Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 247

Tiny House Nation – A Comfort Show To Watch With Just About Anybody

The sitcom ‘Friends’ for the longest time had been a ‘comfort show’ for a lot of people my age. So whenever somebody visited and we just wanted to watch something for some entertainment, I too would turn to the golden six of the popular series. But not anymore. Now when friends are over, I prefer picking series that have episodes that aren’t connected to each other. And my favorite among them is ‘Tiny House Nation’, a perfect pick to watch with friends and family, especially if your guests fall in the older age bracket.

Tiny House Nation is a reality television series, hosted by two renovation experts called John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin, who help families design and build their dream homes, which are tiny, as in no more than 450 square feet. Although the biggest tiny home they help build was almost 600 square feet. What I love about this show is how the renovators find out as much as they can about the personalities of the home-owners, and then incorporate designs and changes into the living-spaces. They come up with innovative ideas for furniture and rooms that the families would never think of. Best part – the solutions are always economical.

Having lived in several houses in the last few years, and having had a nightmarish time finding a decent carpenter to build things that we would want to for ourselves, it’s heartwarming to see how Zack Giffin goes the extra mile to build things that will make families happy. “We should have paid them and got them all the way from America to build our house”, my mother half-joked, when I watched the series the second time, for her. Builders in India are nothing sort of giant pain in the asses for a lot of people, and forget going beyond what you asked for, they screw up even the most specific of instructions.

Both John and Zack are friendly and goofy, with the latter being the more hard-working one. Zack is always bubbling with ideas and worries about the houses they are building as if they are his own. Together, the two of them ensure families who’ve never lived in a small 300 square feet house, know what to expect and get the maximum out of the little space they get. If every builder had the same approach, there would be a lot less disgruntled home-owners around the world.

Watch this show next time you have somebody over and don’t know what to stream. It’s available on Netflix.

Maya And The Three Review – Splashy High-Fantasy For Kids

First off – what’s with the lack of effort on the intro music? It sets the tone for the series and looks like the makers of the 2021 limited animated series ‘Maya and three’ put in zero effort into it, or just forgot about it until release date was around the corner. Luckily, the rich tapestry of colors in the animation makes viewers immediately forget about the low energy introduction.

Created by Jorge R Gutierrez, this 9-episode Netflix series is an epic tale of Mesoamerican princess Maya of the Tecas, who goes on a quest to find the greatest warriors in her land, to help her defeat the God of War. So it treads on high-fantasy realm, with Gods, demi-Gods, magic and high-voltage battles, all culminating into an Avengers’ style ‘end-game’ war.

You have the usual themes of friendship, love, sacrifices and a lot of the characters feel borrowed from popular children’s tales, like Chimi the albino archer is inspired from ‘The Jungle Book’, she is raised by animals, just like Mowgli. Then there is the asocial wizard Rico, who has a Harry Potter like story, an orphan who is looked upon with fear by most of his kind, but finds a mentor in a grand old wizard. It’s the unique use of elements from Aztec mythology that makes this series stand-out from the crowd. For example the God of War is called Lord Mictlan, who according to Aztec lore was a God of the Underworld. And just like the Aztecs were obsessed with the concept of death & afterlife, a lot of things in ‘Maya and the Three’ reflect some or the other form of death – like even the moon looks like a skull. These little details were fun to watch.

Those who love bright shiny colors will instantly fall in love with the series. One can probably find every shade in the world in this creation, with grand Aztec architectural wonders dotting the landscape of the story. The animation is great, although there are a lot of flashy sequences with strobe effect that can get heavy on the eyes. Maybe not the best idea to binge-watch this. I took four days watching the nine episodes and it’s definitely more entertaining if you watch just one or two at a time.

