Mycah Caranza

For both boys, the Vespa is mostly a SYMBOL: it’s a stand in for something they each want deep down. Both boys start off in opposite places in life. Luca struggles under the thumb of his overprotective family, and Alberto has been forced into independence way too early by his family. In literal terms, they both have the same goal to buy a Vespa and travel the world, but, in symbolic terms, both of them ACTUALLY want different things.

To Luca, the Vespa represents freedom and a fuel to his curiosity. He's been stifled by his overprotective family and essentially deprived of freedom, and, even though he loves those close to him, he's also a dreamer who loves to learn. Part of why he wants to have the Vespa is so he can be free to explore what he wants, with someone he cares about and who is likeminded in that goal. However, in the early parts of their friendship, this curiosity is basically filtered through his experiences with Alberto, who, while free-spirited and courageous, also clearly has no idea what he's talking about and can be very dishonest and pushy, and is Luca's only source of information about the surface world. Later on, Luca realizes that his curiosity doesn’t require the Vespa (or Alberto) to flourish; he can go to school and learn with Giulia about the world, and learn far more than he ever could with Alberto. The Vespa is no longer necessary to achieve his goals. He still cares deeply for Alberto, but the Vespa slowly loses its importance to him because it simply isn't enough.

To Alberto, I think the Vespa represents love (familial, romantic, up to your interpretation really). Alberto is a lonely kid who already has a ton of freedom - too much freedom, really. He doesn't need the Vespa so he can be free to travel; unlike Luca, no one is around to stop him from leaving the island. So what he actually wants is love, namely from Luca, because he literally has no one else after being abandoned (not only is his dad gone, but we never hear of any other family members of his). This is why he emphasizes how they “don’t need anybody” and why he insists that it be just the two of them. What Alberto actually needs is a parental figure, an adult who can give him stability and unconditional love, not admiration and attention from another child whose just as clueless as he is. Because of his insecurities, Alberto fears people leaving him and wants to be needed by others. Massimo provides this stability and paternal affection just perfectly, and Giulia genuinely wants to be Alberto's friend too and has zero animosity towards him, but Alberto is so blinded by what he wants that he doesn’t see it at first.

This causes their major conflict. The key issue is that, because the Vespa means different things to each boy, there’s a clash of ideals and intentions that cause their fight. Luca becomes less attached to the Vespa plan because he no longer needs the Vespa, and, therefore, Alberto, to help him navigate the world. He has means to do it that offer him so much more.

What goes wrong is that, because Alberto sees the Vespa as a symbol of their relationship, he takes Luca’s rejection of their plan as a rejection of HIM. To Alberto, Luca's opposing goals become an obstacle to their friendship/the Vespa. To Luca, Alberto/the Vespa becomes an obstacle to his happiness. Both of them turn out to be wrong: there is nothing saying that Luca can’t be Alberto’s friend even if they don’t run away together and Luca goes to school. Luca never called the relationship into question until their fight, and even asked Giulia if BOTH he and Alberto can go to school with her. Alberto sees love from others as conditional; he needs to prove his worth to other people in order to be loved, which is demonstrated in the short film Ciao, Alberto. But Luca never wanted Alberto to be his friend based on what Alberto could give him; he loved Alberto for who he is, not what he can offer to Luca.

This is why I think selling the Vespa is so important to both characters; both boys can achieve what they want even without it. By the end, Luca can go to school and achieve the freedom from his family that he's always wanted, and Alberto gains a new family and community that can help him recover from his trauma and not feel so alone, and neither sacrifice their relationship to do so.

It was never about the Vespa, really. Luca and Alberto started off needing each other, but they no longer do; now, they are friends because they WANT to be. It's a perfect display of setting boundaries.

Enrico Casarosa opens the commentary with a "bongiorno, tuti" which according to Google translate means "good morning, everyone"

the other commentator is producer Andrea Warren, but Enrico thanks the whole crew many times throughout the commentary

the opening song's title translates to "Kiss at Midnight" and is chosen because Enrico considers the song to be "kind of timeless"

one of Enrico's favorite films is La Strada, and he has a number of easter eggs to it in the film, one is the fishing boat in the opening being named Gelsomina, which is named after the film's protagonist

the opening scene sets up the world, as well as set up the conflict between sea monsters and humans when they meet each other

Andrea likes how the opening scene reminds her of the film Jaws

They dramatized the meeting to show the threat between humans and sea monsters, as well as show a sharp contrast to the reality when we meet Luca, who's an anxious, goofy sea monster

The opening scene where we met Luca was the most reworked scene in the film, because they wanted a character who was anxious and limiting himself, but they couldn't do it in a way where you were relating to him and rooting for him to break out of his small life in the sea

Luca and his family live in a town under the Ligurian sea, which is a real location in Italy!

