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Disney filed a trademark claim for Luca, including the logo of the potential film:


https://twitter.com/OCamundongo/status/ ... 0087645184

Among the rumours listed by O Camundongo are a movie about evolution (with LUCA meaning Last Universal Common Ancestor) and a movie about two friends and/or set in Italy (rumoured to be called Vespa)

Interesting. I don't think it'll be about our last common ancestor. The subject of evolution is still controversial in the U.S. and Disney wouldn't want to get any backlash and calls for boycott from creationists. Judging from the logo (the texture looks like brush strokes and there's a wave drawing underneath), it seems it will involve art and the ocean so a film set in Italy is plausible. Pixar was working a project set in Florence back in 2011. Maybe it got revived.

Well, Pixar did include a gay character in Forward, so who knows.

But there is obviously a difference between the "last common ancestor" and the "last universal common ancestor. Last common ancestor could be anything; the Hominoidea, primates, mammals, tetrapods, fish and so on. But last universal ancestor is about the common origin of all life on earth, which originated in water. A movie about the origin of life itself here on this planet would have to include time travelers, gods, aliens or something similar, unless they wanted to make a documentary. Which would have been a very non-traditional plot for a Disney movie.

It's official:

Just Announced: Disney & Pixar’s all-new film “Luca.” Directed by Enrico Casarosa and produced by Andrea Warren, the film will take audiences to a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera to meet a boy named Luca as he experiences an unforgettable summer with new friends. “Luca” opens in theaters Summer 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyStud ... 8038006489

It has an anime feel to it which is not surprising considering it's directed by Enrico Casarosa who's a big fan of Ghibli.

Some additional information on the film.

Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) is directing the film, which is expected to open on the big screen on June 18, 2021. “This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship. Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in ‘Luca,’” Casarosa said in a statement. “So in addition to the beauty and charm of the Italian seaside, our film will feature an unforgettable summer adventure that will fundamentally change Luca.”

Source: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/pixa ... 234720844/

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, the original animated feature is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: he is a sea monster from another world just below the water’s surface.

Source: https://deadline.com/2020/07/pixar-to-m ... 202999431/

We’ve also heard that the film is a period adventure, which is very cool (either pre- or post-World War II).

Source: https://collider.com/new-pixar-movie-lu ... ease-date/


Close-up of the characters.


Source: https://www.facebook.com/Pixar/photos/a ... 9594949078

Call Me By Your Name meets The Shape of Water.

It certainly feels different than your typical Pixar film. Aside from the anime and Italian cinema influences, I detect some Cartoon Saloon influence as well.

Epcot's Italy should have some promotion for this next year, I'd expect! I like the bright colors and I wonder how these designs will translate to CGI.

This looks fun and different for Pixar. Looking forward to seeing more!

This looks and sounds wonderful!

Also, despite not being Italian, I think this is the closest geographical setting to my own country in any contemporary WDAS or Pixar film, which makes it special.

Now that looks really great

I've been thinking not enough animated features are set in Italy!
(I mean, what else outside of Lupin III/The Castle of Cagliostro?)
If Pixar tackles it, it's even better =D

Really looking forward to this one
(and speaking as someone who grew up in the South of France, I think this concept art has good European/Mediterranean vibes)

This looks also like a good movie to be released in Summer.. Of course we won't have as expected for June 2021.

Pixar has been very secretive over the past few years (even more than WDAS for that matter), but it looks like it's only to reveal the best
Could they be meeting a new era of creativity?.. (Like a potential new golden age?..)

Clindor wrote: I've been thinking not enough animated features are set in Italy!
(I mean, what else outside of Lupin III/The Castle of Cagliostro?)
If Pixar tackles it, it's even better =D

I mean, technically Pinocchio, but it's not like Italy plays a part in the story (unlike Lilo + Stitch and Hawaii, for example).

blackcauldron85 wrote:

Clindor wrote: I've been thinking not enough animated features are set in Italy!
(I mean, what else outside of Lupin III/The Castle of Cagliostro?)
If Pixar tackles it, it's even better =D

I mean, technically Pinocchio, but it's not like Italy plays a part in the story (unlike Lilo + Stitch and Hawaii, for example).