As an adult viewer, the series feel it’s a lot longer than necessary, even though it’s not slow per se; a lot of action is constantly unfolding, but it’s not exciting enough to keep you thrilled throughout. What’s commendable about the show is how the makers don’t save tragedies for the last. There’s a lovely sobering sequence of princess Maya’s people dancing to honor all the soldiers who were martyred fighting while the God of War. It’s akin to the ‘Day of the Dead’ the Mexicans/Aztecs observe to honor the souls that have passed away. All the nine chapters have someone dying and parents who haven’t touched upon the concept with their little ones might have some discussing to do; especially when the ‘dance of death’ comes on.

The mention of dance brings me to the music in this series – like with the lackadaisical intro piece, the makers don’t put in a lot of thought to ambient sounds. Except for the folksy track ‘Bolon Chom’ (which is now on my playlist), a lot of the soundtrack is a little off and makes the corresponding scenes seem chaotic. Like there’s a scene of Maya and her warrior friends fighting two lower Gods and the music that accompanies the face-off sounds like traditional music played during weddings in south-India (to be more specific – Tamil Nadu). That was just super-weird and annoying to watch.

While younger viewers will probably not notice some plot-holes, but there are a few too convenient twists in the second-half that do not fall in sync with some of the earlier story-line. Some of the dialogues also get a little repetitive, but as a cartoon meant for kids, it’s important to repeat a few punchlines to make them memorable, so I am not going to fault the creators on that. They’ve given us a strong feisty teen protagonist in Maya (voiced by Zoe Zaldana), who is believable as the fearless princess who wants to save the world. Chimi, the brightly drawn warrior of the Jungles was my favorite, maybe because she prefers the company of animals over humans. In-fact, I love how all the women in the show are always ready to take on the world and are definitely more badass than the men.

Overall, ‘Maya and the Three’ is a very entertaining show for kids, maybe not as much for adults who already consume a lot of animated creations. It’s a 7/10 from me.

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 50 for a lowdown on 22 Studio Ghibli films

Call My Agent Bollywood Review – Dial C For Cringe

Damn Netflix and whoever makes trailers for them, because they are getting better at misleading viewers about the quality of their content. Or damn us. Why the fuck are we not learning from our past mistakes? The teaser for the 2021 series ‘Call My Agent Bollywood’ directed by Shaad Ali, looked like a fun ride. It is an official Indian reboot of the popular French show ‘Dix Pour Cent’, which is also available to stream on Netflix. Nothing prepared me for just how shitty this show was going to get.

Plot overview – ART is a sinking talent agency, where four agents scramble to get their actors top money and stop their company from going bust after the owner dies.

The first few seconds of the first episode are good enough, courtesy the pretty visuals of Dia Mirza who plays herself, an actor nearing 40s & finding it hard to get lead roles. But soon, things get chaotic. Aahana Kumra plays Amal, one of the primary protagonists, but she isn’t able to pull off the role of a sassy/bullheaded agent. Except for a few minutes here and there, Amal’s trribly written inconsistent character is a cringe-show. For example, Amal’s assistant quits after being told to ‘shut the fuck up’, and when the crying underling tries to storm out of the office, Amal tries to pacicy her with a crappy line that goes “mujhe pata hai mujhe aaj kal zyaada hi gussa aata hai… tum… tum badam khao, tumhe ussey shakti milegi”. Translation – I know I get very angry these days, you… you eat almonds, they’ll make you strong. WTF? Who comes up with this shit? The interaction keeps getting worse and Aahana feels out of her skin. I almost feel bad for her. But after that I started feeling bad for myself, because I didn’t want to watch the show anymore. But I soldiered on…

Let’s talk about the other three agents, Rajat Kapoor is the scheming/opportunist agent Monty, perhaps the only villain sort of character in the show; but Rajat has his A game on, so despite the negative role, he is the only one agent that doesn’t comes across as a boneheaded moron. Soni Razdan as the oldest of the pack gets very little screen space, almost like a token representation of the ‘old school’ star-maker. And finally there’s Ayush Mehra, he plays a young Parsi agent, and doubles us as a ‘fag-hag’ for the lesbian Amal. Mehra was okay-ish, nothing worth mentioning. It’s in-fact all the actors who keep making small cameos through the series as the ‘talents’ being handled by the agents who stand out. So actors playing themselves offer the bare little entertainment viewers get out of ‘Call My Agent Bollywood’.

