The Reel Rejects - PIXAR'S LUCA (2021) MOVIE REVIEW - THAT ENDING GOT US GOOD! -FIRST TIME WATCHING
Episode Date: March 30, 2026IT WAS ABOUT IDENTITY & ACCEPTANCE ALL ALONG!! Pixar's Luca Full Movie Reaction Watch Along: / thereelrejects Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 With the... success of Pixar's HOPPERS + Toy Story 5 on the horizon, Greg & Andrew head off to the Italian Riviera as they give their LUCA reaction, recap, analysis, commentary, breakdown, & spoiler review! Greg Alba & Andrew Gordon react to and review Luca (2021), the heartwarming Pixar animated coming-of-age film directed by Enrico Casarosa (La Luna). Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, the film blends whimsical fantasy with a deeply personal story about friendship, identity, and growing up. Follow Andrew Gordon on Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieSource Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agor711/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Agor711 Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad: Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Let's make sense of this industry together.
Let's get our Vespa on.
Chow people, which is also a Disney animated short film.
Andrew, you're making this intro so weird.
Let's do it.
All right, gang, we just watched Luca.
Pixar's Luca.
buddy my luka right here my luka brah my alberta my alberta hey if you want the full reaction watch along where you get a sinker with your own copy we of course watch this off the d plus that's available for our royal rejects our patrons go support over there thank you guys so much ozar this is a copyright claim video so please go support the channel by joining our patreon page cover a few things over there exclusively as well sure excuse me I just have to
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There is.
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Andrew.
Greg.
Greg.
Andrew.
Greg.
Andrew.
Listen, my friend.
My friend.
Yes.
My friend.
How are you feeling?
That movie really touched.
I mean, it's a Pixar film.
so I had a feeling it was going to be touched
as I usually am with Pixar films,
but...
Dive deeper. Why are you touched?
I mean,
I think that film really
grasped onto what friendship is all about,
and I just really like the characters a lot.
I think we got a lot of depth
to who those two were,
all three of them, actually,
when it came to Alberta,
when it came to Luca and Julia.
When it comes to Luca,
I just, I love that,
that shy innocence that he has and just how he really has an imagination to step out of his
I mean he's he's very secluded into into the ocean but he wants to step out into into the
surface world but he's afraid to and I like that Alberto really helps him through their
bond and friendship through their their shared experiences helps him step out of his comfort zone
and they really form an incredible bond
throughout the film
and it just progressive so organically and so beautifully
and I really
I didn't see that ending coming too
I mean I knew he was going to come
you know when it came to the umbrella and all that stuff
at the race but just selling the VESPA
and watching him sail off there at the end
that really touched me a lot
and but I also when it comes to Alberta's character
I love the chaotic energy that he brings
how impulsive he is and confident.
I think he really offsets Luca very much so.
And Julie, I think she balances the two of them.
She's very grounded and gives a very driven perspective.
But yeah, I really enjoyed the trio of those three characters.
And also, too, when it comes to one of the meanings of the film, too,
just about acceptance, just about accepting who you are.
And even if you're afraid that the world might,
project, if you're afraid of who the world might perceive that who you might think you are,
still take that leap of faith.
And I appreciated that.
I think the film executed well on that.
But what did you think?
I was surprised by how simple it was.
Yeah.
It's a really simplistic film.
It's kind of surprising by how, and I believe that is sort of the point.
That vibe of childhood freedom.
you know, when you're a child on vacation,
it kind of has that like childhood freedom vacation vibe, right?
When you're a child on vacation with your friends,
you don't really go far.
You don't really go places.
You know, like you're kind of in the same spot.
And it really, really evoked that heartfelt connection.
And it took me some acclamation, honestly,
because in the first, like, act of it,
I was going, it's kind of just a hangout movie, isn't it?
And as it progressed, I was, I had my, you know, movie mind on going, okay, but like, what's at stake here?
You know, outside of some like obvious things that you can place stakes on, no, they might get discovered, you know, the danger of that.
But it's not really about that.
Like there's the thing that there's, because at one point you said the word tension and stakes.
And I was like, I don't really feel tension and I don't really feel stakes.
And I was going, is that kind of a problem with the movie?
And maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
and I think there's a way that they could have maybe enhanced some of that
by still doing pretty much the same movie
and enhanced some of those things a little bit earlier
like driven home the sea monster thing
and then perhaps the inner conflict of what Luca really does want
like it's all there don't get me wrong it is all there
and I suppose it's more about pushing a little bit of that extra
so that way it's really felt
however I don't really feel like that was the point of the movie
I feel the point of the movie was about
about that simple escapism, you know,
and perhaps a little too simple to a fault,
yet there is a delightfulness to it.
Like in some ways, this was kind of an independent movie to me
of where you could have made this with humans and makeup
at certain times.
