There is a superb character in Luca: a deranged, bulbous, cheerful creature from the darkest depths of the ocean, with a mania in/with regard to’concerning’regarding rotting fish-flesh and a peculiar speech pattern. “If you leave the mouth open, the whale carcass go in,” this see-through abomination, Uncle Ugo (Sacha Baron Cohen), enthuses of his favourite pastime. “It’s rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent . I recommend it.” Ugo is hilarious, and eccentric, and unexpected. Unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunately, he’s merely’barely on screen in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a fleeting few minutes, and in his absence those three qualities are somewhat lacking. Pixar’s latest is amiable and as bright as a scoop of gelato, easy to like in the moment. But like gelato it also feels a little disposable, short of the spectacle, emotional power and enormous’vast’massive’tremendous laughs we’ve come to expect from the studio.###Where The Little Mermaid saw the tuna-y teen forego her tail in an attempt to be with her human love, Luca has a somewhat different twist on the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mula. In it, the titular red-eyed, slithery sea monster (voiced by Jacob Tremblay — also, incidentally, in the upcoming reboot of The Little Mermaid) heads to the surface, upon discovering that he takes on the appearance of a human upon becoming dry, in an attempt to pursue his passion in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Vespas. Yes, Vespas, the Italian motorised scooter immortalised by the poster in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Roman Holiday and, to a lesser extent, Larry Crowne.###What stops the film short of greatness is a pervading generic quality.###Luca and his new pal Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) are obsessed by the things, chattering with regards to’concerning’with respect to them, drawing them and even making their own DIY version. And it is refreshing, at least at first, to possess’own’nurse the plot pootle along like, well, an Italian motorised scooter, propel n by two kids’ sun-baked daydreams. There’s no enormous’vast’massive’tremendous villain and no grand quest, despite the movie establishing a race of guppy-ish, fish-herding aquatic beings and a nightmarish-sounding oceanic abyss (never seen on screen). Instead, it’s all with regards to’concerning’with respect to pasta-eating (linguine-animation techniques possess’own’nurse come on in leaps and bounds) and beach-based bonding, as the two pretend-humans make friends with a local girl (Emma Berman).###There is quite a bit to like. Brought to life in pastel colours, the town of Portorosso (a nod to Studio Ghibli classic Porco Rosso) is charming and cosy, like a memory of a holiday you went on when you were eight. There are some pleasing character detoken s, like the hulking, one-armed fisherman with a belt stuffed full of stabbing implements, or his cat, Machiavelli, both of whom rock impressive moustaches. The odd fantasy sequence, meanwhile, draws winningly on Italian pop-culture and history: a bit with Da Vinci’s flying machine is like Hudson Hawk, but rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent .###What stops the film short of greatness is a pervading generic quality, peculiar ly disappointing given the filmmakers possess’own’nurse cited Fellini and Visconti as impact’effect s. Several characters yak in American accents, despite their Italian names. The fish monsters (Ugo aside) lack detail and personality. And while kids might spend the end credits trying to persuade their parents to buy them Vespas, there’s just not that much in/with regard to’concerning’regarding grown-ups to latch onto. The enormous’vast’massive’tremendous race sequence, when it arrives, has zips and twists in store, but the movie as a whole is oddly sleepy, rolling along pleasantly rather than blazing a trail.