It's full of energy and the diligence of those researchers has paid off in its settings which are seductive -- and even more important -- believable.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 30, 2021

Luca is a sweet, gentle, sun-kissed film, with gentle rhythms and a generous spirit.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 25, 2021

This movie takes joy in the everyday things...wonderful moments.

| Jun 23, 2021

Luca, basically, is great news for film nerds and wonder-starved kids.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 22, 2021

Less ambitious than most of the studio's films, "Luca" instead projects plenty of warmth, specifically in its study of identity, bigotry and the challenges young people face when navigating their anxiety-inducing entry into adulthood.

| Jun 22, 2021

It is lesser Pixar, but lesser Pixar is still better than a lot of other animation.

| Jun 22, 2021

From any other company, "Luca" would be underwhelming and easily forgettable. Coming from Pixar, however, long the gold standard in animation, it's a disappointment, another sign the studio's stamp is not what it once was. Toss this one back in the water.

| Original Score: C | Jun 21, 2021

While Luca might lack some of the dizzying inventiveness that marks out top-tier Pixar, it's packed to the gills with charm.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 20, 2021

Luca is a winning movie on many levels and works best as a vibrant story about the pure joys of childhood adventure and imagination.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 20, 2021

The story's bright swirl of Pixar pixie dust, jangle soundtrack, and gentle lessons on accepting otherness and learning to move past fear feel like a temporary passport: a sweetly soulful all-ages dip in la dolce vita.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 19, 2021

Luca delivers a slice of one so rich and sweet, you'll practically taste the gelato on your lips for hours afterward. It's a simple pleasure, and one sure to make you smile.

| Jun 18, 2021

What Luca most conspicuously lacks is Pixar's penchant for throwing up a big tent for all ages. There's less for grown-ups in the studio's youngest-skewing effort since the Cars franchise.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 18, 2021

That darkness is tantalizing - a toe dip into subversive waters - but the filmmakers remain stubbornly incurious.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 18, 2021

Casarosa's film comes and goes like a soft summer breeze, but that doesn't stop it from being utterly charming.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 18, 2021

Lucadoesn't look or sound like any film Pixar has made before. It has a charm all its own and captures our imagination from the moment it begins. I found myself on the verge of tears in the closing moments of this wonderful, disarming film.

| Jun 18, 2021

There is pasta and gelato, fountains and cycling, a mustache-twirling villain and starry night skies. It's a tiny vacation with a healthy serving of imagination.

| Jun 18, 2021

Luca will fill a gap for less-demanding younger viewers. It's well-meaning. It's lively. It's moderately funny. But it is no Finding Nemo.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 18, 2021

A Mondo Italiano Little Mermaid that embraces its Mediterranean archetypes with a that's-ah-spicy-meat-ah-ball fervor-and it still breaks your heart.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 18, 2021

It's not in the same league as such Pixar classics as 'WALL-E' and 'Toy Story,' but there's no denying the pure enchantment of the visual, comic and subtextual dazzle in this tale of two sea monsters trying to pass for human boys in 1960's Italy.

| Jun 18, 2021

An affectionate portrait of friendship that never quite rises to the level of Pixar's best efforts.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 18, 2021