Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo—the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words—who's quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it's easier said than done.
Ciao Alberto is a warm but slight Pixar short that revisits the Luca world with a simple mentor-apprentice story. The plot is charming but thin—a brief vignette about Alberto trying to impress Massimo with little dramatic stakes or complexity. The voice performances and character work carry the emotional core well enough, with Massimo's stoic warmth being a highlight. Cinematography captures the sun-drenched Italian Riviera aesthetic of the original film competently but adds nothing new visually. Novelty is low—it's a companion piece that retreads familiar ground from Luca without expanding the world meaningfully, functioning more as a fan-service addendum than a distinct creative statement. The ending delivers a predictable but sweet emotional beat that satisfies within the short's modest ambitions.