However, the part of the charm is the animation.
I thought the animation was very beautiful.
Delightful.
The music really had a warmth to it.
This movie's more about,
this movie's more about that comfort feeling more than anything else.
But I'll say that finale was quite exciting.
It was the best part.
Yeah, the finale, the last like 20 to 30 minutes of this,
right from the point when it becomes a little bit more intense,
that's when stakes, that feels like start,
start actually coming in,
real tension and stakes after Alberto exposes himself.
Luca rejects him.
And from that moment on,
it was a different kind of engagement.
you know, before it was like, oh, yeah, this is a really pleasant experience.
And I'm laid back with it.
And then in that point forward, it was an exciting experience.
So, yeah, overall, I really enjoyed it.
I did.
I thought it was an enjoyable film.
I wouldn't, I imagine some people, like, with any movie, like, considerate one of Pixar's best.
I personally want to put it there.
It was, I personally prefer to escapeism type of film that,
maybe and I was thinking about I'm perhaps just not in the mindset today that fully appreciates this kind of experience and so I found myself kind of more intellectually appreciating it more than emotionally connecting with it and I do believe it is the day that I did have that perhaps is that did have a hindrance to it because the more I'm talking and reflecting on it the more I'm actually emotionally feeling for it and I'm like oh I wish I had more of these emotions actually.
during it.
And then I'm like,
oh, but I feel like that kind of affected
just like prior circumstance.
That's what happens when you watch movies or shows
or listen to me.
I mean, music has a more transportive experience.
Movies or shows that often happens, right?
Or listening to a podcast is wherever you're at,
whatever you're feeling it right before might affect it a little bit.
The mood you're in often reflects how you're feeling for sure.
And how it to receive it.
So, yeah, upon an intellectual level,
I really appreciate the atmosphere and the points that it's making.
and the simplicity of it.
And yeah, just, yeah, like the family.
Yeah, I do agree with everything you're saying.
We could have maybe felt the stakes a little bit more,
but I think that they were,
and that wasn't probably the point of it,
but because they're making it such a point to at the beginning
of how evil sea monsters are
and that they're throwing actual literal harpoons at them
and all that, I just felt like if they ever were to be discovered,
and then they got me cleavers cutting off fish's heads.
That's why I'm like,
I don't want them to be discovered
because I was also getting emotionally invested
that that's why I did feel a little bit of the stakes
in those spots.
So that's why it wasn't so much of a sour
thing for me, but I totally
get where you're coming from though.
Yeah, yeah. That's just me
needing a little bit more than
extra dopamine.
So that's why I kept saying extra on it
because like I said, it was there.
It was more about the connective
tissue to that. And yeah,
so. But you really feel
it though in the finale, especially when they're racing, and then they are discovered there at the end.
And then they cut that, I forgot the, the, the, the, the, the, uh, the, the, uh, Italian Biff, uh, they're, uh,
yeah, literally trying to kill them. So. Yeah. So when it came to all that, the like the why behind, like,
getting the VESPA and everything, you know, again, that's like a childhood dream, you know,
like, the whole point is to accept sort of the pleasant simplicity of it. And I don't, I'm, I want to, I want to, I want to make it
clear i mean that i'm in a negative connotation and uh so it's just my my brain at the time was definitely
going oh i i want more of a stronger why to the goal right now but what it happened at the
it was one of those finalities that i thought really does enhance the entire experience though you know
what i mean where perhaps i was kind of like a six out of six to seven out of ten during
and then i've got more to like an eight to a nine in the last twenty
to 30 minutes that does elevate
a lot more of where some of
the pitfalls for me during the experience
of actually coming from, you know?
So yeah, overall, though, I see
why people really like this movie and I wouldn't
fault you for liking it. It's a good time.
And really
the friendship moments are truly heartfelt.
Absolutely. That finale
when he does, I actually didn't see him giving up the best
but I was like, damn, that's really beautiful. I did not see
that at all. And I also like the
how they slow burned a little bit too
with when we learned about
about Alberto and his father.
And then also with Julia and her father
in the development that they were building up
with Alberto and him.
And he was because she's gone so long
and he's got a little bit of abandonment.
And Alberto, his father,
left him, he's got abandonment.
So I thought that was really,
I thought they tied that up with a bow really nicely.
And that's where I said,
I felt a lot in that too.
All right.
Some questions for our patrons?
Let's do it.
Right from Nicky Sonrisa.
You go first.
I will go first.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for being a Royal Reject.
We appreciate you in the question.
Greg Andrew, I'm so excited for you to see this beautiful Pixar film.
There are so many parallels in this one to The Little Mermaid.
I did make quite a few references.
What are your thoughts on this?
Any other parallels you see to other media?
To other media?
Do you mean like other properties?
That's what I was assuming.
I mean.
The Little Mermaid was the most obvious one.
