Luca Director Enrico Casarosa – whose youth and childhood friendship with another Alberto inspired the story – has insisted that the movie is not romantic in any way. Related: Where To Spot Pixar’s Pizza Planet Truck In Luca But those involved with the project were very quick to shut that door.
When the first trailer and synopsis were released for Luca, many reacted with joy that the movie could be showing the lauded studio's first LGBTQ people in lead roles, exploring coming out for a young audience the way it has explored many other serious topics. Pixar, like Disney itself and other studios, has been shy on the representation front when it comes to queer characters, only dabbling recently in depicting such people, and mostly on the sidelines and in small parts. Pixar markets the movie as a coming-of-age tale, with the boys living the summer of a lifetime, but places the narrative at a time in the boys' life before such considerations come into play. Luca tells the story of two boys – Luca and Alberto – who have to hide their true identities to get a taste of real life among the population of the nearest town. Luca has arrived on Disney+ and, despite what Pixar says, the movie presents a strong allegory for growing up gay and finding a connection with other LGBTQ people. WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Luca.