Maybe I should’ve done a listicle titled ’20 reasons why this new Netflix show sucks’, instead of a review. The makers don’t know how to use music. For example, some scenes that could’ve been fine with soft notes, instead have an over-dramatic flourish of instruments. And they keep using that piece over and over again, making it annoying… the music is a lot like the trumpet-sort of sound in the song ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. That choice of instrumental ambience blends well with tragic loves stories, not with a dark satire on Bollywood agents. Or whatever this chaotic show is supposed to be. Because it’s neither funny enough to be a satire, nor dark, and the story flits between being absurdly caricature-like (yet not funny) and too serious.

Things get mildly better in Episode 2, largely because of fun little twist involving older actors Lilette Dubey and Ila Arun who play fictional versions of themselves. In the series, the two are shown as rivals who dated the same man once upon a time. Except for their few minutes, again, the writing is so trite, that instead of being entertained, I found myself rubbing my head to ease away the stress it was causing me (the stress of being aware that I was wasting my time on this and the second-hand embarrassment I suffered over the writing as a writer). The predictable sub-plot about one of the agents having a secret bastard child was completely pointless. Radhika Seth who plays the girl is just blah. Can’t think of a better word, and considering the little effort the writers put into this show, I don’t see any reason why I should go the extra mile to wrack my brains for a better adjective.

I want to blame the writers for the whole mess, but come episode 6, and we have experienced actors like Nandita Das and Jackie Shroff, who play themselves, and despite the lame lines, they pull them off so well, that you cannot help but enjoy their scenes. Even episode 5 was enjoyable in parts because of Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha, who play themselves and have a comical story; it was the only episode where for the first time I laughed out loud at a scene that was intended to be funny. Also, why hasn’t anyone realized that Farah Khan has an extremely annoying personality and is better of doing things off-screen? Her 2-bit cameo was vexatious and an attack on the ears.

The makers fail spectacularly in their quest to portray the entertainment industry as a ‘heartless profession’. You have a bunch of assholes as characters, sure, but they aren’t exclusive to celebrity circles. It’s the era of online trolls, and jerks are by the dozen in every freaking field. I do appreciate the LGBTQ+ representation in the show, although Amal basically plays the female version of the stereotypical toxic male dude who runs at the mention of ‘commitment’ and is a dick to dates. Anyway, it’s probably a good time to mention a few actors who were commendable in their parts, like Merenla Imsong who plays a struggling actor from the north-east; newbie Anuschka Sawhney as Jasleen, Amal’s interest wasn’t impressive, but has great chemistry with Aahana, it’s just her way of speaking that threw me off a little. It was kind of weird. Suchitra Pillai was brilliant in her small cameo as Monty’s wife and one begins to wonder why she isn’t given more roles?

Anyway, let’s move on to the climax. I literally screamed ‘yuck yuck yuck yuck’ at the typical cringe-y scene they try to pull in that last episode, with one lead running after the other and…. yuck. Although, surprisingly, it wasn’t the last scene, there were a few more minutes left, so the ending wasn’t actually as terrible as the rest of the show. For a change, the ‘agents’ loosen up, behave like regular humans and have a fun little drinking session after a shitty day at work. And then to the viewer’s greatest relief – it ends.

Despite having the potential to be a wildly engrossing series, the opportunity is wasted. It’s a 4/10 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 23 – 10 Reasons Why Tumbbad Deserves More Attention

A Poem Inspired By The Cyclone That Devastated My Hometown

The latest podcast episode of Abstract AF is a poetry themed one – ‘A Poem Inspired By The Cyclone That Devastated My Hometown ‘

Author and poet Sneha Jaiswal reads out a poem from her book ‘Death & Darker Realms’, and briefly explains how the work came about to be.

