Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg Help A Little Luck Go A Long Way

A saying goes, “Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck,”  is really just a modern take on an old superstition from ancient times when people often thought metals were gifts from the gods. Well, baby Sam Greenfield(Eva Noblezada) wouldn’t know a thing about any of that as she has got to be the unluckiest person on the face of the planet! An orphan from the time she was small, Sam never walked away with a forever family and having aged out of the system, she now embarks upon a life that is completely her own responsibility – bad luck and all.  Until, she runs into a black cat named Bob (Simon Pegg) who unknowingly gifts her with a lucky penny.  Everything shifts and changes for a slight moment until the penny is accidentally flushed down the toilet and suddenly Sam hops in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, where she must unite with Bob and other magical creatures to turn her luck around.

Seeing that this is John Lasseter’s first major effort since leaving Pixar, where he brought us such classics as Toy Story and Cars, the expectations don’t necessarily match the results.  As much fun as this film can be in some moments, the similarities between Luck and Disney’s Oscar winning hit Soul are too numerous to ignore making its’ only origin the fact that it’s somewhat based in Irish folklore.

Directed by Peggy Holmes, Luck is a taps into an emotional journey through a lens of life most are not privy.  You will laugh, grow a lump in your throat and leave immersed with a sense of hope for Sam (Eva Noblezada), Hazel (Adelynn Spoon), Bob (Simon Pegg), the Dragon (Jane Fonda), Jeff the Unicorn (Flula Borg), but, even the comedic talents of the amazing Whoopi Goldberg as The Captain can’t help you from noticing the Hazmat rabbits feel like they jumped ship from Monsters, Inc. or that Sam hopping portals is coming straight out from Inside Out.

It’s unfortunate because Noblezada really exemplifies the perfect amount hope and sentiment that makes you root for Sam to succeed with every frame, while teaching the lesson that a little bad luck can teach you how to pivot. Charming on some level, mostly due to its amazing voice cast, Luck just never really gets its feet firmly planted on the ground.  Streaming via  Apple TV Plus Luck  on August 5th, here’s hoping kids and adults grab the pivoting lesson and walk away a little more lifted up than before despite similar themes.