50 Fun Facts About Luca

In which decade is Luca set?

The 1950s, along with the 60s, were what director Enrico Casarosa called 'a golden age that feels timeless'.

What is the name of the Italian Riviera town Luca and Alberto explore in Pixar's Luca?

Portorosso is a fictional town; director Enrico Casarosa modelled it on the Cinque Terre villages such as Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, near his native Genoa.

What does Luca herd underwater at the start of the film?

In the post-credits scene Uncle Ugo talks to a stray goatfish about life in the deep.

In Pixar's Luca, under what condition do the sea monsters take human form?

When they are dry they look human, which is why rain during the bike race is what finally exposes Alberto in front of the town.

What does Alberto tell Luca the stars in the night sky really are?

Anchovies: Alberto, bluffing about surface life, tells Luca the stars are anchovies; Luca later learns the truth from Giulia's telescope and astronomy book.

What vehicle do Luca and Alberto dream of owning?

A Vespa: the boys dream of riding a Vespa scooter around the world and build a makeshift one from scrap on Alberto's island. Vespa is Italian for 'wasp'.

Luca's parents threaten to send him to live in the deep with which relative?

Ugo, an anglerfish-like sea monster with a see-through torso, is voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen.

In Pixar's Luca, the Portorosso Cup is a triathlon of swimming, biking and what?

Pasta-eating joins swimming and biking; Luca does the swim in a diving suit so nobody sees him transform.

How many times has Ercole Visconti won the town's Cup before the film begins?

Five: Ercole Visconti is introduced as the five-time Portorosso Cup champion, the reign Giulia and the boys set out to end.

What is Giulia's surname?

Marcovaldo: Giulia Marcovaldo spends summers in Portorosso with her father Massimo Marcovaldo, who takes Luca and Alberto into his home.

What is the job of Giulia's father?

Fisherman: Massimo Marcovaldo is Portorosso's fisherman; Luca and Alberto earn their Portorosso Cup entry fee by working on his boat and hauling in his catch.

Why does Alberto deliberately reveal his sea monster form to Giulia?

To stop Luca wanting to go to school: Alberto reveals his true form to prove humans will reject them, and is crushed when Luca pretends to be shocked and shouts 'sea monster'.

What does Alberto bring Luca during the rainy bike race?

An umbrella: Alberto rides in holding an umbrella over Luca to keep him dry; Ercole knocks it away and the rain reveals Alberto's true form to the whole town.

How does Giulia stop Ercole from harpooning the boys during the race?

She crashes her bike into his: Giulia rams Ercole's bike to stop him harpooning Luca and Alberto, and the boys turn back to help her as the crowd closes in.

Massimo, Giulia's imposing father, was born with what?

Only one arm: Massimo was born with one arm, which the boys stare at when they first meet him; it never stops him hauling nets or wielding a harpoon.

What does Alberto do with the Vespa the boys buy with their winnings?

Sells it for Luca's train ticket: Alberto secretly sells the Vespa to buy Luca's ticket to Genova, where Luca will attend school with Giulia, and stays behind in Portorosso with Massimo.

What does Luca's surname, Paguro, mean in Italian?

Hermit crab: 'paguro' is the Italian word for hermit crab, a fitting surname for a boy who hides in his shell until Alberto coaxes him out.

What does Alberto's surname, Scorfano, mean?

Scorpionfish: 'scorfano' is the Italian word for the spiny scorpionfish that fishermen land all along Italy's rocky coasts.

Who voices Luca?

Jacob Tremblay: the Canadian actor, known for Room (2015) and Wonder (2017), voices Luca Paguro.

Jack Dylan Grazer, the voice of Alberto, played which character in the It films?

Eddie Kaspbrak: Jack Dylan Grazer played the hypochondriac Losers' Club member Eddie Kaspbrak in It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), and Freddy Freeman in Shazam!

Who voices Luca's grandmother in Pixar's Luca?

Sandy Martin: the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actress voices Grandma Paguro, who quietly backs Luca's curiosity about the surface.

Which comedian voices Luca's father Lorenzo, who is passionate about his prize-winning crabs, in Pixar's Luca?

Jim Gaffigan said he based the performance on his own parenting.

Who voices Luca's overprotective mother Daniela?

Maya Rudolph: the Saturday Night Live alum voices Daniela Paguro, Luca's fiercely protective mother, opposite Jim Gaffigan as Lorenzo.

Which Italian comedian voices Ercole, in both the English and Italian versions?

Saverio Raimondo: the Roman stand-up comedian voices the preening bully Ercole Visconti in both the English and Italian versions of the film.

Which Pixar director voices Ciccio, one of Ercole's cronies?

Peter Sohn: the director of The Good Dinosaur (2015) and Elemental (2023) voices Ciccio, one of the two put-upon sidekicks Ercole bosses around.

Enrico Casarosa based Luca on himself and Alberto on his real childhood best friend from which city?

