everyone in portorosso pretends to believe in sea monsters. he gasps well, i'm not pretending. ah!ah! cow moos set largely in portorosso, a picturesque but insular town on the italian riviera, the retro action centres on luca, a sea creature told by his parents to avoid the land at all costs, but lured ashore by headstrong alberto. # you are my sunshine, my only sunshine... transforming like mermaids between wet and dry environments, our amphibious antiheroes befriend local human girl, julia, and set their sights on winning a cycling, swimming and pasta—eating competition, the prize money for which would pay for that transport of delight, a vespa scooter. whoa! director enrico casarosa says the inspiration for luca came from memories of his childhood in genoa, his love of federico fellini, and his admiration for the hand—drawn animations of hayao miyazaki. that's a heavy set of influences, and it's a credit to the movie, which is co—written byjesse andrews and mikejones, that it doesn't simply buckle under the strain of such heavyweight inspirational touchstones. wow! we look horri