Anytime someone says that a story is inspired by something that was written by the famed novelist Stephen King it’s an immediate shift to thinking that there’s something horrible and definitely out of whack with the project. The funny thing about that is that people really need to remember that while King has written some of the most horrific stories in history, he’s not always unveiling new monsters or dire situations to entertain his readers. King has actually written a few books that deal with messed-up situations but are fairly positive as well. The story that Luca was inspired by is The Body, which became the movie Stand By Me, directed by Rob Reiner. People might be wondering how a story written about four young boys setting out on an adventure in a little town in America could have anything to do with a pair of sea monsters who take on the form of human children in Italy. Well, it’s not too hard to think about really and it gives off a better vibe than those that are adamant about comparing Luca to the movie Call Me By Your Name.
The main point is friendship since if anyone remembers Stand By Me they’ll recall that Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern were all best friends in the story but in some ways, they were outcasts as well. Gordie was a writer, Chris came from a notoriously bad family, Teddy was a bit of a nutjob, and Vern was the fat kid that very few people took seriously. On their own, each boy was a bit of a loner and didn’t really fit in anywhere, at least not without a bit of struggle, but together they were secure since they were able to rely on one another. This is how the story of Luca appears to play out since the two boys that spend their time in the human world rely on one another to get around and to experience what happens in the world they’ve been warned to stay away from. Obviously, the similarities between the two stories end pretty quickly, but Luca is still a touching tale that speaks a great deal of friendship and the willingness to accept others for who and what they are.
There’s been no huge fanfare about Luca compared to many other Disney movies, and while there might be a debate about this it’s actually kind of nice since people aren’t being beaten over the head with the idea that they must sit down and see this movie. Instead, there have been hints and suggestions that it might be a nice movie to watch, and yes, there have been the usual attempts to get kids on board by creating Happy Meals and such to promote the movie. That’s pretty normal, but it hasn’t gone so overboard as many other movies have and it’s kind of obvious why since Luca is a fun and engaging story but what’s really different is that this movie doesn’t feature a world-shattering event. In fact, it’s likely that sea monsters in this part of the world were known at one time and aren’t that big of a deal. It’d be interesting to see how the people in any other country might react if they’d be willing to be so accepting of the sea monsters, but there are some who would give a knee-jerk reaction to that no doubt.
There are other moments in Luca that are vaguely similar to Stand By Me since some scenes could be said to parallel each other. But the friendship aspect, and the difficulties and triumphs that come from it, are pretty easy to notice. Where they diverge is also easy to see, however, since Luca ends on a high note and Stand By Me ends on a rather melancholy note as a grown-up Gordie reports that Teddy and Vern didn’t do much with their lives, while Chris was killed for no good reason while trying to de-escalate a violent situation. In other words, while Gordie and Chris both made it out of their little town, Gordie was the only one left to tell the tale.
Luca, on the other hand, was able to go off and live his dreams, while Alberto and the rest of his kind found acceptance on a level that’s sometimes unheard of and not easily attained. So it’s fair to say that Luca did draw some inspiration from Stand By Me, but the stories diverge quite a bit thanks to their overall tone and content. But if anyone reading gets the idea, it might be a good idea to watch both movies and see just how they’re alike, since their differences aren’t hard to point out. Movies that deal with friendship can teach a lot of lessons, with acceptance being one of the greatest ones.
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