 Today we're talking about two wide-eyed seadwellers who dream of one day stepping foot on land and getting away from their humdrum lives down below. One is a Disney Renaissance classic that continues to be enjoyed to this day. The other is a new fish-out-of-water adventure that manages to capture the heart and spirit of older Disney offerings. Our job is to determine which is better. So park your Vespa, put down that thingamabob, and start paying attention. It's the Little Mermaid vs. Luca on Movie Feuds. These are very different films that share a few commonalities. For starters, both feature lead characters who want to break away from their boring day-to-day affairs. You can only herd so many fish and search through so much wreckage before it just becomes a chore. Ariel is a dreamer with a lovely voice and a smoking hot... Really, 16. She's a lovely girl. In her free time, Ariel likes to collect who's-its and what's-its galore. And presumably she's a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Her fascination with the human world, one human in particular as a matter of fact, leads to some really poor decision-making on her part. We'll get more into that in a second. Luca has a more miserable situation if you ask me. His parents are the worst. Not even allowing the kid to poke his head above the surface. Thankfully, a fellow sea monster named Alberto pops up and shows Luca the ropes. Turns out, once Luca steps out of the water and dries off, he transforms from a sea monster into a merboy. Merman. Merman! Zoolander reference. Subscribe. Ariel had to put in a bit more work for her legs. And by work, I mean going about it in the laziest way possible. She strikes up a deal with clearly the worst person in the ocean in exchange for her voice. Hey, do not judge her. She shared a beautiful 15 to 20 second glance with a complete stranger one time, so I think that pretty much justifies leaving everyone behind, including your voice and walking up to shore. Completely reasonable. The Little Mermaid has some grand spectacle towards the end when the sea witch Ursula levels up to battle Ariel in her pals, while Luca completes a triathlon. Not to get too crazy with the water puns, but the Little Mermaid is a very shallow tale. While Luca has much deeper commentary going on. Alberto, for instance, struggles with inner conflict, clearly having stronger feelings for Luca, then gets reciprocated back his way. Then there's the humans who learn over time to accept sea monsters, rather than hunt them down for merely being different. The story might not be as thrilling or adventurous, but that Pixar heart is on display, along with some good lessons being taught. It's gonna take the win here. A colorful set of heroes and villains swim, slide, slither, and soar. On the Little Mermaid side, we have Sweet 16. Rock Lobster! I know he's a Crab, calm down. A fish called Flounder. Every day I'm scuttlin'. The Wario and Waluigi of the Sea. Your soul is mine. Grown up Percy Jackson. Really excited priest. And of course, my boy Prince Eric, a.k.a. E-Money, a.k.a. Return of the Mac, a.k.a. The densest prince in Disney history. Luca has a whole school of great characters too, such as Red Riding Hood. The Dad from Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs. Petticare, Manicare, Kitty Cat Claws. Unfunny Parents voiced by funny comedians. What a twist. Every Vespa owner ever. And Alberto, who I could have sworn, was voiced by the actor who did Saka and Avatar the Last Airbender. That's embarrassing. I felt shame it was the actor from Shazam. As much as I enjoyed Luca and his pals, it's borderline impossible to top the nostalgic roster that Little Mermaid has to offer. It's gonna take the round. No movie is perfect. Oh hi Mark. Except the obvious. I think the Little Mermaid and Luca are great films with plenty of positives. The only real negative for me are a few characters in Luca being underdeveloped, such as the grandma. The plusses are aplenty. First off, we have the stellar animation. Luca benefits from that beautiful state-of-the-art Pixar talent. The northwest coast of Italy is rich in culture here and features tons of amazing vistas, charming locals, and fantastically rendered environments. Look at those water effects. Look at them! The Little Mermaid came out in freaking 1989. That is insane to me. However, there's nothing watered down about these visuals. Watered down? We're still going. The hand-drawn animation still looks great, although it's a bit unfair to compare it to what we have in 2021. To offset the dramatic leap in quality, I would turn to the music. While Luca certainly has an appropriately themed Italian score, the Little Mermaid has all those amazing singalongs that have annoyingly stayed in my head for the last couple decades. My go-to is still Kiss the Girl, but Ariel has some great ballads, along with a sassy number by Ursula. I think that's the first time in my life I've ever used the word sassy. I feel good about it. I really want to give this round a tie, but I think that's the safe way out. I think that's cowardly. It's too easy. So with that being said, I'm gonna have to go with the Little Mermaid. Because nostalgia is a cruel mistress that eventually will take us all. Don't believe me? Stop by a retirement center sometime. Those folks still live like it's the 1950s. I think Luca is a wonderful film, and one you should absolutely check out if you haven't seen it. I'd say the same about the Little Mermaid, but I can't imagine I have to. Almost everyone has seen or is at least familiar with the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. I think Luca is a smarter film, with more important themes and a very emotional ending. But the final verdict is not mine to give. That comes down to the audience. Based on the community poll, Luca received 26% of the votes, making the Little Mermaid the easy winner at 74%. If you want to take part in choosing the winner, that's entirely in your control. You just have to subscribe to my channel, Adam Does Movies, and keep an eye on the weekly community tab to vote. All right, that's the episode. Thanks for watching. Give it a like if you had some fun. I'm Adam, and this is more than just reviews, this is Movie Feuds. Thanks again for watching the video. What really helps is joining me on Patreon at Patreon.com slash AdamDoesMovies. Even throwing me $1 helps me continue to do this show every single Friday. If you don't want to do Patreon, you can also join right here and become a member on YouTube. There's a join button you can hit. So, multiple possibilities, and you even get a free exclusive show out of the deal. Take care, hopefully I'll see you soon.