New podcast episodes are out every Sunday, and just like our website, the podcasts too are largely on books and movies. Listen in and show your support by subscribing to the channel on YouTube. It costs nothing!

Your Letter by Hyeon A Cho – Quick Review

It’s almost as if you can hear a splash of water as the first panel of ‘Your Letter’ by Hyeon A Cho comes into view. The protagonist, a teen student called Sori Lee is soaked through her uniform, drops dripping from her hair, shirt, skirt, all off it against a stark white background, that only makes the image more vivid. The text says ‘it was just an ordinary day’. Simple use of irony. Works well enough.

Plot overview – Sori Lee changes school after she stands up to bullies who were bothering a classmate; instead of being lauded for her bravery, she only gets alienated by all. On the first day of her new school, Sori finds a letter plastered under the desk, it says ‘hello, welcome to our school.This letter was written to introduce you to this place’. The letter has a map of the school, details of all her new classmates and instructions to find the next letter. So the story is a treasure-hunt/mystery of sort, with the protagonist finding new letters and making a few new friends along the way.

Hyeon A Cho tackles the issues of bullying, isolation, childhood anxieties and the importance of friendship in a beautiful manner in this webtoon. The simple manga-style artwork, where characters turn into chibi-like creatures during exaggerated moods was entertaining and super adorable. Except for the a few flashbacks in between, the linear story-telling that’s almost like a treasure-hunt, with Sori Lee looking for a series of letters, keeps readers intrigued till the ending. Each little flashback only enriches the narrative.

‘Your Letter’ makes one nostalgic about the lost art of writing letters, and just how precious they can be, when penned by a dear friend. Hyeon A Cho uses a lot of solid pastel hues that give the story a warm glow, like a comfortable blanket wrapping you around in a cold-lazy winter morning. It’s a poignant tale of teens, with very little interference by older/parental characters, so there’s an unadulterated charm to the whole comic series.

A new reader friend had recommended this webtoon to me, and I would recommend it to you to dear reader. It’s a 5/5 from me.

Link to the free webtoon – Your Letter

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 24 – Army of the Dead Vs The Walking Dead

Army of Thieves Review – More Alive Than Army of The Dead

The first 22 minutes of ‘Army of Thieves’ displays how with the right music, actors and set, one can even make a story about a bunch of cons feel like an epic fantasy film. Matthias Schweigofer who dons the twin hat of actor and director this time around, has outdone Zack Snyder, because this prequel is definitely more entertaining and pacy.

Just like the title suggests, this is a heist film, so don’t go expecting zombies and horror, or you’ll be very disappointed. Schweigofer plays Sebastian (who later takes the name of Dieter), a regular German dude with a boring bank job, but with an obsessive passion for cracking safes. The first few minutes are absolutely fascinating – Sebastian makes a YouTube video explaining the history of a locksmith Hans Wagner, who built a series of four safes that attained a mythical status in the safecracking world and are still believed to be in use. So when a gang of thieves recruits Sebastian to go on a quest to crack all the Wagner safes, he is game.

Now this is the kind of heist film that doesn’t take things too seriously, so everything is a lot more simpler than is should be. The team itself is just comprised of 5 members, so ‘army’ is a huge exaggeration. Nathalie Emmanuel plays Gwendoline, kind of the leader of the pack. Stuart Martin is Brad, the muscle/action hero of the group and there’s the mandatory genius hacker played by Ruby O Fee. Guz Khan has a small part as Rolph, the getaway driver. Each of them get a quick back-story, which wasn’t really necessary. Instead, a little flashback to why Sebastian/Dieter is so obsessed with locks would have been more interesting.

