant NYT headline by A.O. Scott, "Calamari by Your Name".)

Maybe this speaks to a universal truth about storytelling: effective narratives allow you to apply your own context. In that regard, anything you believe about the story is true. For some, Luca may be an LGBTQ+ love story.

For me, the film is about unconditional acceptance despite disabilities. For a friend of mine, she saw it as a story about racism. The perspective is defined by a viewer's unique experiential filters; each interpretation is therefore valid and meaningful. What the characters are to you is what they truly are.

This does not diminish the vital importance of proper and accurate cinematic portrayals of underrepresented groups. As we aspire to that, we can appreciate a different genre of films like Luca: those that leave the unstated up to our own interpretation.

Stream Luca now on Disney+.