Ligurian sea is not only murky in real life, but they wanted the sea water to look murky so Luca couldn't see out so far from his home, making his home life feel limited, so there's a contrast when Luca goes above water and sees how expansive the horizon above the sea is

The opening also sets up that Luca is a lonely kid who does the same thing day after day and has no kids to play with

It was a challenge to balance the fear and curiosity of Luca, how much should he be careful of human things, and how much should he allow himself to observe them

Seeing inside Luca's daydreams allows us to see inside the mind of an introverted character such as Luca (I personally believe this also makes him a dreamer)

Maya Rudolph is the perfect balance between protective and loving, according to Andrea, giving off both strong sides of Daniela's motherly love

While Lorenzo, according to Enrico, is the distracted dad who raises crabs, which Enrico claims is an undersea parallel to raising chickens

Grandma had a cut line where she says "Luca needs to scrape a fin" noting that grandma can see Luca is curious and needs to get in a little bit of trouble

The VA for the grandma (didn't catch her name) said that according to the hints of grandma's secret above the sea life, she imagined the grandma to be a bit of a mobster

Luca being a good obedient child before he met Luca was to begin showing the progression of him changing to becoming more rebellious

Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer had perfect chemistry as Luca and Alberto, even though they never recorded together due to the pandemic. They couldn't even get them in a studio! While they didn't mention how Jacob recorded his lines, Andrea mentioned that Jack Dylan recorded his lines from inside his mother's coset, and kept bumping his hands against the hangers and skirts

They worked hard to make the cove look and sound breathtaking so Luca can be in wonder when he was literally pulled out of the water

Animating a Ligurian beach is difficult due to the pebbles, simulating them was more difficult than simulating sand

The second meeting of Luca and Alberto was to show that Alberto won't take no for an answer and drag Luca along with him, as well as both Luca and Alberto are lonely kids

The sea monster change was the hardest effect in the film because "all hands needed to be on deck" from skin textures to hair simulation. Enrico knew the importance to actually see it happening, so we can be in that moment with Luca. While animators kept asking things like "can we have him change behind a bush or something?"

They didn't want the change to look disgusting and gross. They wanted the change to look almost biological and organic, as if evolution gifted them this ability to hide in plain sight. (Enrico mentions the octopus, I bring this up because animators called the spots on the non scaly parts of sea monsters "octopus spots.")

Developing the process of the change took a year of development

Luca learning to walk was a good moment for the animators to play with pantomime, and to show that Luca is a fast learner

The first act sets up Alberto the teacher, but what he teaches Luca can be amusing or dangerously wrong

Introducing the hideout sets up that Alberto has been collecting and living there for a long time, as well as show that Luca hasn't had much time to play often below the surface, and he now is above the surface

Alberto's most prized possession is his Vespa poster, but Enrico does make a mention to a fedora style hat in his collection

Luca's first Vespa daydream is to set up how he wants to see more of the world, and the Vespa represents how he can do that, while also representing the silliness of a child's mind as he thinks at first that a Vespa can fly

The Vespa sets up "childlike dreams" as well as childlike thoughts and goals that they can build a Vespa out of random junk

Enrico calls the daydream Luca has of getting caught by his parents almost immediately Luca's "day nightmare"

Enrico started out as a storyboard artist at Pixar twenty years ago, and misses "getting his hands dirty" so he saved a scene or two from Luca to storyboard himself, such as the scene where Luca and Alberto first test their homemade Vespa

The testing the homemade Vespa scene has a small reference to Miyazaki fans, which references the film Castle of Cagliostro

The song in the friendship montage, title translated to "The Cat and the Fox," was an easy pick due to its themes of comradrie and getting into trouble with someone

The "multiple limb effect" that was used during the film was difficult technically, but a lot of fun

The fisherman who says the line "what's wrong with you stupido?" was voiced by Enrico Casarosa in the English dub, while in the Italian dub he was voiced by Enrico's best friend and "real Alberto" Alberto Surace, Enrico thought it'd be fun if he and his friend shared a line

"Silenzio Bruno" was a fun way to characterize the feeling of fear holding you back, as well as shortening the phrase "the feeling of fear holding you back."