Shot across European cities, the cinematography is gorgeous, especially when the action unfolds outdoor, against scenic mountains and colorful old buildings. You could make a lot of wallpapers out of this film. As mentioned in the beginning, it feels more like a fantasy movie, especially because of some of the classical and folksy music that plays in the background. And while Schweigofer as safecracker Dieter didn’t have much screen-time in ‘Army of the Dead’, here the actor carries off the lead role with panache. Nathalie however struggles to emote in some of the emotional (and unnecessary) scenes in the second-half.

The story takes place when a zombie outbreak has just occurred in Las Vegas and in a hilarious easter-egg – Dieter keeps dreaming of Zombies surrounding him, and a member jokes about how it could be a ‘prophecy’. While the movie is no laugh riot and makes everything too convenient, at least it never made me want to press the fast-forward button, like Army of the Dead die.

The climax was almost fun, and then it wasn’t, because they make it a little sentimental, as if this wasn’t a heist movie but a romantic drama.Overall, ‘Army of Thieves’ is more entertaining than its predecessor. It’s a 7/10 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to episode 24 – Army of the Dead Vs The Walking Dead

A Thing Called Truth #1 Comic Review

A comic that starts with a car chase, the protagonists caught in the pangs of anxiety, cursing ‘shit! shit! shit!’? Sounds like an interesting ride already, and that’s just how ‘A Thing Called Truth’ by Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli begins. Right from the first panel, there’s a lot of action going on and it’s a melange of colors.

I’ve read and reviewed ‘Alice In Leatherland’, a fun LGBTQ+ comics series created by the same duo and the complete change in tone and palette was an interesting surprise. Artist Elisa doesn’t hold back on the color palette with this new work, but there’s a noticeable shade that dominates certain sections of the comic, but it keeps changing, along with the mood of the plot.

So let’s get to the plot – since this is just the first issue, all we know is that the protagonist is called Doctor Magdalene Traumer, who is on the verge of big breakthrough. Magdalene has developed some sort of life-saving device that will, in her words – ‘SAVE THE WORLD’. She has dedicated her life to this device, even courting divorce with a partner, because who has time for saving a relationship when they can save the entire world? But just a day after her breakthrough, she is fired, denied access to her lab and lifelong work. And to make things worse, she wakes up drunk, with a stranger driving her car in a different continent!

While the whole ‘save the world’ theme sounds a little predictable, author Iolanda keeps things fun by focusing more on Magdalene’s life outside her lab. So we get a brief glimpse into her past relationships, her work ethics and whether she can hold her drink.

With just 22 pages to boot in the first issue, readers get a playful take on a workaholic doctor/genius’ life. Complimenting all of this is the vivid & vibrant artwork by Romboli, which exudes a glossy joy through the pages. Need to read the next few issues soon, to understand just where all this is going!

It’s supposed to be ‘chaotic lgbtq+ road trip’ and is a 4/5 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 50 – Why You Must Watch Studio Ghibli Films

Why I Am An Atheist & Other Works by Bhagat Singh

“I tell you that the British rule is not there because God willed it but for the reason that we lack the will and courage to oppose it….Where is God? What is he doing? Is he getting a diseased pleasure out of it (the exploitation of a nation)? A Nero! A Genghiz Khan! Down with him!” – Bhagat Singh.

Bhagat Singh, the young Indian revolutionary was only 23 when he was executed by the British for his participation in the ‘Lahore Conspiracy Case’ in 1931. The martyr didn’t have the time or luxury to write a full-fledged book during his short life, so readers will have to content themselves with the handful of essays and letters Singh wrote while he was alive. ‘Why I Am An Atheist’ is a short 13-14 page long essay, where Singh puts forth some brief but logical questions to denounce the existence of a higher power. He is neither bitter, nor angry, or frustrated, but instead is filled with an optimistic idealism, an emotional maturity that seeps into his writing, giving readers goosebumps. Here is a man, who knew who would be sent to the gallows soon, and yet he didn’t resort to the ‘cowardice’ of prayers.

