Overall Thoughts: Great idea and has great moments, but overall falls just short of being a great movie.
I had pretty high hopes for Luck. Skydance Animation was hyping itself up as a new flashy competitor in the animation arena. Also, the studio had former Disney/Pixar head John Lasseter spearheading the division. A great voice cast and solid trailers added further promise. Could this be the next modern animated classic?
And the final film is good, but not quite a classic. The problem, thankfully, however, isn't in the concept itself. Luck brings a refreshingly original story with well-developed characters. The problem here is in how the final story is constructed here. The film spends too little time in one area to convince the main character of a change of mind. The second act goes on for too long. The third act is rushed. And this causes the overall pacing to suffer as well. Luck ends up being 110 minutes long, and could have been at least 10 minutes shorter.
That being said, the film gets a lot right. It's heart is in the right place. And, in a handful of scenes, Lasseter's gift of pulling on the heartstrings with the story beats is evident. A very well-written scene between Sam and Bob at the beginning of the third act hearkens back to early 2000's Pixar. And, the resolution is both sweet and a little unexpected at the same time (even if its rushed).
The voice acting is strong across the board. Eva Noblezada (Yellow Rose) brings energy and a selfless, kind spirit to lead character Sam. Simon Pegg brings a multi-faceted approach to Bob that really works. Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg give memorable turns in their roles. And John Ratzenberger is a familiar warm presence here in a minor role that could have been expanded in the third act.
The animation is terrific as well, with colorful characters and backgrounds. There's a couple of standout scenes that have some creative, clockwork-like creations in the Land of Luck. It felt like a modern theme park land on steroids, and it was a joy to see. You can tell that effort was put in here, and it works (Luck reportedly cost $140 million to make, on the level of an original Disney Animation project).
Luck isn't laugh out loud funny, but it's not meant to be a comedy per se either. It's meant to be a cute, family-friendly adventure with a heart on its' sleeve. And I did not mind that at all. I also appreciated that the filmmakers didn't want to push an adult edge on this one, and made a rare G-rated movie for everyone to enjoy. There are a couple of throwaway moments, including a somewhat unnecessary dance moment with a group of bunnies.
Ultimately, some pacing and plot construction problems do weigh down Luck and keep it from being a special film. But, some of that is made up from a terrific concept, some genuine heart, a few surprises, and some great animation, and I found it to be better than the other animated efforts this summer has had to offer. It's not going to be an awards contender, but its' a solid start for this promising new studio.
Grade: B
Is this movie family-friendly? Luck is bestowed a lucky and rare G rating. And it earns it. There's very little here to worry about. A little bit of dog poop talk (but only in terms of bad luck). Sam is accident-prone, but she never gets badly hurt from her hijinks. A few light perilous falls. The film does focus a bit on the topic of foster children, and their disappointment from not finding a "forever family". This could be upsetting for some younger children. Some lying. However, overall, the film is the cleanest I've seen animated fare these days. I think it's fine for ages 5 and up.
