First Luca trailer shows off Disney Pixar's magical tale of friendship

The first trailer for Luca, Disney Pixar's new animated movie, has arrived.

The film follows the adventures of two boys, the titular Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) and his friend Alberto – as well as their land-dwelling pal Giulia, who sports some seriously red hair. They're set to have a sun-soaked summer hanging out and sampling everything the Italian seaside has to offer. The only catch is, Luca and Alberto are both magical sea creatures, and the town they're exploring doesn't seem all that accepting of underwater denizens.

In the trailer, Luca and Alberto go careening down a hill on a moped – and Luca explores the town by night with Giulia, complete with some stargazing and roof-hopping. Luca and Alberto are also constantly on the cusp of revealing their secret, with the pair transforming into their sea creature–selves every time they get so much as splashed with water.

Disney Pixar are shaking up their style for this one, still embracing 3D animation but with a distinctly different look for their main characters – more Wallace and Gromit than Coco or Toy Story. The film follows on the heels of Onward and Soul, which were both very well received, and from the heart-melting scenes in this trailer, we can expect Luca to be just as excellent.

The film is directed by Enrico Casarosa, who also helmed the Pixar short La Luna. "This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it's set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship," Casarosa said back in July 2020. "Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in Luca."

He added: "So in addition to the beauty and charm of the Italian seaside, our film will feature an unforgettable summer adventure that will fundamentally change Luca."

Luca is set to arrive this June 18, 2021. We don't know yet whether it will be a Disney Plus Premier Access exclusive like Raya and the Last Dragon, or if it will hit theaters too. In the meantime, check out all of 2021's upcoming movie release dates.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.