21 June 2021, 17:28 | Updated: 21 June 2021, 17:46
Luca’s director says that the movie is about friendship but viewers are claiming it as Pixar’s first LGBTQ+ movie.
Luca is finally out on Disney+ and viewers are praising the Pixar movie for its queer coding: the two leads appear to be gay.
Luca tells the story of Luca, a teenage sea monster who can assume human form and dreams of exploring life outside of the water. In the film, he meets Alberto, another teenage sea monster who shows him what the world is like on land. The two of them quickly grow close and make plans to get a Vespa and travel the world. They regularly hold hands and look at each other longingly. They also face prejudice from humans for being different and have to hide who they are from them.
At the end of the film, Luca’s mother is worried about whether or not humans will accept Luca and his grandmother says: “Some people, they’ll never accept him but some will and he seems to know how to find the good ones.”
LGBTQ+ viewers worldwide have connected to the movie and the memes and reactions are both wholesome and hilarious.
Is Luca gay? Here’s what the director has said.
Discussing whether or not Luca is a gay love story, director Enrico Casarosa told Polygon: “I was really keen to talk about a friendship before girlfriends and boyfriends come in to complicate things.” He then added: “This was about their friendship in that pre-puberty world. The type of friendship that is gonna push you into trouble, push you into change, push you into finding yourself.”
In spite of what Enrico has said many believe that the queer themes are too apparent to ignore. One person tweeted: “Just saw Luca, & I don’t care what anyone else says, it’s the first gay animated film by Disney/Pixar. Feeling like you have to hide a part of yourself, meeting someone like you 4 the first time, strangers calling you and your ‘friend’ monsters, finding the good ones. I cried.”
Another person tweeted: “Just watched Luca and now I’m crying over gay fish what the fuck.”
Just saw Luca, & I don’t care what anyone else says, it’s the first gay animated film by Disney/Pixar. Feeling like you have to hide a part of yourself, meeting someone like you 4 the first time, strangers calling you and your “friend” monsters, finding the good ones. I cried. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cVpcZMadix
— Eric Rosswood (@LGBT_Activist) June 21, 2021
me: we need to normalize platonic male affection!!
also me, watching Luca: gay? the boys are in love?? queer coded??? they’re precious and perfect oh my god???? pic.twitter.com/d4R1HARnAq— alex🏳️🌈 (@its_she_they) June 19, 2021
#Luca is one of the most beautiful queer-coded films i’ve ever seen. it perfectly captures the feeling of the best friend you’re kinda in love with as a young gay kid, the confusion, the fear of being different & hiding.. despite it using sea monster metaphors to do it. 1000/10!! pic.twitter.com/KDUxKUlNju
— loki’s gf ! kari⁷ ☂︎ (@bIysmanors) June 18, 2021
i KNOW #Luca isn’t an explicitly gay movie. i know that.
but a movie about two adolescent boys growing up with a secret about their identity in a conservative town that persecutes people for that very secret?
Pixar knows what they did there 😌 pic.twitter.com/dFq3nsJ8cZ
— aaron 🌙 (@aaronsbadtweets) June 18, 2021
Just watched Luca and now I’m crying over gay fish what the fuck
— 🦋 Kiiwi 🦋 ONGOING DTIYS (@kiiwistu) June 18, 2021
Luca asks the age old question: Are they gay or just italian
— Mario Mozzarella (@MarioGraciotti) June 18, 2021
Hi, the characters in Luca are more queer than any of the other 97 first openly gay characters in the Disney/Pixar canon, and if you don’t think so then don’t talk to me or my mermaid son or his mermaid lover ever again, happy PRIDE. Go watch Calamari by Your Name rn 🏳️🌈 #luca pic.twitter.com/XnztuICqb4
— Jarrett Poore (@JarrettPoore) June 19, 2021
It’s also worth noting that even though Casarosa said that Luca is not a gay love story, he hasn’t explicitly said if Luca and Alberto are queer or not. In other words, it’s possible that it’s still an LGBTQ+ story regardless of romance.
