Gather up your loved ones and enjoy a movie night with Disney and Pixar’s charming movie, Luca (2021). We are continuing our Sunday Night Disney Movie series with this whale of a tale, err… sea monster of a movie. Our focus with these movie night guides is to give you easy low-prep and low-budget guides to connecting with the people you care about. Keep reading for our complete discussion guide, simple activity and incredibly easy food ideas. Join us as we dive into Disney Pixar’s Luca!
There is nothing you need to buy to experience a terrific Luca movie night. In fact, you can borrow the movie from a library or friend and have a free family movie night. However, we have also provided just a few links for optional items we like. As an Amazon Associate we earn a small commission on products you buy after following those links. The price you pay does not change, but your purchase helps support this blog.
Get Ready to Watch Luca (2021)
Luca is currently on Disney+. If you do not subscribe to Disney+, we recommend checking your local library to see if they have a copy you can borrow for free. We borrow new releases and classic films from our library regularly. Ask your librarian about what is available near you.
Create a Cozy Movie Night & Conversation Space
You know how your family or group likes to watch movies. Drag out the bean bag chairs or fluff the pillows. After the movie is over, try to create an environment where everyone in your group feels welcome to share their ideas and feelings. You may want to adjust the lighting or seating so everyone can see each other in an inviting space. Let everyone know that their thoughts are valued by making comfortable physical space for each person.
Dinner and a Movie (or Snacks)
If you think some food and drinks would enhance your movie night, consider these quick ideas.
First, pasta! Pasta eating takes a pretty epic role in Luca and is a key element of life in Luca’ s Portorosso. For your movie night, consider pairing the film and discussion with a healthy serving of pasta. You can make this as easy or complicated as you wish. Get out the family recipe, order from your favorite local Italian restaurant or simply throw a handful of dry spaghetti in a pot of water. We love that this dinner idea has the potential to be really quite simple or very elegant. You choose!
Beyond the pasta, you can always add some other Italian favorites to match the setting of the film, Luca.
We also love popcorn at any and all family movies nights. We wrote about it in this post: Easy Popcorn Hacks for Family Movie Night. In that article, we share a link to our favorite compact popcorn popper (find it here) and lots of ideas for fun popcorn toppings. For Luca we would also suggest the additional topping choices of seaweed flakes and grated Parmesan cheese. Add those two toppings to your movie night popcorn bar to honor the land and sea settings of this movie night. (Whether you put those two topping on the same batch is up to you and your crew.)
Watch Disney & Pixar’s Luca for Family Movie Night
Ready? Time to watch Disney and Pixar’s 2021 film, Luca. We hope you enjoy the movie! It is a great film for dreaming about visiting new places or experiencing warmer weather. Luca is also a wonderful starting point for talking about friendship, family and identity. Keep reading for our discussion guide and a super simple activity for Luca movie night.
First, Let’s Prepare to Share for Movie Night
As you transition from watching the movie to discussing the movie plus the experiences and feelings of those present, try to create a welcoming environment for sharing. You may wish to remind the group that you want to hear from everyone who wants to share and that the goal is neither to fix nor outdo one another.
If someone shares something difficult, acknowledge their feelings with something like “It sounds like you were feeling scared when that happened,” or “I am sorry. What a tough situation for you to be in.”
One thing you can do to help others share is to share yourself. Being vulnerable with your loved ones is like a gift of self. When you share your feelings, it not only helps your family and friends know you, it helps them feel comfortable knowing and sharing themselves. You will just want to make sure that whatever you share is age appropriate for everyone in the room.
Luca Movie Night Discussion Guide
When you are already to share, invite your group to consider the following reflection questions. We have attempted to order them from “easy” to “hard” in terms of the vulnerability it takes to answer these questions. You know your group, we invite you to use this discussion guide in the way that is best for you and your family or loved ones.
As these questions go deeper, we recommend leaving time for your group members to reflect before answering. In our experience, it can be helpful to set aside some silent time after the question is read and before anyone answers. Time for reflection usually results in more heartfelt answers and helps some people feel more comfortable. We like to provide paper and pencils or crayons so each group member can start their reflections with words or drawings before sharing. Some of us like to share those paper reflections or keep them to ourselves. Giving everyone a chance to reflect and share at their comfort level helps everyone feel respected.
