How Pixar film ‘Luca’ weaves Italian folklore and childhood friendship together

How director Enrico Casarosa and his team of animators and artists used memories of the Italian filmmaker’s childhood in Genoa to weave an otherworldly universe in upcoming animated feature ‘Luca’

Creatures of the sea morphing into humans to dwell on land? At first glance, Pixar film Luca seems to be Italy’s answer to The Little Mermaid, but this upcoming release goes deeper — pun intended — than that. For director Enrico Casarosa, it is an amalgam of an empowering childhood friendship, Italian folklore and inspired Pixar magic. . Luca follows two boys — titular character Luca (Jacob Tremblay) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Glazer) — emerging from the sea and then turning into humans. Subsequently, they enjoy a memorable ‘human’ summer in a fictional quaint town called Portorosso on the Italian Riviera.