It's not often I find myself watching anything produced outside of motorcycling circles that paints motorcycling in a positive light, but that's just what happened when I flicked on the latest kids movie from Pixar Animation Studios – Luca.
A fun tale of friendship and acceptance between all peoples – even if some may happen to be sea monsters – it's one of Luca's main plot devices that really caught my attention.
Luca follows the title character Luca and his friend Alberto – both of whom are sea monsters who just happen to appear human above water – as they do their best to find a way to make their dream of owning a Vespa and exploring the world a reality.
Unlike the usual image that's painted of motorcycles (and scooters) being dangerous or as simply an image of counterculture, Luca portrays the idea of owning a motorcycle as something we're all very familiar with; that a motorcycle is tool not only of transport but also of desire, beauty and freedom.
Considering we are more used to the mainstream actively discouraging kids from any involvement with motorcycles it is a breath of fresh air to have a kids movie promote the dream of bike ownership.
While the actual time with the Vespa on Luca's adventure is limited it is prominent enough to have kids noticing scooters and motorbikes while out and about.
As a parent and a motorcyclist, Luca is quite refreshing, and I'm not gonna lie, sitting on the couch and enjoying something involving bikes with my kids a bonus as well.
With the world's roads consistently becoming more crowded with cars, maybe we're finally starting to see a change that has the mainstream seeing two wheels in a more positive light.
Regardless, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my (so far) four screenings of Luca with my three and one year old and that, at the end of the day, is what watching a kids movie is all about.
Luca is streaming now on Disney+.