Very Superstitious🍀

Luck is too abstract even for Pixar. When Pixar founder and Walt Disney Animation chief creative officer John Lasseter was fired for misconduct, the newly formed Skydance Animation wasted no time hiring him. It was a controversial decision, but other former Disney collaborator’s like director Peggy Holmes embraced the opportunity. Lasseter’s contribution to computer animation should never be understated, but Luck is far from his best work. Let’s just say it wasn’t worth reactivating my Apple TV+ account. Luck asks the question, who’s responsible for the good and bad luck in the world? The concept of luck is recognized by most people, but it’s not the same as emotion. The animation is good if a little too clean looking.

There’s so much green in the movie that it should be a crime. I’m surprised the main character Sam Greenfield doesn’t have green eyes. Instead she’s voiced by lesser known Hispanic actress/singer Eva Noblezada. Sam is the unluckiest person in the world who ended up aging out of foster care. Lil Rel Howery voices Sam’s boss who gives her employment after she’s forced to relocate. The system is accurately depicted, but it’s just as boring and bureaucratic as the Land of Luck. Just about every form of good luck or bad luck is represented. A lucky penny gives Sam good luck and it’s probably the only part I found amusing. Simon Pegg voices a black cat who crosses paths with Sam. Luck is G rated and relatively inoffensive, but there are way too many exaggerated accents. Pegg uses his Scotty voice since black cats are considered lucky in Scotland.

The Land of Luck is populated by Irish leprechauns, lady bugs, pigs, rabbits, and other lucky creatures. Jane Fonda voices the luck dragon CEO of Good Luck and Whoopi Goldberg voices the leprechaun head of security. The only goal is for Sam to turn around the luck of one of her foster friends. Along the way Sam and Bob recieve help from Colin O’Donoghue as a helpful leprechaun and Flula Borg as an overly eccentric German unicorn engineer protecting the balance of Good and Bad Luck. Bad Luck is full of roots and goblins, but they’re not so bad. John Ratzenberger was clearly loyal to Lasseter since he chose to voice a character in Luck instead of continue his Pixar voicing tradition. There’s a moral about finding a balance of luck, but luck just isn’t that deep. Luck proves Skydance Animation doesn’t have half the luck that Pixar has.