Director Enrico Casarosa has shot down theories that Disney and Pixar's Luca will center on a queer romance -- or any romance, for that matter.
Speaking with Polygon, Casarosa stated the film takes place in a "pre-puberty world" and that he "was really keen to talk about a friendship before girlfriends and boyfriends come in to complicate things."
Luca's initial plot description, about two boys spending an unforgettable summer together on the Italian Riviera, led many to draw comparisons to the Academy Award-winning queer romance film Call Me By Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino. It turns out the relationship between these two boys (who also happen to be sea monsters) is purely platonic and based on Casarosa's own childhood friendships.
Pixar's record for LGBTQ+ representation has consisted mostly of easily censored minor characters, but last 2020's SparkShort Out, released on Disney+, broke ground for the studio with its coming-out story. Pixar is currently casting a transgender character for an unnamed project.
LGBTQ+ representation in animated films is slowly increasing. Notably, Sony Animation's The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the first American animated family film with a queer protagonist.
Directed by Enrico Casarosa, Luca stars Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph, Marco Barricelli and Jim Gaffigan. The film arrives on Disney+ Friday, June 18.
Source: Polygon