Capturing The Voices From Home For Pixar's Luca

BUILDING A FRIENDSHIP – Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer lend their voices to Luca and Alberto—two sea monsters who look human when they’re out of the water. The two spark a friendship one special summer in an Italian seaside town – a bond quickly deepened by a mutual love of Vespa scooters and the freedom and adventure they represent (even when they’re homemade). Directed by Academy Award® nominee Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”), “Luca” opens on June 18, 2021. © 2021 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Luca was one of many films that had to shift to quarantine protocols to finish production. That required a variety of creative solutions when it came to the recording the cast members.

“When the pandemic hit and we were all sort of realizing that we had to work from home, one of my biggest concerns was how are we gonna record everybody,” says producer Andrea Warren. “It involved sending iPads and microphones, and everybody testing out spaces in their houses where the sound would be baffled.”

“Being in my mom’s closet for a year, it was definitely a stretch for me,” according to Jack Grazer who voices Alberto. “I bet my neighbors were really freaked out about the amount of screaming that was going on from my house.”

TRENETTE AL PESTO! — Emma Berman, Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer provide the voices of a trio of new friends in Disney and Pixar’s “Luca.” Outgoing and charming, Giulia invites Luca and Alberto to her house where they have pasta for the first time—it’s a hit. What she doesn’t know, however, is that her new friends are actually sea monsters who just look human when they’re dry. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”), “Luca” debuts on Disney+ on June 18, 2021. © 2021 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Jacob Tremblay, who voices Luca, had a different experience when it came to recording his lines. “I was very, very lucky because I actually started recording before COVID hit.” That allowed him to record at the Pixar Campus and tour the studio. He then shifted to recording at a studio in Vancouver, which was closer to his home, once COVID hit.

Maya Rudolph, who voiced Daniela, Luca’s mother, was sad to not have her own visit to the Pixar Campus. “I, too, was in a closet at a certain point, screaming ‘Luca’.” Even with the closet recording sessions, Rudolph was thrilled with her experience. “It couldn’t have been more enjoyable, under the circumstances.”

“Yeah, all the stuff was sent,” agrees Jim Gaffigan, who voices Luca’s father Lorenzo. “There was something about it that was almost kind of comfortable about recording at home, where there wasn’t a commute and it wasn’t in an unfamiliar space.”

You can see how all of the unique voice recording sessions come together when Luca premieres on Disney+ June 18, 2021.

About Luca

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”), “Luca” releases June 18 on Disney+.