It was kind of, it was happening so early on.
And then there were points
so I was like,
well,
I can't just keep repeating
the little mermaid,
you know,
but it's kind of like,
especially in the first act
of the movie,
it was that,
that what Ariel like wants,
Luca gets in the first act.
Pretty quickly,
right,
right.
And it gets to have that human experience
in disguise.
So,
yeah,
I can't sit here and tell you
that I saw other media parallels
outside of like,
there,
when I talk about simplicity,
it's because it is evoking
kind of,
of like classical films a little bit more.
Like it's weird because it's like I've heard I'm seeing another question here that's
coming up about queer allegories and I was questioning that early on.
I'm like, is this a queer story?
It was kind of it was coming across a little bit that to me and then they had a lot of
backdrops of classic movie posters that sometimes took place in Europe and Italy of romantic
films.
So and those films have a very simplistic type of just nice feeling.
touch to them so i thought this movie was going for more of that very traditional vibe like very very
traditional vibe while having the the european flavor to it so that's about the best i would conjure up there
i mean yeah just echoing what you said i i mean i i referenced a little mermaid quite a few
times and that was pretty obvious uh i was also thinking because i know wonder woman had some
uh was very uh reminiscent also when it comes to a little mermaid
as well.
But also, too, like that fish out of water type of story.
So I would say, yeah.
So, I know, pun.
But yeah, I would say, Little Mermaid, Wonder Woman.
I'm trying to think of anything else that, like, really jumps to mind when it comes to parallels to this type of story.
I'm just trying to think like a friendship type of story.
But I think of something, I'll say it out.
But, I mean, Little Mermaid is this the most obvious one that jumps to mind.
So I would say, yeah.
but all righty
Tori Jerry
there's been a lot to talk online
about the story being an allegory for queerness
examples
hiding the truth because of
danger
the coming out scene where Luca threw
Alberto under the buses save himself
happens a lot in queer spaces
does it?
I didn't know that
and especially the line
some people will never accept him but some people will
and he knows how to find the good ones
yeah i i think there was okay a lot of queer people saw this movie and really identified with it while
lots of other people complained about making everything get yeah of course they fucking did
did did you notice any these allegories to queerness or other things people feel ashamed about and
how do you think this movie handles the message i'm sorry go ahead no please where were you
no no i was just going to say i wasn't thinking about that in the moment but that is a very good point
when he i just thought he was like he was so locked into the goal of you know discovering this new
world being on the surface area in the surface world getting that vespah winning the race i wasn't even
thinking in terms of that it was a very simplistic story in my mind and then you know as you're saying
i'm like yeah that that is a little bit deeper than i was thinking about but that makes a lot of sense
and i and i and i could see that too now and you know i'm i'm i'm a very empathetic human being i
would never like uh you know say that to someone if if i found out if a friend of mine was
it was queer and I have quite a few friends who are queer and that's never ever come to my mind,
you know, to ever be afraid or ashamed of who you are. But yeah, I can totally see that now.
But now that's a really good point. But were you thinking about that? And that scene in that moment?
I just thought Luca and Alberto were gay. No, no, I remember when you were. But I didn't actually see the allegory.
No, I didn't see that alibi, but I was thinking like, I wasn't, I know you were making that point.
And no, no, I'm not disagree with you or something.
No, no, no, no.
I didn't think you were disagreeing.
I could, I thought you were, like, when you were saying that, I was like, okay, I'm not saying
that I can't see that, but I, my mind why I was seeing, like, abandonment with his dad because
he kept on talking about his dad and, like, that's where my mind was going.
So I wasn't opposed to if that that's where the story was going, but I just kept on seeing
abandonment with the way he was talking about his dad.
So that's where I was going.
But when it came to that scene, I was like, I think Tori made a really good.
good point. I wasn't thinking about that in the moment.
Yeah, well, I mean,
as you're pointing it out, it actually does seem
very obvious.
It seemed to have that thing of being
in othered, I think is the term that people
use now. And
you know, it's like, oh, is it race?
No, it's not race because race you can't
just like fucking hide wherever you go.
However,
with this one, yeah, when you're gay, you can try to hide
your sexual orientation.
And then if you're outed or discovered,
and ridicule and people have terrible things that happened to people for coming out,
especially back then other parts of the world that it still happened to this day.
So some awful, awful things.
And now that you're pointing out, I'm real, I cannot now not see it like that.
He actually seems like it was all there this all time.
And could be coincidence, could not be.
I was getting gay vibes between the two main characters very early on.
And that's not pointed out in this paragraph.
So as you're asking this question, how do I think it handles a message?
I mean, in hindsight, it took someone like you to educate Andrew and I in this moment.
And I feel kind of silly for not picking up on it earlier.
So all I can say is I appreciate you.
Thank you, Torre.