Yeeeah ... but Pinocchio has always been kind of cheating.. (at least to me! ~personal opinion) The Disney artists took the decision to design the whole village as a Bavarian one. Every scene that happens in the streets, the houses, the village looks a lot like the action is happening more in Germany than Italy (the mountains being common to both countries.) Only the sea and the seacoast reminds me of Italy and the Mediterranean background. So as far as the cultural influence for this movie is concerned, I would agree to say this is an intented mixed bag.. but not that I dislike it! I love Pinocchio and its unique designs! (A masterpiece to me , one of my favourite Disney) It's just not truly implanted in Italy to me, but more in a fairy tale country that doesn't exist.

Will it have famus people in the voice cast ??

Will comdians and big name actors do voices ?

Will there be adults too in the movie ??

Will this have a celebrity voice cast ?

Will it have italian actors ?

Sotiris wrote:Interesting. I don't think it'll be about our last common ancestor. The subject of evolution is still controversial in the U.S. and Disney wouldn't want to get any backlash and calls for boycott from creationists. Judging from the logo (the texture looks like brush strokes and there's a wave drawing underneath), it seems it will involve art and the ocean so a film set in Italy is plausible. Pixar was working a project set in Florence back in 2011. Maybe it got revived.

I don't know about that. PIXAR made WALL E which angered conservatives because it dared acknowledge pollution/climate change. At times it felt like Cars was a bone thrown to that crowd... And now there's Soul, which is likely going to be controversial in subject matter as well.

This looks very interesting! Something about the background of the artwork with the two boys reminds me of how Arendelle castle is drawn with all the mountains/hills around. I'm glad Docter is in charge there now; I doubt this would have an anime-inspired look otherwise. Anyway, when I first read the title of this, it made me think of FFX, which features a water-focused city named Luca.

From the Pixar's Luca thread (I didn't want to derail it too much):

Clindor wrote:

blackcauldron85 wrote: I mean, technically Pinocchio, but it's not like Italy plays a part in the story (unlike Lilo + Stitch and Hawaii, for example).

Yeeeah ... but Pinocchio has always been kind of cheating.. (at least to me! ~personal opinion) The Disney artists took the decision to design the whole village as a Bavarian one. Every scene that happens in the streets, the houses, the village looks a lot like the action is happening more in Germany than Italy (the mountains being common to both countries.) Only the sea and the seacoast reminds me of Italy and the Mediterranean background. So as far as the cultural influence for this movie is concerned, I would agree to say this is an intented mixed bag.. but not that I dislike it! I love Pinocchio and its unique designs! (A masterpiece to me , one of my favourite Disney) It's just not truly implanted in Italy to me, but more in a fairy tale country that doesn't exist.

I do agree they it looks Bavarian and not Italian, but I had always figured they meant it to be Italy (remember how people claimed Pinocchio didn't look Italian enough...that was a criticism, but I don't remember people complaining about the village not looking Italian enough).

From Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic (by J.B. Kaufman, The Walt Disney Family Foundation Press, 2015):

p. 106-110, it mentions that anyone can see the film doesn't look like it's set in Italy, that it has a Germanic look. Tenggren used as a model village "Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria...the Disney writers and designers were quietly expanding the locale...to a more generalized European setting."

That Brazilian website guessed several things like the Italian setting and the director, apart from discovering the title before Pixar officially announced it. I agree that this feels a bit different from the films Pixar usually makes. It reminded me of Ponyo a little and also of Song of the Sea, which are also films set by the sea and have magical sea creatures.

Clindor wrote: I've been thinking not enough animated features are set in Italy!
(I mean, what else outside of Lupin III/The Castle of Cagliostro?)

It's true. Well, Porto Corso from Cars 2 is a fictitious place based in the Italian Riviera as well, but only a small part of the movie takes place there. There's also Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso, but I don't remember more animated movies set in Italy right now. There are many more that are set in France, for example.

blackcauldron85 wrote:

Clindor wrote: I've been thinking not enough animated features are set in Italy!
(I mean, what else outside of Lupin III/The Castle of Cagliostro?)
If Pixar tackles it, it's even better =D

I mean, technically Pinocchio, but it's not like Italy plays a part in the story (unlike Lilo + Stitch and Hawaii, for example).

Gustaf Tengren drew the concept art for Pinocchio with inspiration from Germany and Switzerland.

^ I hadn't wanted to hijack this thread, so I actually looked in my Pinocchio book and posted the actual village inspiration in the Pinocc thread.

Amy, I've moved your post from the Pinocchio thread to here for clarity's sake. Sometimes it's better to make an off-topic comment if it's to preserve the coherence of a discussion than replying to someone in completely different, albeit relevant, thread. It's less confusing that way.