(No, they did not mention Fear from Inside Out, or the coincidence of Bruno and not talking about him being in Encanto a few months later)

The side mirror gag is a nod to legendary Italian film Actor Marsello Magistriani (I'm sure I butchered that), and Enrico joked that he does not have a big enough ego to put a picture of himself in the film

The scene where Alberto gets Luca to join him in testing the bike not only shows Luca's getting confident enough to at least get roped into things, but smart enough to get them out of trouble. Enrico says "don't try this at home, kids."

The scene after they survive the crash was not only a moment for the two characters to bond over sharing their feelings, but that Luca's dream is shifting to become both Luca and Alberto's dream

Portorosso is a made up town, BUT is inspired by five towns located around the Ligurian sea

Andrea notes that the second Vespa dream strongly reminds her of Enrico's short La Luna

While Daniela has made up her mind of what to do after catching Luca sneaking out, Lorenzo is worried for him and trying to cue him into saying the things that would appease Daniela, and of course Luca doesn't say them

Sacha Baron Cohen voices Uncle Ugo, and made so much good material for Ugo to say that they used it to make the post credits scene

According to Enrico, the deep can actually change a sea monster to becoming transparent and having a light on their head and adjust to low oxygen

The deep was also made to threaten Luca with the worst place a curious child could be: a place full of darkness and loneliness

To add some levity, they made Uncle Ugo a character who lives almost a monklike life in the deep, enjoying the depravation in an almost masochistic way

They did watch documentaries on the deep, and not only is it as horrible as Ugo says, but there is bits of whale carcass floating down there

The argument Daniela and Luca have is supposed to mirror the scene earlier when Luca was obedient, but now he's not and standing up for himself

The drawing Alberto makes signifies Alberto's vulnerability and how invested he is in their friendship

Originally there were extra scenes of Luca and Alberto leaving after Alberto gives his little running away speech. But when they cut the scenes and overlapped much of his dialogue over them running away, it brought the scene up to a whole new level

We see Luca developing his courage as he couldn't jump off the cliff in the montage, now he's jumping off the cliff

The swimming away scene not only shows Alberto dragging Luca along, not only shows Luca learning and mastering something fast, but showing a joyful moment, and Enrico thought that was the most important part, so important that he fought to keep it in the film

The boat Elena was named after Andrea's daughter

Yes, that bike underwater is the same bike Luca uses in the race

The whistling fisherman is also Enrico

The introduction to Portorosso shows off how wonderful small towns are

They had discussions if Luca and Alberto should eat the gelato after it being in their hair

Ercole is voiced by Saveiro Raimondo, an Italian comedian. (He reprises his role in the Italian dub, which I have to watch.)

Enrico wanted Ercole to be a two dimensional bully. While he loves Pixar being known for three dimensional characters, he loves that Enrico is just "horrible and funny"

The town despises Ercole, and Ercole is unaware of this

Ercole's favorite food is Foccacia, the type of sandwich he keeps trying to eat in the film

Ciccio is voiced by Peter Sohn, an execute producer and director at Pixar. (I make reference to this because he directs the next film Elemental, and he voices a bunch of Pixar characters over the years)

Enrico loves that Ercole is full of himself

Andrea mentioned how Ercole should have moved on from bullying kids, but this had them making sure Ercole wasn't too old to be bullying kids. (Probably why he says he's sixteen later in the film.)

Enrico loves the character Giulia, who is played by Emma Berman

They wanted to set up the danger of hiding in Portorosso by having Luca and Alberto spotted in the harbor as they entered Portorosso

Giulia's introduction not only sets up her character, as an underdog who's energetic with a sense of justice, but she's also lonely, but in a way that she has a bit of pride to that

Alberto's confidence rubs Giulia the wrong way

Enrico and Andrea mention that their favorite moments in the animation are the hand gestures some characters do, such as when Giulia corrects Alberto when he calls her "Spewlia"

In the introduction to Giulia, we can see Luca is now the character pulling Alberto rather than the other way around

Enrico finds the quick daydream of Luca and Alberto with the prize money a bit interesting as both Alberto and Luca are technically daydreaming the same dream together

