Book Review: Rediscover Friendship in “The Art of Luca”

“With this movie I wanted to celebrate the kind of deep friendships that help us uncover who we want to be, the friendships that usher us into adulthood and that we carry with us for the rest of our lives. I also wanted to celebrate those never-ending days in the sun filled with summer sensations and the intoxicating possibilities of what comes next.” – Enrico Casarosa, Director

Friendship, adventure, pasta and gelato are just some of the exciting themes and foods we are about to experience in Disney Pixar’s latest film. We appear to be in for a real treat with Luca when it is released on June 17.

Director Enrico Casarosa and his talented Disney Pixar colleagues bring to life the story of two best friends in a seaside town in Italy who share the ultimate summer – and the ultimate secret. The Art of Luca, foreword by Enrico Casarosa, introduction by Daniela Strijleva, and published by Chronicle Books, invites us to explore the world behind the film: the artistic challenges and triumphs as well as the wealth of knowledge, experience and fun that went into the creation of this heartfelt story.

What is Luca about?

Luca and Alberto are sea monsters who live deep in the ocean near the town of Portorosso, Italy. When confident, outgoing Alberto introduces shy, timid Luca to life on land – where they trade fins for legs and look like humans – Luca learns that there is much more beyond the sea and beyond the dangers his family warned him about above water.

Luca and Alberto embark on the greatest summer adventure, discovering a shared love of exploration and invention in the small town where they come to meet Giulia. Giulia befriends the pair and the trio begin preparing for the Portorosso Cup – the ultimate triathlon of biking, swimming and pasta-eating. With their sights set on the Cup, it becomes increasingly hard for Luca and Alberto to keep their real identities secret. Ultimately, Luca must decide whether he wants to pursue life on land or return to the ocean.

Vibrant, exciting, moving

The Art of Luca may be the first book in the ‘art of’ series that I have reviewed without first seeing the film. I was excited about seeing Luca before, but after reading this gorgeous, coffee-table sized book, I simply cannot wait to lap up all the beauty on screen that I have explored here.

Broken down into three primary sections – Underwater, Island and Portorosso – The Art of Luca swims (and walks) readers through the little seaside slice of imaginary life that is set in not-so imaginary Italy. The contrast of colors between underwater (light and dark blues, greens and purples) and Portorosso (deep reds, browns, yellows and oranges) always strikes me as a vibrant visual expression of two different worlds that collide into one story. The insights in the book around making the human characters resemble their monster counterparts is also interesting, not only when it comes to physical appearance but also in their overall design, movement, and mannerisms.

As with all the images in the ‘art of’ series, they are the ultimate delight – it is almost as if you can dive into the page and end up in Portorosso. As transporting as the scenery shots alone are, they are intricately enhanced by period and culture-accurate graphic designs in the streets and piazzas, reflecting the history and people of the region. Even if you are not much of a reader, the images alone are reason enough to dive into this book.

A thrilling introduction to what we might be able to expect from the film

Although you may have already seen the film by the time you consider purchasing or otherwise checking out The Art of Luca, there are no spoilers in this book. The focus of these ‘art of’ books remains on the behind-the-scenes aspects of the story, character and film development. That said, your time spent reading and absorbing as much as you can about Luca will not be maxed out on The Art of Luca alone. It teaches you endless things about the animation feature film process but does not give too much away about the film itself. I expect that it may make you even more excited to Luca – which is precisely the effect it had on me.

What is also refreshing and energizing to see is a story based on the relationship between two young boys. With the boom of success that followed the Frozen franchise (which we know is based on the relationship between two sisters), it is now the boys’ turn. Disney Pixar has this wonderful way of building beyond classics we know and love and moving new characters into unchartered territory appealing to a modern audience. The Studio once again appears to do this with Luca and manages to do so without losing sight of tried-and-true themes, one of the most significant of those themes in this story being friendship.

“Think back on that one blue summer. We can all remember that one amazing childhood summer, marked by memories of the fearless friends with whom we experienced our passage into maturity. It was filled with splendid adventures in the summer sun and (if you were lucky enough) the sea. In painting the colorscripts, we endeavored to recapture those remote, indelible imprints on our young hearts. Joy, sadness, fear, hope—the Mediterranean summer sun offered a unique and honest warmth and vitality of color that is ultimately central to the themes we wanted to convey.” – Daniel Lopez Munoz, Color Script Artist, Luca

We look forward to reliving those remote, indelible moments for ourselves through the film, which has so beautifully been introduced and explored in The Art of Luca. This book is highly recommended to aspiring artists, animators, fans and collectors alike.

The Art of Luca is available was released on June 8, 2021 and is available for purchase from booksellers now.