First published on the public account "Shadow Detective" ID: ttyingtan
Weibo: Detective Inspector
Author: Boss Qian
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This is Pixar's 24th feature film.
As we all know, what Pixar lacks most, and is most proud of, is the endless imagination of the creative team.
This time it is still no exception.
The structure of the film is based on a magical setting——
A "sea monster" living in the sea will transform into a human form upon landing on land, speaking and acting like a human being.
But if it gets wet, it will immediately show its original shape.
The film title says the main character, Luca (Luca), is such a small sea monster. He lives with his parents and grandma in the sea near an island town in Italy. As a good boy, his daily life is to listen to his mother, go herding fish, eat and sleep. Over time, day after day, monotonous and boring.
He wanted to go ashore and see the world above the sea. But parents, mainly mothers, are particularly opposed to this matter. In the mother's description, the shore is like hell, because humans are all evil people who specialize in killing fish. Although I still wanted to go ashore to take a look, I had to give up because of my mother's three orders and five applications. It's just during the rebellious period of youth, the fire in my heart is always hard to extinguish. Sometimes the fishing boats at sea would drop something, but Luca would still run to collect it quietly.
It was at this time, Luca met Alberto (Alberto). It is also a sea monster, but lonely, warm and generous. At his instigation-perhaps a more appropriate description of "mandatory help", Luca successfully landed ashore.
For Luca, everything on the shore is so fresh. The blue sky and white clouds, green grass and green hills, how can there be a dangerous look that my mother said. Soon, Luca put her mother's warning behind her head and went to see Alberto when she was free. The two design all kinds of imaginary motorcycles every day, and then crazy racing, rushing into the sea, having fun.
In addition, the two also have a common dream-to own a Vespa motorcycle. In their imagination, as long as they sit on this motorcycle, they can go wherever they want. Drive it for nine days to capture the moon.
It's a pity that the good times don't last long. Luca often went to the shore secretly but was discovered by his mother. As a punishment, his mother decided to send Luca to stay in the deep sea where his uncle was for a while. To put it bluntly, it is confinement. In order to escape, Luca followed Alberto's advice and decided to run with him to the human town. The most dangerous place is the safest place.
There, they met Julia. A lively and lovely little girl who loves astronomy.
The two stayed at Julia's house, while helping with fishing, they were preparing to participate in the "XX Cup" competition in the town with her, because after receiving the prize money, they could buy the Vespa motorcycle in their minds. The problem is that they have to hide their identity at all times. In this small town where everyone is terrified and disgusted with sea monsters...
As usual, let's talk about the advantages of this film first (the following part involves spoilers). The most praiseworthy thing, of course, is the cool, heart-flight feeling created by this film. The style is refreshing and lovely, with bright colors. The clear blue sea, the colorful buildings by the sea, the carefree play among friends... It might as well say that this is a movie dedicated to the hot summer. If you can enjoy these stunning views on the big screen, it will definitely be a great pleasure this summer.
Secondly, the basic quality of the cartoons produced by Pixar is still strong. The funny part is still as funny as ever, and the moving part will still make people cry a mess. When seeing Luca rushing into the rain to save Alberto, revealing his original shape like a Transformer, few people can hold back tears.
In fact, as early as 2011, the director made a short film that was very similar in style and theme to the film. In the short film, the little boy's father and grandfather represent two different ways of doing things. They used their own rules to demand and discipline the little boy until the little boy found his own way. Although the title of the film is "Summer Friends Sunny", the whole story is actually how Luca finds herself. When he first went ashore, all his worldviews were shaped by Alberto. Even dreams.
After going to the island, he learned through books that the world was more magnificent than he had imagined. He wants to learn more knowledge, wants to learn more about the world. He was born with his dream.
In fact, if you change to another animation studio and have these advantages, the film will have 8 points guaranteed. However this is Pixar. In people's minds, the "production must be fine" animation is Bai Yueguang. If you put it under this standard, "Summer Friends Sunny Day" is not much satisfactory. If you don't say far, let's compare it with the last "Spiritual Journey", whose mental portrayal of the soul world is impressive. Although the sea monster setting in this film is also amazing, it is inferior by comparison. And most of the scenes are actually what happened when Luca Alberto was a human being.
On the other hand, the story of this film is too simple. In fact, there are several places in this film that are worth digging deeper. For example, the dark moments of Luca betraying Alberto-when Alberto showed himself to prove that people were afraid of sea monsters, Luca was afraid that he would be driven back into the sea, so he followed people's curse, "Hai Strange!"
Because of this dark moment, the director subsequently introduced the background setting of "Alberto has lived alone for many years since his father left", which made the role of Alberto instantly plump and vivid. Including the jealousy of Julia in the middle, and the scene of fishing with Julia's father, there are evidences to rely on. Before meeting Luca, Alberto had lived alone by himself for several years. The arrival of Luca rekindled his hope for life. However, Luca abandoned him, just as his father did.
This betrayal is extremely dark and heartbreaking. Because the hope that was ignited was extinguished again. However, the director immediately resolved this contradiction with a very simple apology scene and quickly transferred it to the competition. Then Alberto appeared in the game and reconciled with Luca as before.
Alberto's mental journey was omitted by the director. How much entanglement and hesitation did Alberto go through alone in the room? After seeing the rain, he was very anxious, and because he was worried about Luca's appearance, he finally decided to send the umbrella regardless of the predecessors. But the director did not shoot these. His treatment focused on Luca, while the rest were all instrumentalized. This is certainly not impossible. However, since the whim has enriched Alberto's role background, this kind of treatment seems to be too simple and even a little abrupt.
Not to mention the final "Suddenly Forced Family Fun" ending. When Luca and Alberto accidentally revealed their real bodies in the final game, the residents of the town accepted it immediately. When I saw this, I shouted directly in my heart: WTF? Isn't the basic conflict of the movie that they can't show up in the small town? In the middle of the film, the people in this small town are also full of fear and hatred for sea monsters. As a result, the director finally came to a forced whitewash. It seems that all the previous preparations have become a joke. As an ordinary cartoon for children, this is no problem. However, there is still the same sentence: As Pixar, such an over-simplified treatment is absolutely substandard.
Finally, there is another controversy that must be mentioned about this film. Many people think that the film uses the setting of "sea monster" as a metaphor for the situation of LGBT people. Many people think this is nonsense. As far as my personal perception is concerned, although the feelings between the two boys cannot be described as love. But I still prefer to agree with the former view. Two best examples. In the movie-At the end of the film, two "sea monsters" who have been hiding in the crowd also show their real bodies. These are two old grannies, not a man and a woman.
Outside the play - Some netizens discovered that in the Italian version, the actor who dubbed Luca was named Alberto, and the actor who dubbed Alberto was named Luca. To say that this is a coincidence is too reluctant. And if it is done deliberately, it is hard not to make people think of "Please call me by your name". They are all stories that happened in an Italian town in the summer.
Of course, if you don't feel this at all, it will not affect your appreciation of this animation. The director has deliberately dealt with it very obscure and generalized. You can understand it as LGBT elements, or as marginalized people or minority groups. Moreover, the core of the film, the topic of "being yourself", applies to almost everyone. This can be regarded as one of the very important charms of Pixar animation. It is one thing for children, but another thing for adults.
All in all, this film is not a Pixar masterpiece. But the flaws are not concealed, the beautiful painting style, and the warm stories are also worth seeing, especially in this hot summer. Of course, if you can watch it on the big screen, the effect is definitely the best, and it's also great value. However, it seems that the hope is not great anymore.
Text/Boss Qian
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