‘Luck’ Review: The First Offering From John Lasseter’s New Studio Is a Mixed Bag
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film CriticFull disclosure: I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe that “Luck” — the first feature-length toon from David Ellison-backed Skydance Animation — represents a force for good in the world.
It’s not easy developing both a pipeline and a project that could compete with the Disneys and DreamWorks out there. (And yet, this was famously the film that Emma Thompson quit in protest when the company hired ex-Pixar honcho John Lasseter.) While the new studio’s debut can’t touch “Toy Story,” it’s an auspicious start for a talented group of storytellers.After Lasseter got involved, “Luck” changed direction — and directors — picking up choreographer-turned-helmer Peggy Holmes (who had two Tinkerbell movies to her credit, but nothing of this scale) and shifting to a plot full of cute supporting characters (lilting leprechauns!
dancing bunnies!). Still, the creative team never quite cracked their promising subject, settling on a plucky but unlucky 18-year-old orphan who travels to the source of both good and bad luck — a garish Willy Wonka-esque parallel world where most of the movie takes place — in order to collect a magic penny for her best friend Hazel.
In addition to not having a “forever family” of her own, Sam Greenfield (voiced by Eva Noblezada) is cursed with clumsiness, constantly losing things and making messes wherever she goes.
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