An Interview with Enrico Casarosa, 'Luca' Director

24 | SPECIAL EVENTS

AN INTERVIEW WITH ENRICO CASAROSA

DIRECTOR OF DISNEY AND PIXAR’S FILM LUCA

by Cristiano de Florentiis

What elements of your Italian culture, identity and general approach to life did you bring to Pixar and this fi lm? And, if any, what Italian customs did you want or had to change to be able to integrate into this new working environment?

I’ve lived in the US for more than twenty years. Making the fi lms I make enables me to embrace my roots and share them with our team and with the world once they’re done. I loved sharing the details of our beautiful Italian language, our amazing food (specifi cally the Ligurian one) and all the wonderful details of our small towns. It was a pleasure to play host when we visited Liguria with our team for example. As far as customs go: I think we certainly had a lot more Spritz at Pixar since we started this project! Lastly, we are gunning for Pesto to dominate the pasta sauce world!

The fi lm tackles the themes of fi nding yourself and the power of friendship to transform us and helps us grow. What does your childhood and Luca’s childhood have in common?

I share a lot with Luca-- like him I grew up a timid and introverted kid with a big imagination. Like Luca I also met a wonderful extrovert that was a whirlwind of fun and passion. Like Luca the friendship with my best friend helped me grow up, challenge myself and chase the things I wanted.

The two boys are hiding a secret underneath the water as they transform into sea monsters-- which is what they are. What drove you to tell a story of people who are different?

There is so much at age 12 or 13 that makes us feel odd and out of place. It’s easy to feel like outsiders or losers. The idea of having a second identity that made you feel a sense of shame, something you needed to hide like a sea monster on land would have to, that felt like a great metaphor for all the ways we feel different or other. Especially in the formative years when we’re all trying to fi gure out our identity.

Tell me about your choice to have Luca set in the 50’s:

I love the music from the period. I love the cinema from the period (a true golden age in Italy - Visconti, De Sica, Fellini to name a few). And I love the design (the most beautiful Ape and Vespa!). I also fi nd that in this wonderfully paradoxical way, when you stage something in a specifi c era like the 50s, the feel of the setting actually becomes more timeless.

The fi lm will bring even more tourists and visitors to one of the most beautiful regions in Italy and in the world. Many will discover your homeland thanks to your fi lm. How do you feel about this?

I’m both happy and worried about it honestly. I feel the timing is right to help tourism back in Italy. But in our research and visits we’ve found how much the region is in need of preservation. The rock walls and terraces need continuous upkeep. The vineyards and the wine making are key to preserving the territory. Unfortunately many visitors stop over for just a couple of hours and leave. I hope we can promote a tourism that truly values and supports the Cinque Terre. I highly recommend staying at least for a few nights and enjoying the beautiful walks between the towns! Lastly the whole Ligurian Riviera is amazing. Towns like Camogli, Portofi no, Portovenere and many more are all stunning and defi nitely worth a visit!

The drive-in is certainly not an Italian tradition; have you ever had this experience? Toronto will be a unique opportunity, at least for Canada, to be able to see the fi lm on a big screen, in front of an audience that will experience the emotions all together. Will you come and enjoy it?

You have no idea how much I wish I could travel to Toronto for it! I am starved for movie watching as a communal experience, reacting and feeling the emotions and the laughs together. It’s something I absolutely miss and crave! I have actually never watched a movie in a drive-in so I really wish I could be there!! ENRICO CASAROSA (Director/Story By) joined Pixar Animation Studios in January 2002. He began as a story artist on Cars before moving on to work on the Academy Award-Winning feature fi lms Ratatouille and Up. He made his directorial debut with the Academy Award-Nominated short fi lm La Luna, which screened theatrically with Brave in 2012. He then went on to work on The Good Dinosaur and the Academy Award-Winning feature Coco. Casarosa then turned his sights to his own feature fi lm, and is currently directing Disney and Pixar’s Luca, which is set to release on June 18, 2021. Casarosa found early infl uences in Japanese animation and grew up watching Japanese television series in Italy. Born and raised in Genoa, Casarosa moved to New York City in his twenties to study animation at the School of Visual Arts and Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Before coming to Pixar, Casarosa worked as a storyboard artist at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age and Robots. He also worked as a background designer and storyboard artist for a number of Disney Chan- nel television series, including 101 Dalmatians and PB&J Otters. Casarosa lives in Berkeley, Calif., with his wife, daughter and three chickens.