If you’re a fan of both Pixar and Hayao Miyazaki films, you may want to know how to watch Luca online for free. Luca, which premiered on Disney+ on June 18, 2021, is an animated coming-of-age movie about a sea monster boy named Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) who can assume the form of a human while on land.

The film, which is Pixar’s 24th movie, is set in the Italian Riviera between the 1950s and 60s and follows Luca as he spends his summer exploring the town of Portorosso with his new best friend, Alberto Scorfano. In an interview with IndieWire in February 2021, Luca‘s director, Enrico Casarosa, explained how Luca was inspired by his own childhood in Genoa with a friend also named Alberto. “Luca was about my best friend, Alberto. I was very shy and timid and sheltered by my family, and I met [Alberto], who was very free, his family wasn’t around a whole lot, and he was able to chase around and get into trouble,” he said.

He continued, “It got me out of my comfort zone, and I love how these friendships challenge us and help find us out who we are, even to the point of changing each other. And the fun part was growing up on the Riviera and having amazing summers in this coastal town.”

Casarosa explained that Luca’s sea monster side serves a “metaphor for feeling different” that many kids experience as in when they’re younger. “The other side of being a kid is that you always feel like you’re the outsider,” he said. “Me and my friend felt like such losers when would hang out. And I love how the sea monster is a wonderful metaphor for feeling different.” As for the movie’s animation style, Casarosa described Luca as a mix between Hayao Miyazaki (the Japanese animator known for films like Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away) and Federico Fellini, an Italian filmmaker known for movies like La Dolce Vita.

If you love monsters, Italy and animated movies, Luca may be for you. But if you don’t have a Disney+ subscription (or don’t want to pay for one), you may want to know how to watch Luca online for free. Well, read on to find out.

© 2021 Disney/Pixar.

How to watch Luca online for free

Unfortunately, Disney Plus ended its free trial in 2020, but there still are ways to watch Luca online for free. Keep on reading below to find out some of the secret ways to secure a free trial for Disney Plus.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Free Trial

Xbox Game Pass users with new or existing “Ultimate” tier subscriptions are eligible to claim a 30-day free trial offer with Disney Plus as of June 2021. Microsoft announced the perk to coincide with the premiere of Loki on Disney Plus following an earlier offer in November 2020 in honor of the second season of The Mandalorian.

Though the previous offer expired in January 2021, Microsoft decided to partner with Disney Plus again—and the good news is that this perk is available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members whether or not they claimed the previous Disney+ Perk. To claim it, all you need is an “Ultimate” tier Xbox Game Pass subscription (priced at $14.99 per month), which gives you access to the perks gallery on an Xbox console, the Xbox app on a Windows PC, or the Xbox Game Pass mobile app on iOS and Android.

After claiming the perk, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users will be directed to Disney Plus to activate their 30-day free trial. The catch? Members can only claim and activate the trial from June 8, 2021, until September 30, 2021. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the 30-day free trial will be set to auto-renew your subscription, so remember to cancel your Disney Plus membership before your free trial period is over if you don’t want to pay $7.99 a month.

Verizon Unlimited Free Subscription

If you’re a Verizon customer (or know someone who is), Verizon offers free Disney Plus subscription with its Unlimited plans (a.k.a. Get More Unlimited, Play More Unlimited, Verizon Plan Unlimited, Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited.) If you have one of these plans, you can sign-up for a free six-month Disney+ subscription (which saves you about $42.) Click here for Verizon’s FAQ on how to sign up for its free Disney+ subscription.

Verizon customers with Get More Unlimited and Play More Unlimited plans are also eligible for their Disney Bundle, which offers not only a free Disney Plus subscription for as long as you have your Verizon plan, but also free Hulu and ESPN+ subscriptions too, which saves viewers about $12.99 per month. Click here for Verizon’s FAQ on how to sign up for its Disney Bundle. So there you have it—a way to watch Disney Plus for free.

Luca is available to stream on Disney+.

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