Andrea likes how the bike gets stuck in the road, showing visually the importance of teamwork

Luca trying to ride a bike sets up two things: convincing Giulia they can do this, and Giulia is teaching Luca something that Alberto can't teach him

Giulia teaching Luca something also starts Luca beginning to go towards Giulia

The scene also sets up that Luca is a fast learner, but he still hasn't controlled his fear

They mention Portorosso has a cinema, and it's the building with the movie posters on it, such as Roman Holiday, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and, of course, La Strada

The moment of sincerity, where Luca admits that he doesn't want to go back to his family, wins Giulia over

Massimo is voiced by Marco Barricelli, and he sang so much Italian opera for this scene that he got so tired of it "there's more?"

The dinner scene is supposed to represent the awkwardness of meeting your friend's parents, as well as the threat that Massimo is a fisherman who believes in sea monsters

Machiavelli knows right away that Luca and Alberto are sea monsters

The dinner scene was the first scene that was put into production, as well as the easiest one to make. Everything fit perfectly: the humor, the danger, Machiavelli, eating pasta for the first time

Enrico was very particular that the pasta was perfectly done Genovaian trenette el pesto, mde the traditional way with potatoes and string beans

The recipe for this trenette el pesto is out there. (Look up "cooking with pixar luca")

Giulia goes with the fact that Luca and Alberto are bizarre, and Enrico loves that about her

They played with the lightning when Massimo and Giulia have their talk, making you feel like you're in a different room, until you realize Luca and Alberto are right next to them

There's a bit of connection between Alberto and Giulia when Alberto calls the treehouse her hideout

They didn't want the jealousy to come in right away, but it starts when Luca tells Alberto how Giulia taught him how to ride the bike

The close up of the waves on the shore was a step away from realism, as Enrico wanted it poetic and stylized

The side plot of Daniela and Lorenzo looking for Luca in the town came in late in development

Daniela and Lorenzo haven't been up on land for a long time. (Mentioning it as, is it hinting they have been on land before?)

They loved Luca and Alberto's close calls and discussed how many times can they get them so close to being caught as a sea monster

The fishing scene was not only the fun of the danger of being on the boat with Massimo, but they wanted Luca and Alberto to work for the entry fee

Luca and Alberto really are bribing Machiavelli with fish to win him over

Jim LeBrecht (hopefully spelled it right) is a director and activist who helped them get Massimo right, portraying him as a character with one arm

The heart of Massimo's one arm is his backstory, that he was born with something that made him different, just like Luca and Alberto were born as sea monsters

What was also difficult and fun was designing the parents human forms, so you can tell who they are as humans, but their human forms look nothing like their sea monster forms

The triathalon was made to set up an exciting third act, but also makes it a silly kids film as there's this kids race at the end

The race reminds Enrico of the film Breaking Away, which is also a coming of age film with a bike race in it. I think Enrico also hinted that this was inspiration for the race in Luca

The fact that Luca and Alberto can win the prize money in this race in order to buy a Vespa is the "spine" for the second and third act

Enrico loves the touches in this sign up scene, such as the shadowboxing Alberto and Ercole do, and how Guido copies Ercole's hands on his hips pose

Andrea points out that someone pointed out that none of the focaccia sandwiches were ever eaten in this film. This makes Enrico and Andrea feel sad whenever a good sandwich is ruined.

They debated whether "cappuccino" or "chocolatta" was funnier. They decided on chocolatta because imagining sixteen year old Ercole drinking hot chocolate was kidlike and silly

Ercole does have at least one fan, it's the kid that kept his hand up

They wanted to make sure each part of the race would not be easy. For Luca, it's that he's never ridden a bike. For Giulia, it's that she's not the best swimmer. For Alberto, it's that he doesn't know how to use a fork

Enrico giving nods to the animators during the disastrous training, such as Ercole's butt wiggle and the fish rotating over dazed Luca's head

Ercole's boat is named Focaccia

Ercole trying to ram the boat is inspired by the scene in Stand By Me, where the bully character tries to run over the protagonist with a truck. The scene is also to show how serious Ercole is as a bully

Even in human form, Daniela has a "swimming sea monster" quality to her movements while showing off her surprisingly mad soccer skills

Andrea points out a "no soccer" sign in the piazza, where the kids are always playing soccer. Enrico says this happened all the time in his childhood town in Italy

