Luck (2022 film) genre fantasy film
Luck is a 2022 computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Peggy Holmes and co-directed by Javier Abad, from a screenplay written by Kiel Murray, and a story by Murray and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, based on an original concept created by Rebeca Carrasco, Juan De Dios, and Julián Romero. Produced by Skydance Animation, the film features the voices of Eva Noblezada, Simon Pegg, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Flula Borg, Lil Rel Howery, Colin O'Donoghue, and John Ratzenberger. Set in the Land of Luck, the story follows the unluckiest person, Sam Greenfield (Noblezada), as she must unite with an anthropomorphic cat named Bob (Pegg) to turn her luck around.
The project was announced in July 2017, shortly after Skydance Animation was formed in March 2017, with Paramount Pictures distributing as the schedule for March 2021. Luck was subsequently green-lighted by Paramount Animation chief Mireille Soria in April 2018, with Alessandro Carloni signing on to direct the film, from a script by Aibel and Berger. The film has since undergone many changes, such as rewrites, directors, and release dates, and Holmes was later announced as the new director in January 2020, replacing Carloni. Much of the main voice cast, including Noblezada and Pegg, signed on in January 2022, following the casting of Fonda and Goldberg in February and June 2021, respectively. Production was done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luck premiered in Madrid on August 2, 2022, and was released on Apple TV+ and in select theaters in the United States on August 5, 2022. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the voice acting, music, and animation, but criticism for the worldbuilding and plot.Production
Development
In March 2017, Skydance Media formed a multi-year partnership with Madrid-based animation studio Ilion Animation Studios, forming an animation division called Skydance Animation. In July, it announced Luck. It would be distributed by Paramount Pictures as part of their deal with Skydance Media and was given a release date of March 19, 2021. In April 2018, Luck was greenlit by then-Paramount Animation chief Mireille Soria, and Alessandro Carloni signed on to direct the film, from a script by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger based on an original concept by Rebeca Carrasco, Juan De Dios and Julián Romero. Luck had been in development at Ilion before forming its deal with Skydance. Skydance Animation hired former Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO John Lasseter in late January 2019, as Head of Animation.Following Lasseter's hiring, Soria announced that Paramount Animation would no longer work with Skydance Animation. Luck was still going to be released by Paramount Pictures without Paramount Animation until Apple TV+ acquired the distribution rights to it in December 2020. Apple Original Films would replace Paramount as a production company. On January 14, 2020, Carloni was replaced by Peggy Holmes, who had previously directed Secret of the Wings (2012) and The Pirate Fairy (2014) for Lasseter, as the film's director. Kiel Murray, screenwriter for Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017), was also hired to rewrite the screenplay, turning it into a workplace fantasy comedy similar to Monsters, Inc. through Aibel and Berger were still credited for the story co-written by Murray.One of the core inspirations when researching the myths about luck is the main character Sam, having her in foster care to find her forever family. The main inspiration for Sam and her unluckyness came from television shows such as I Love Lucy and The Carol Burnett Show, along with other inspiration from Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Donald O'Connor. In researching luck, workers at Skydance Animation discovered how obsessed people are with the concept, along with some interesting reversals, including how it became random by good and bad luck. For example, black cats are considered good luck in Scotland, which led them to create Bob. By the end of the film, he is revealed to be English as black cats are considered bad luck in England. The land of Luck was designed by production designer Fred Warner to explain both sides being put of a coin.
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