Genoa: Casarosa grew up in Genoa and based Luca on his shy younger self and Alberto on his bolder childhood best friend, who pulled him out of his shell.

Before Luca, director Enrico Casarosa made which Oscar-nominated Pixar short, which played in cinemas before Brave?

La Luna, loosely based on an Italo Calvino story, earned Casarosa a 2011 Academy Award nomination.

Which Japanese animator's style did Casarosa cite as an influence, alongside Federico Fellini?

The animators studied Miyazaki's early series Future Boy Conan for its 'multi-limb' running gags.

Which novelist co-wrote Luca's screenplay with Pixar's Mike Jones?

Jesse Andrews: the author of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl shares Luca's screenplay credit with Mike Jones; Andrews also adapted his own novel for the 2015 film.

Casarosa said the sea monsters are a metaphor for what?

Feeling different: Casarosa said the sea monsters stand for feeling different or like an outsider as a child, the secret self you hide while trying to fit in.

Who produced Pixar's Luca?

Andrea Warren: the Pixar producer behind the 2014 short Lava produced Luca, her first feature film as producer.

What is the running time of Pixar's Luca?

95 minutes: Luca runs a brisk 95 minutes, shorter than Pixar's Coco (105 minutes) and Soul (100 minutes).

Where did Luca hold its premiere in June 2021?

The Aquarium of Genoa: Luca premiered at the Acquario di Genova in June 2021, in Casarosa's home city, days before it began streaming on Disney+.

On which platform was Luca released in the United States on 18 June 2021 instead of cinemas?

Disney+: with cinemas still hobbled by the pandemic, Luca went straight to Disney+ on 18 June 2021 at no extra charge; it finally reached US cinemas in March 2024.

How many minutes of Luca were streamed in 2021, making it the year's most-viewed streaming film?

Over 10 billion: Nielsen's 2021 year-end streaming report put Luca at about 10.6 billion minutes viewed, the most of any film that year in the United States.

What do the tally marks scratched on Alberto's tower wall count?

Days since his father left: Alberto has scratched a mark on the wall for every day since his father abandoned him on the island, a secret he finally admits to Luca.

Which film beat Luca to the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?

Encanto: at the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022, Luca lost Best Animated Feature to Disney's Encanto, which had also beaten it at the Golden Globes.

What is the title of the follow-up short film released in November 2021?

Ciao Alberto: the short, released on Disney+ on 12 November 2021, follows Alberto trying to prove himself as Massimo's apprentice on the fishing boat.

Which classic film has Casarosa said a Luca sequel could be modelled on?

The Parent Trap: Casarosa has joked that a sequel could send Luca and Giulia to Genova to scheme at getting Massimo and Giulia's mother back together.

Which company has built the boys' dream scooter since 1946?

Piaggio: the boys' beloved Vespa has been built by Piaggio since 1946, when aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio designed the original scooter at Pontedera.

Who composed the score for Luca, drawing on Italian folk-pop of the 1950s and 60s?

Dan Romer, who scored Beasts of the Southern Wild, wrote Luca's score; the soundtrack also features vintage Italian pop by Mina and Edoardo Bennato.

In the follow-up short, which stowaway cat startles Alberto into dropping his lantern?

Machiavelli: Giulia's cat Machiavelli, stowed away on the boat, spooks Alberto into dropping his lantern in the follow-up short, setting off the night's disaster.

Ercole's two much-abused henchmen are Ciccio and who?

Guido: Ercole's lackeys Ciccio and Guido put up with his abuse all film, then get their revenge by hurling him into the piazza fountain after the race.

Who voices Giulia Marcovaldo in Pixar's Luca?

Emma Berman: the young newcomer voices Giulia Marcovaldo, the red-haired outsider who teams up with Luca and Alberto for the Portorosso Cup.

The fictional town of Portorosso lies on the coast of which Italian region?

Liguria: Portorosso is an invented Riviera town in Liguria, the crescent-shaped region around Genoa whose Cinque Terre villages inspired its look.

Who wrote and directed the 2021 follow-up short about Alberto settling in with Massimo?

McKenna Harris wrote and directed the short, with Matt DeMartini producing and Enrico Casarosa stepping back to executive producer.

In the short, what does Alberto accidentally set on fire while trying to impress Massimo?

The fishing boat: sneaking out at night to replace a lost catch, Alberto knocks over a lantern and Massimo's fishing boat burns; the short ends with the two rebuilding it together.

Which actor voices Giulia's father Massimo?

Marco Barricelli: the American stage actor, a veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, voices Massimo, who hides a soft heart under his gruff bulk and ends up adopting Alberto.

What is the title of the Venice-set original film Casarosa announced in 2024 as his follow-up to Luca?

Gatto: announced at D23 in August 2024, Casarosa's Venice-set Gatto follows a black cat named Nero through the canals of Venice.

How old is Alberto Scorfano?

14: Alberto Scorfano is 14, a year older than 13-year-old Luca, which is why he plays the worldly mentor despite knowing nothing about the surface.