Reflection Questions for Luca Movie Night
- Luca is set in charming Portorosso, Italy and in the sea near that town. Luca wishes to explore Portorosso and the land beyond it.
- What are some of your favorite places?
- What places would you like to visit?
- Try to remember or think about learning to ride a bike (or maybe how to swim).
- How did you feel? Frightened? Proud? Excited?
- How have your emotions played a part during times when you are trying something new?
- Late in the film, Alberto tells Luca something that he hid from him before: Alberto’s father left him and did not come back.
- Why do you think Alberto hid this from Luca when they met and even after they grew close?
- Luca and Alberto work very hard to hide their sea-monster selves from the people of Portorosso.
- Have you ever felt like you needed to hide part of yourself?
- Why do you think you felt that way?
- Describe a time when you were brave enough to share something about yourself. How did that feel?
- Ercole spends a lot of time with Ciccio and Guido, but they do not seem to like him very much at the end of the film. By contrast, Luca’s friendships with Giulia and Alberto go through many ups and downs, but they are strong at the end of the film. Luca and Alberto feel connected even if they are choosing to be in different places. Luca and Giulia feel connected even though they have come from very different places.
- What makes those friendships good?
- How do you know when a friendship is good?
- What are good relationships you have?
Easy Luca Movie Night Activity
To round out your Luca movie night, we have an easy activity. Gather some writing and drawing implements (crayons, pencils, markers… your choice) and some blank paper. These simple materials are all you need for this Luca themed activity. For a little extra fun, you can switch out the paper for these blank postcards.
Friendship Postcards
Explain to everyone that you all are going to create postcards. Hand-out a blank sheet of paper or a blank postcard to each person. Place the crayons, markers, pencils or whatever you are using within reach. Now, invite everyone to do the following.
Everyone has a blank postcard, so each person gets to decide which location to feature on the picture side of your postcard. Pick somewhere you would like to visit or create your own imaginary location. Draw that location on the picture area of the postcard. Add a name if you would like. Use the picture to show why this is somewhere you would like to be. Add color and details.
On the other side, address the postcard to someone who is a good friend to you. In the message area of the postcard, write a short note explaining why that person is a good friend and thanking them for their friendship. Stuck on the message? Try some of these writing prompts:
- “You are a good friend. Thank you for always…”
- “You help me feel good about myself when you…”
- ”You helped me feel better when…”
- “I admire how you…”
- ”One of my favorite memories of our friendship is…”
Now, share your postcard with the group. When you are done, mail the postcard or give it to your friend!
Luca Activities, Variations
We hope the Luca movie night postcards help you reflect on what makes a good friend while also helping you thank and connect with someone important to you. For some variations on this activity, consider the following:
- Provide magazines, scissors and glue to your group. Your group members might prefer to create picture collages rather than draw on their postcards.
- Rather than mail your postcards to an outside friend, write postcards or even quick notes to people within your reflection group. Give each person a box (decorate them if you would like) and take turns delivering your notes or postcards to these personal mailboxes. The little ones in your group might want to pretend to be mail carriers.
- For some fun creative materials, consider some of our current favorites: these color-changing markers, these “junior” oil pastels, or these paint sticks. The color-changing markers are fun for writing and decoding “secret” messages. The pastels and paint sticks are a lot of fun, but be sure to cover your writing surface, because they can get a little messy.
- Finally, consider joining in one or all of the Portorosso Cup activities. Go for a swim (or take a bath), take a family bike ride and eat pasta, as we described earlier.
Thanks for reading this guide to a Luca movie night with reflection questions, food idea and friendship postcards.
If you liked this movie guide, be sure to check-out our full Disney Sunday Night Movies series. We think our Inside Out movie guides are especially great for helping kids share emotions. Do not forget to take a look through our popcorn hacks. If you are looking for even more Disney, take a look at our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep and connect with our discussion guide: Ask These Questions Before You Visit Disneyland. Please consider subscribing to our free mailing list below, and get our latest posts right in your inbox. Thanks again for reading.
