Mumbai, Jun 17 (IANS): Actress Maya Rudolph, who features in the voice cast of the upcoming animated film "Luca", says an experience from motherhood in real life helped her bring alive her role.

Rudolph voices Daniela, mother of the titular Luca in the film. She says she used a maxim she follows with her own children to understand and bring alive the nuances of her role.

"I've definitely seen my mama bear come out when necessary with my children, so that was a pretty easy element of Daniela to relate to. When your children are pushing boundaries, you want to show them that you love them but you're serious. That can be an incredibly difficult balance, but one that every parent understands. Daniela has a very sweet, recurring mantra with Luca, saying, 'You know I love you, right?' I think that's really important for her character because she is not embarrassed to show how strong she is, and she's not embarrassed to show how much she loves her son," says Rudolph.

Directed by Enrico Casarosa the film features the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Jim Gaffigan amongst others.

'Luca' releases on Disney+ Hotstar Premium on Friday.