The Reel Rejects - PIXAR'S LUCA (2021) MOVIE REVIEW - THAT ENDING GOT US GOOD! -FIRST TIME WATCHING

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

IT 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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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, I'm Seth Shackner. Check out my new show, Breaking Down the Biz. Every week, I sit down with people who actually make movies, music, and media happen. Executives from Sony, Universal, Apple, NBC. Together, we cut through industry jargon and hype to show you how the business is built. What's key to making everything come together and why it matters to you. From iTunes impact on the music industry to the advent of AI, from the Taylor Swift ticket sales fiasco, to Bad Bunny's Meteoric rise, We break down the stories, the numbers, and the negotiations that shape the industry. I've been in the trenches of the entertainment industry for several decades with leadership roles at companies like Sony, Paramount, and Jive Records. My guests and I are going to provide the same thoughtful, concise insights that I'm
Starting point is 00:00:46 trusted to bring on TV networks like CNN and NBC surrounding the industry and its culture-defining moments. We'll touch on the business of music, filmmaking, and streaming, and the emerging technology of our time. If you've ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes of the entertainment business, this is a bite-sized insider guide. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform or watch us on YouTube so you never miss a beat. Let's make sense of this industry together. Let's get our Vespa on.
Starting point is 00:01:26 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 some 365 brown rice cereal that's Whole Foods. You can serve with a job by getting yourself some our apparel.
Starting point is 00:02:23 Rejagnation shop.com. I think there's a barcode here on screen. There is. That's good news for you if you're watching off the television or something. Hey, Patreon, also get 50% off. Andrew. Greg. Greg.
Starting point is 00:02:36 Andrew. Greg. Andrew. Listen, my friend. My friend. Yes. My friend. How are you feeling?
Starting point is 00:02:44 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
Starting point is 00:02:58 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,
Starting point is 00:03:15 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
Starting point is 00:03:52 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
Starting point is 00:04:11 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.
Starting point is 00:04:40 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.
Starting point is 00:05:01 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.
Starting point is 00:05:25 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.
Starting point is 00:06:02 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
Starting point is 00:06:25 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,
Starting point is 00:06:48 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.
Starting point is 00:07:09 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,
Starting point is 00:07:29 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.
Starting point is 00:07:53 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,
Starting point is 00:08:41 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.
Starting point is 00:08:57 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,
Starting point is 00:09:19 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,
Starting point is 00:09:36 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
Starting point is 00:09:51 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.
Starting point is 00:10:10 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
Starting point is 00:11:03 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.
Starting point is 00:11:21 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
Starting point is 00:11:36 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.
Starting point is 00:11:50 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.
Starting point is 00:12:04 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.
Starting point is 00:12:20 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.
Starting point is 00:12:35 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
Starting point is 00:12:41 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
Starting point is 00:12:52 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,
Starting point is 00:13:03 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
Starting point is 00:13:29 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.
Starting point is 00:14:07 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.
Starting point is 00:14:33 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
Starting point is 00:14:49 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
Starting point is 00:15:04 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
Starting point is 00:15:43 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.
Starting point is 00:16:30 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.
Starting point is 00:16:56 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
Starting point is 00:17:12 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,
Starting point is 00:17:30 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.
Starting point is 00:18:00 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.
Starting point is 00:18:20 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.
Starting point is 00:19:04 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.
Starting point is 00:19:17 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...
Starting point is 00:19:34 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?
Starting point is 00:19:49 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
Starting point is 00:20:03 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
Starting point is 00:20:21 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
Starting point is 00:20:39 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
Starting point is 00:20:56 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.
Starting point is 00:21:32 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.
Starting point is 00:21:56 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.
Starting point is 00:22:16 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.
Starting point is 00:22:35 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.
Starting point is 00:22:50 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.
Starting point is 00:23:13 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.
Starting point is 00:23:23 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.

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