Singh’s ruminations on atheism are admirable for a man his age, and while it’s not powerful enough to move strong believers into abandoning their faith in a higher ‘being’, there’s argument enough to make skeptics re-think a little. As someone who’s been an atheist all their life, I wish this book had been available to me as a school student. There are dozens of patriotic films on Bhagat Singh, but his atheism is something that was never touched upon onscreen; even though it was a large part of his personality, just like religion’s role in the lives of leading figures throughout time. But perhaps Singh’s own thoughts on the matter explain why very few dare talk on the subject – the fear of persecution. The freedom-fighter doesn’t take names, but mentions a few times of men he knew, who didn’t have the conviction to openly declare they were Godless.

The rest of the book is a collection of some letters and statements by Singh during the last 2-3 years of his life, a lot of written while he was still in prison. The statements are dry and hold little value as reading material, unless read in a larger historical context of the ongoing freedom-struggle in the 1920s. The letters, especially one that Singh writes to his father, admonishing the elder for submitting a petition to defend him, starkly portrays what a young stubborn revolutionary Singh was. A son worth fighting for, a son one’s bound to be proud of. Because despite all their differences, (Singh’s father was very devout), their affection for each other never diminished, Singh still signed his angry letter as ‘your loving son’. It demonstrates a tolerance that’s becoming thinner in a world where now families cold-shoulder each other over political clash of views.

As far as the writing is concerned, it’s simple, slightly stiff, probably because some of them were originally written in Punjabi. There are also a lot of errors, but I am glad the publishers didn’t correct them, because once an editor is tasked with editing a work, some of them can go as far as changing the entire essence of a piece. Grammar snobs can go to hell. And if you aren’t one of them, you must get your hands on the book just to read the essay ‘Why I Am An Atheist’, especially if you are an Indian. Sure, there are perhaps 100s of encyclopedia sized books with more explosive arguments against the existence of a God, but none of them are by a young 22-year-old revolutionary, who was certain of being hanged by his oppressors in a few days.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 53 for some interesting book recommendations & quick reviews

Watching ‘Kramer Vs Kramer’ Decades Too Late

Let’s begin by saying Dustin Hoffman seems like an asshole. An answer on the Q&A website Quora talked about how Hoffman harassed co-star Meryl Streep, to get emotional reactions out of her for the 1979 film ‘Kramer Vs Kramer’. Both actors won Oscars for their roles in the movie.

If you try to read up a little bit more about the duo, turns out – Streep herself had called him an ‘obnoxious pig’ in an interview, even though she chose to forgive him. Here’s an excerpt from an UK-based publication on the old interview –

The interview, which appeared in a 1979 issue of Time Magazine, saw Streep recount her first meeting with the actor whom she starred opposite in Kramer vs. Kramer.

“He came up to me and said, ‘I’m Dustin – burp – Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast,” Slate reports the interview as saying.

“What an obnoxious pig, I thought.”

A representative for Streep has since told E! News that the interview was “not an accurate rendering of that meeting,“ adding: “There was an offence and it is something for which Dustin apologized. And Meryl accepted that.”

Excerpt from an Article by ‘Independent’

Clearly that was a different era, when it was apparently okay for a big star to act like a jerk and the woman to ‘forgive’ him. Fine. But reading all of this made me curious about just what her role was all about. Because Hoffman reportedly would taunt Streep about her recently deceased boyfriend on the set, to make she look genuinely distressed in her scenes.

Directed by Robert Benton, the film follows Ted Kramer (Hoffman), a young workaholic whose wife leaves him and their 6-year-old son Billie, to find her own calling. Kramer suddenly find himself in the role of the primary caregiver and despite initial hiccups, becomes a doting father. After over a year of being a single father, he finds himself locked in a custody battle with the wife, where the odds are stacked against him.

