Here it is folks, another one of my favorite movies is on the chopping block. Now you might be asking, “McKenna don’t you love really ‘edgy’ movies?”, or “McKenna how could a movie about fish boys relate to you in any way?” Well, buckle up because I’m going to give the best movie review this side of the Mississippi.  

Now I have already done a review of the short film Ciao Alberto, and it is on my blog from posts in November. So, after this if you want more Luca content review head there! 

Anyway, this movie came out the summer of 2021 and never really hit my radar of movies when it first came out.  But when I did finally watch it? I might have watched it multiple times in the span of a few days in both English and Italian. I could quote a lot of this movie in both languages. The storyline for this movie really got me hooked. Like what another Italian kid has a mom that acts like Luca’s? Insane concept to 18-year-old McKenna. Just the idea of running away from home was a theme that I think a lot of kids can resonate with, and all the underlying “I kinda came out to my parents and it didn’t go well time to run off with my best friend that is more than my best friend, but I’ll find that out later,” everyone goes through that.  

(SPOILER ZONE) This story felt so taken care of, the worldbuilding is subtle but is well thought out. The landscapes and design of Portorosso are so beautiful and really tie into the idea of a summer getaway. This story is a coming of age for Luca the main character, it’s the summer before he goes to human school, and the summer he meets many of the important people in his life. He meets two of his best friends, Alberto who he meets before going to Portorosso and who is also a sea monster, and Guilia who both Luca and Alberto meet in the town and persuades them to join the local triathlon. In this competition, Luca and Alberto strive to get a Vespa, a motor scooter, that is a symbol of freedom to both boys throughout the movie. When Alberto and Luca fight about what it means to mask as a human and Luca shows interest in going to school, the climax of the movie reaches its precipice. Alberto reveals that he’s a sea monster and Guilia acts out, scared, and Luca does as well. This breaks the otherwise good friendship Luca and Alberto had beforehand. And I do sob every time I see it. This is where we see more into Alberto as a character, he and Luca talk it out but it is left mostly open-ended. Back on the island in the middle of the race Alberto ‘sacrifices’ himself to make sure Luca has a chance in the triathlon, which Luca reveals himself to show he still cares about Alberto. Then the story has a wonderful message at the end that I sadly won’t be detailing as this post is the longest I’ve ever written… 

But please, if you haven’t watched Luca! It’s really great and Disney has it in almost every language.  

11/10 

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Because this is a written blog, you all reading this don’t get the grand opportunity to see my friends Kate and David dance to all the songs in this movie, it really is a shame. The fact that we were eating almost stale cookies from the bakery truly made the experience.  

I have never seen Mamma Mia before this, and Kate (a big ABBA fan) thought this was outrageous, so on a late Sunday night, we watched the movie with our friend David who also wished to rewatch the movie. And it was really great, the fact that the story was built by ABBA songs made the music so much more connected to the plot of the movie. The Chiquitita moment? Hilarious. The outfits? Showstopping. The beautiful island? Breathtaking.  

The plot might be a little clique, but I think that’s what makes the rest of the aspects of the movie shine. All the hints at which man is her dad, and mind you they all had small coincidences, along with her trying to find herself before her wedding were all pretty well done. The scene with Sky on the beach was so good and everything I would have wanted for the song. All the men with flippers marching down the dock and doing a little dance? That was so cute. The penguin waddle into the water made me chuckle, and I don’t chuckle. The comical choreographed dance scenes, with the large theatrical music moments, and picture-perfect landscapes. But most of all, I loved watching Kate and David belt all the lyrics and dancing with all the characters on screen. I might have missed some important moments watching them instead…  

(SPOILER ZONE FOR A CLOSE TO 15-YEAR-OLD MOVIE) Okay, so the fact that we never really found out who Sophie’s dad is kinda made me a little mad. Would it have messed with the plot if we found out? Yeah, but I’m just nosey. Also, the only one who deserves Donna is me, step back Sam you had a chance. And the only one who deserves Tanya is Kate, as she said this every single time she was on screen, every one, I counted. If you don’t like ABBA music after this masterpiece, you might have to watch it again. Gimmie Gimme Gimme has been stuck in my head all day and has been added to all of my daily playlists.