All right.
Alan Smithy, thank you for being a real reject asking this question.
We appreciate you.
Hey, guys, so is Luca just an animated version of Call Me by your name?
And is it called Luca because Luca Guadaginino directed calls?
me by your name that's my theory anyways thanks rejects i have never seen call me by your name have you
you didn't react to it did i with timothy shallomay oh wait i did what do i say sorry i thought it was
you and john oh yeah yeah that's how many see that's how much media we consume i didn't even
remember the name with that movie now i now i know with army army hammer right yeah yeah yeah okay
that was so long ago uh is it an animated version of call me by your name i get the joke that
They're in Italy, and it's a very queer movie.
Sure, yeah.
It's the animated version of it.
I say yes.
Yes, I fully agree with that.
You win.
It's the Pixar version of it.
You win, yes.
Absolutely, Ellen Smith.
Jaden Rhodes.
That was good.
At the new era, Pixar, I always found this to be a weaker Pixar movie.
I'm curious at the new era, which ones is y'all least favorite or end favorite?
God, you know.
No, I have no idea what the new...
I wouldn't...
I mean, it's...
When you say weaker,
I wouldn't even call it a...
It's not even a bad film.
It's just the good...
Like, the strongest Pixar films
are just so up there in the stratosphere.
So...
What is, like, the newer era of Pixar?
What is the...
I have not seen a lot of the newer ones to be on.
I've seen most of them.
I just haven't seen a lot of the newer ones.
Okay.
So it's working reverse.
order. Okay, so around that time.
Okay. Soul was the last one I saw
from up.
All right. Onward. Soul, Luca,
turning red. Elemental was better
than I expected it to be.
Yeah, because there's like,
because Pixar used to be just like, fucking best
picture animated quality all the time.
And then you started getting ones that weren't quite
hitting that level. Like a
car's two and three and an
onward. People love these movies.
Don't get me wrong. People love these movies.
they just weren't that like
Oscar caliber that they were like turning red
I don't know which I mean my favorite out of the new era
would definitely be inside out too
and I personally loved light year
I got a lot of crap
I haven't seen it I loved it
I want to see it in the last few years
Seoul would be the no it's either solar inside out too
yes I thought was okay
I feel like you just described the MCU
yeah definitely
a weaker I don't know I want to kind of
want to put that i would put this on the lower tier side for sure but i don't but that just sounds like i
don't like i don't like the movie so i don't want to like quite say that like i said earlier like
pixar they were hitting to put in sports terms they were hitting grand slam after grand slam at the
very beginning everything was a banger so when we say like a weaker one it's still a good film it's just not
to that that level of like a toy store one or a bug's life i recognize the director's name he's doing
a other, is doing Gato.
A new, sounds like another Italian movie.
Sounds like an Italian film.
I think he's Italian, but I'm going to go buy that by his first name.
Oh my God, it's about a cat.
This is going to be the greatest Pixar movie that was ever made.
We did see that cat was a pretty important character in the film, so it makes sense that he would shift to a cat.
People like Toppers too.
People quite enjoyed this movie, so that's good to see.
It was a character, right, in a bug's life.
That was the bad guy.
Hopper.
That was a character.
I'll read the last one.
All right.
From Jay Rushden, what of Jay?
Question, what reject would be the best for a triathlon in the movie there?
I'm pointing at him.
I would say myself for Koi.
Yeah, I'd agree with that.
Although, don't discount John.
Dude, do you see what John did with that punching bag?
He would, if you underestimate him, like, it will show you up.
But I would go Greg and Coy.
And I love to eat.
I eat super fast.
I got my cardio down pretty well right now.
How would you cycle, though, after eating pasta?
I'd probably be really grumpy.
I'm not good.
I would give him to Koi because I am not good on a bicycle.
I have to always remember.
I didn't learn how to ride a bike until, like, I was in my 20s.
I was very, very late to it.
And I've only, I've ridden a bike less than how many fingers I have.
So it takes me a while every time.
Like, how do you do this again?
So that's where my biggest, the swimming I could do, the food I could do with the bike.
I'm like, this is going to take me a minute.
I feel like, though, if you like really did the cycling for a long time and you trained yourself, your legs and your calves would just be jacked.
Yeah, be awesome.
Greatest spirit.
It's going incline only.
I just signed up for a Spartan race.
I'm excited for it.
Do you know what those are?
I have no idea with that in.
It's the most manly thing you can do.
Spartan races?
Yeah.
Sometimes teenage.
majors do them. Anyway, guys, this was Luca. Which one are you? Which character from Luca are you?
Which ones are we? Let us know in the comments. Dude, you're Luca and Alberto. I'm the bully.
Who, uh, was in? I can't even. I'm just going with Italian Biff. I like that.
Thanks guys for being here. We'll see you all soon. Please.
