Luck – Review
105 Minutes, Rated G
Written by Kiel Murray, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger
Directed by Peggy Holmes
**Enjoy Mark’s thoughts below and read Ryan’s review HERE. Then, stick around and watch or listen as they discuss Luck as part of this week’s episode along with Prey and Easter Sunday.**
Synopsis:
The curtain is pulled back on the millennia-old battle between the organizations of good luck and bad luck that secretly affects everyday lives, as Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world, stumbles into the never-before-seen Land of Luck and sets out on a quest to bring some good luck home for her best friend. But with humans not allowed, her only chance is teaming up with the magical creatures who live there to do it.
Normally when you think “feel-good animated movie,” you might think of Pixar… or Disney… or whatever creative combination of those two it is this week. Maybe you’d think Dreamworks Animation.
You probably wouldn’t jump right to Skydance Animation.
But that’s who’s responsible for Luck, the latest offering to hit Apple TV+.
Now, if you’ve followed us for any length of time, you know that we tend to love (with a few exceptions) pretty much everything Apple puts on their service. Sure, the quantity of Apple TV+’s lineup isn’t as expansive as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon, but they seem to be a bit more discerning in their acquisition strategy than the other services, so the odds are in their favor.
So to bring an animated film into the fray against “bigger” films like Lightyear, Turning Red, The Bad Guys, Bob’s Burgers, DC League of Super-Pets, etc., is a bold move.
Luck mostly holds its own against those other films for one specific reason: it’s rated G. All of the others are PG/PG-13, making Luck the only 100% family-friendly offering out there so far.
I say mostly holds its own because it’s not a perfect film. It has that ultra-sweet, almost saccharine wholesomeness to it that can be a bit much for adults, at times. It also tends to explain exactly what the characters are learning as they go, which makes the lessons a bit more digestible for the little-little kids.
The voice cast is very good, with Eva Noblezada (about to appear in the flesh in Jo Koy’s Easter Sunday, releasing this week) bringing an abundance of helpful (yet unlucky) energy to Sam, and Simon Pegg as Bob, the sarcastic, Scottish, lucky black cat.
The animation is definitely up-to-snuff, as it were, with a playful sense of wonder jumping off the screen as Sam tries to nonchalantly navigate the Mousetrap-inspired transit system behind Bob, and failing.
But failing beautifully, mind you.
Like any good animated film, we have our comic relief character, here in the form of German unicorn Geoff, voiced by Flula Borg, who doubles as the love interest of the luck Dragon (Jane Fonda), who runs everything like a corporate master.
Overall, Luck is a fun romp through the land of Luck (both Good and Bad) that has a little something for everyone. And we learn that maybe, just maybe, having Good luck all the time isn’t as great as we might think, and that, as Longfellow said, “into each life some rain must fall.”
“If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all!”
Luck premieres exclusively on Apple TV+ August 5 and features the voices of Eva Noblezada, Simon Pegg, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Flula Borg, Colin O’Donoghue, John Ratzenberger and Adelynn Spoon.
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