While Alberto is glad to help Massimo, he's unsure of leaving Luca and Giulia alone, he may be worried that they are getting along

And Giulia and Luca connect, and we learn a bit of Giulia's backstory, that she's kind of an outsider herself

Jesse (missed his last name) is one of the writers of the script, Enrico claimed he knocked it out of the park with Giulia asking if she's a little much, and Luca saying she isn't for him, showing that when you find those friends, you're never too much

Enrico loves the skeptical face Giulia makes after hearing Luca call the stars "fish" one too many times

The rooftop walking scene was another scene they fought to keep in the film, just because it's so beautiful to watch

Old Man Bernardi is an inside joke: he is a set supervisor at Pixar who loves telescopes, he also made the telescope Giulia and Luca are using

The learning daydream was a challenge to show the excitement of learning new things and Giulia teaching Luca these things. What was also important is express how fantastical it is to see Luca's knowledge expand because we want Luca to go to school

Angela finally mentions music composer Dan Romer, specifically how the music in the learning daydream expressing soaring and that Luca's dream is the grandest and wildest it's ever been

Enrico loves Giulia and Luca geeking out, and how Jacob sells it

They wanted Giulia to be goofy and instantaneous by doing that bad backflip

This scene shows that Luca and Alberto are now misaligned, Alberto is showing his heart with his new plans for their Vespa, and Luca is thinking of telescopes and school

(Just want to mention that they did not mention the disappearing pencil error. Either Pixar still hasn't noticed it, or they choose not to discuss it.)

Alberto is worried about Luca slipping away as his mind has changed from Vespas to school

Enrico says they had fun making puns in Italian for the writing in the backgrounds, for example the brand of tires translates to "trash tires." (I think the word he says is "rabbadi")

This scene is to show Ercole's true side, when the town isn't watching him, he's pretty dark

So dark that Enrico decided that Ercole should punch Alberto, it's to show that he is a real threat to them

They literally said that Ercole has a "xenophobic fear" of Luca and Alberto

On Luca's face you can clearly see that he's doubting Alberto knows what he's doing

The training montage is to show them getting better at their training, but also becoming further misaligned in their goals

They love the joke that Uncle Ugo became the inspiration for a sea monster in a horror movie, that they toyed around with the backstory that Ugo became a Hollywood star until something went terribly wrong!

The training montage also shows the town noticing Luca, and Ercole is losing his control over them

While a great connection moment for Massimo and Alberto, the scene where Alberto finally figures out how to eat pasta was really meant to show how Alberto is losing Luca's attention and is now officially jealous

They needed a scene where the parents learn their lesson, they go through their own change, and the best way to do that is after a long failed attempt at trying to find him

Followed by the last close call, and the parents found which kid is Luca

That tower atop the hill is common since the 1400s, as Italy was known for its waters being filled with pirates, and those towers were for spotting them. (I just love that fact and how Enrico mentioned that.)

We're setting up the train to school, and Alberto now literally getting between Giulia and Luca, representing the struggle he's going through in losing Luca

Alberto taking over and riding the bike is a mirror of them riding the homemade Vespa in the first act, except this time Luca isn't holding on, and they're both fighting each other

Another focaccia crime

This scene is meant to set up the heartbreak. (Ouch, Enrico.) The lighting helps as it's setting up the turmoil building throughout the scene. You got the strong yellows of the sunset, the gathering clouds, the rough waves

Not only did they want Luca and Alberto to fight, they wanted them to literally fight, show how physical kids can get

When Giulia comes in, she starts noticing something's up, but can't make heads or tails of it, but the more the scene goes on, the more she begins to piece it together

At one point it was Alberto betraying Luca by dragging them both into the water. But Enrico decided that it was important to have the protagonist do the wrong thing

However, this change to have Luca be in the wrong was so powerful, some even questioned if it was too much. But Enrico thought it was important to have the audience actually question Luca's decision like "what have you done?"

Alberto is happy to scare Giulia

And then the betrayal

Not only did Luca betray Alberto, he's denying his sea monster self

And now Giulia has enough of the pieces that she's suspecting something

A moment of seriousness topped off with a moment of levity

Massimo is having a connection with Alberto that he'll go out to look for him. Enrico takes it a step further by assuming Massimo also had a troubled past, so he sees that much of Alberto in him

(Ugo is a movie star? Massimo has a troubled past? Enrico, show us these backstories!)