7/10 Good family movie 

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So, my friend PJ had some time to hang out this weekend and we decided to watch a Studio Ghibli movie neither of us have seen. Princess Mononoke was a movie that I’ve always wanted to watch but never had the chance, the chance was solved by PJ having HBO Max. All the while my roommate was blasting through their Chem 112 homework that was due in less than two hours. Amazing atmosphere. 

So, this movie is beautiful like I expected. Studio Ghibli just does so well at making worlds and explaining them through art instead of just telling you through exposition. And surprise! Another story that has themes of anti-war and does it perfectly. (SPOILER ZONE) So the coolest thing while watching this movie was learning that Iron town was stealing rice from other farm towns nearby because was the biggest revelation, the whole reason why the samurai attacked later in the movie. Also, Lady Eboshi taking in people that are discarded by society and giving them purpose, kinda? That’s pretty cool. Power to the women? Pretty swag. Lady Eboshi destroying the forest and killing the defender of the forest? Not cool at all. I have very mixed feelings about her (She’s pretty and that might be the only reason I’ve given her the benefit of doubt).  

This was a great story about how humans are destroying nature and cannot live in peace with nature with our evolution and adaptation to new environments with industrialization. It’s pretty on the nose about this theme, but it is still done very well. The total disregard the humans have for the animal spirits in the movie and how put off Ashitaka is really makes you think about how you treat things you don’t really understand or interact with. It made me think about the things I take for granted. My only complaint is that I really don’t know what side Ashitaka is on at the end of the movie and if he’ll help the humans only if they protect the forest? Not sure, maybe I’ll just watch the movie again. 

PJ is going to be mad at me, however, I must bring up the one thing that took me out of the atmosphere of the movie. And that is the baby bird scene. No this is not about a cute little bird but like the metaphor.  I know it was for the survival of Ashitaka but dang it went on for a while. With that tangent over, this was a good watch and is added to my list of beautiful movies. 

8/10 

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So, Kate finally did it. She persuaded me to watch Encanto, mostly by singing me the songs and forcing me to listen to Dos Ourguitas on multiple occasions. Now, Luca is one of my favorite Disney movies and when I heard about another movie coming out in 2021, I was excited. I just never got around to watching it. Do I have Luisa’s song playing on repeat writing this? Maybe. 

When coming back to school my friends were talking about the movie, I didn’t participate because I’d never seen it, but Kate was the only one that liked it enough that she’d seen it more than once. I’d seen so much good press on the movie that I was confused. It wasn’t like it was a huge movie in terms of box office sales, but one of the songs did surpass Let It Go which is not something I thought would happen in my lifetime.  I decided it was time to see this movie, and I was not let down. 

The depiction of family in this movie is… wow they got it, the themes made me reflect on the themes of family in Luca. I realized I never noticed it in Luca was because it was so similar to my own family. I also saw aspects of my own family in the one in this movie. When Mirabel finally talked to Luisa and Surface Pressure started playing, I was totally crying. The older sister vibes really popped off. Being strong in front of family is something I can relate to, and with all the other good reviews of this movie, it is something many can relate to. The plot of this movie was executed so well and had me emotional most of the second half. (SPOILER ZONE) When Abuela and Mirabel looked at the problem from each other’s point of view is when they can finally have a purposeful conversation, as before they only cared about how they felt and how it affected the family individually. Family is a group of people that love you unconditionally, but love in the face of adversity comes with understanding. Mirabel and Abuela understand that they want the same thing, to protect the family, and they work together to do just that. Learning that Mirabel’s gift is keeping the family together is such a good tie back to the themes of the Encanto in the first place.  

10/10 for Kate making me cry

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