Streep has a supporting role, and doesn’t appear for more than 15 minutes in the movie. The first-half is on the slower side and at one point almost feels like a one-man movie, with all the spotlight on Mr Hero Hoffman. Justin Henry plays Billie, and is a dear as the lost little boy who wants his mother back. While the father-son duo struggle at first, they eventually figure out their own rhythm. The courtroom drama was a lot briefer than I expected, but was an interesting display of how courts always favor mothers when it comes to custody battles. The climax was heart-warming and it’s laudable how the mother is not demonized for choosing a career over family, since apparently the novel the film is based on did just that. The platonic friendship Ted shares with his neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander), who helps him navigate through his new role of a single dad, was also also brilliantly done.

Even though I wasn’t psyched about seeing Hoffman in the role, he is really good in the part, and will have a lot of viewers tearing up by the end. Clearly a great example of how actors are nothing like their characters and the audience shouldn’t mix their onscreen and off-screen personalities. And as far as Streep’s performance is concerned, she is impeccable, and not a shred of credit should go to Hoffman’s non-sensical ‘method-acting’. Most Gen-Y yuppies wouldn’t even know who he is. But Meryl Streep? We all know her, love her and the years have proven that she would’ve have probably gotten that Oscar without having to bear the emotional trauma of having a dick for a colleague, who mocked her dead boyfriend as part of his acting routine.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 50 for a lowdown on 22 Studio Ghibli films

‘Luca’ Review – Simple and Adorable

It’s been a while since the 2021 Disney-Pixar film ‘Luca’ came out, and if you are an animation enthusiast who hasn’t seen it yet (like me until yesterday), you probably should. Even though it borrows its ideas from a lot of other Disney tales, like ‘Little Mermaid’, ‘Moana’ & ‘Finding Nemo’, in the end, ‘Luca’ is a story that manages to hold on its own.

From the beautiful bright colors of the ocean, to the simple idyllic Italian coastal village life, everything about this animated film directed by Enrico Casarosa has a simple charm that will have younger viewers wide-eyed and smiley. ‘Luca’ the protagonist, is a shape-shifting water being, so while in the sea, Luka has gills, fins and scales, once he is dry and out of water – he changes into a human form. One day, he meets a similar boy his age, the spirited Alberto who lives on the surface. The two kids soon become best-friends decide to travel around the world together.

Luca’s parents are horrified that their boy is curious about humans and decide to banish him to the deep-sea for a few weeks with an uncle. So our hero runs away from home and tries to find a new life on land with Alberto. And thus unfolds a fun-filled bright comedy, that never slackens in pace and will keep younger viewers wide-eyed and smiley. The animation is absolutely adorable, there are some super cute characters, like a grumpy cat that’s always suspicious of Luca’s human form.

Despite being on the fantasy side of things, the makers of ‘Luca’ take into consideration a lot of little details in the story, which makes it very enjoyable, like how Luca’s uncle from the deep sea has a transparent body, like some real deep-sea dwellers. There is obviously a mild ‘human vs nature’ conflict theme, with Luka’s kind living in fear of regular humans, knowing they can probably never find acceptance if the truth about them were to be known. But the makers never get too serious or get into the business of giving sermons in the guise of emotional dialogues.

Some viewers might find the climax rushed and conveniently wrapped up, without much conflict or drama. But that’s also the beauty of ‘Luka’ – it’s a breezy bright film that keeps things light. So while it might not be complex enough for a few, it’s nearly a perfect animated story for kids. Especially because ‘Luka’ is not just a ‘fish out of water’ running away from home, but a optimistic-practical boy filled with child-like curiosity about the world; someone who would rather go to school to learn more things about the universe, than just waste his days driving a scooter.

I loved this movie and it’s a 9/10 from me.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – Abstract AF

Listen to Episode 50 for a lowdown on 22 Studio Ghibli films