While Alberto wanted to scare Giulia, in this reveal it's different, because she's different enough to see past the sea monster and worry for Luca

Emma sells how heartbroken Giulia is, that she was happy having friends, and now they have to go

And now Luca needs to dig himself out of this deep hole he made

While this scene is called "reconciliation" and they did consider the two reconciling, they found it more interesting if they didn't reconcile

The point of the scene is words are not enough, Luca needs to do something

Jack Dylan is known to play the troublemaker and the improviser, now we see this fragile side to his acting

Alberto is trying to make sense of his dad abandoning him, and now Luca abandoning him, and he now thinks that he's unloveable, that he would have left himself too. (Dammit Enrico! My heart!)

For this music score in this scene, they wanted the loneliest piano playing the saddest thing

They added the bike Luca has earlier in the movie when Luca and Alberto first entered Portorosso, it was a late addition for the keen eye to do the math

This split up was not only for the kids to start the third act all separate, but for Luca to win the Vespa alone for Alberto

Originally Enrico was going to cheat at the swimming portion of the race by using butter, but Enrico said butter is a French thing, and Italians are known for their wine, lemons and olive oil

It's important to show that Luca still has fear, he hasn't defeated Bruno yet, especially when there's harpooners out on the waters

They wanted the race to be hard for Luca, so the diver suit breaks, and he struggles with the fork, and it rains during the bike race

A little convenient that they're serving the pasta that Giulia's an expert at, but they went with it

And Giulia can't help herself and gives Luca a quick fork tip

To get the feeling of eating pasta just right, Enrico filmed himself eating spaghetti for reference. (I knew Pixar is detailed af, but damn)

They wanted to show these goons that hang with Ercole are really struggling with him during the race

That really was Jacob Tremblay burping! No joke, he made a number of different takes on command, ad different varieties of belches!

Daniela showing off her competitive nature as well as how impressed she is with her son

They knew they needed a moment for Luca to take that big risk, and the rain during the bike race felt like the perfect moment for that

The fact that they didn't reconcile, yet Alberto is coming for Luca with a beach umbrella, gives a strong sense of hope

Fully showing that moment of commitment, the effects department had to place every drop on Luca and Alberto perfectly to make the slow mo shot so grand, yet so difficult

Enrico's favorite music cue is Luca rescuing Alberto, sends shivers down his spine

Both Enrico and Andrea are impressed with every single department's perfect contribution to the downhill scene, making it feel so dangerous, exciting, visceral, yet so clear and stylized

What Ercole does to be so over the top intimidating is just impossible on a bike

Giulia gets her own shining moment of bravery

Luca and Alberto had a clear chance to escape to the water, but risked it all to go back and check on their friend Giulia

Ercole is egging on the crowd with his fearmongering, and looks unhinged with his hair hanging down, but it was more important for Massimo to have this moment because he is respectfully known in this town with the prejudice against sea monsters, that even he would change his mind on sea monsters

Massimo's respect in town and care for these kids is what helps turn the tide, as well as pointing out that they won

"The fishermen are like 'what do we do?' And Massimo is like 'what do you think?'" - Enrico

They wanted a fine line between the town accepting them, but not the entire town. Not only does Ercole obviously hate them, but some of the fishermen reluctantly stand down. It helps illustrate the message of the story that grandma states just two minutes later

It also visualizes that it's not always black and white, that not everyone can be changed instantly, or at all

This sets up the truth that changing the world is not going to be instant, but it can be a seeded change that grows over time, and the catalyst to find those that do accept you

Enrico comments that the film is curiosity and friendship being a bridge over fear and division, that there are Ercoles in the world, you have to find the Albertos, give our faith to the new generation, and as parents, feel for Daniela who is going to release Luca into a world that is dangerous

The final scene was worked on a lot, and even hinted that it could have been cut, but was saved as it was seen as the perfect ending once it was added to the film. It was also touching to Enrico as someone who left his home and immigrated to the US in order to chase his own dreams, that going out into the world is a bittersweet feeling of sadness and hope, as you leave your friends and family behind

The parents being there at the train station was a late addition to the ending, but was a big part of this moment to make this happen, that Luca needed to leave with their blessing and support, and it's a big sacrifice to let him go

Speaking of sacrifices, Alberto's important scene of sheepishly admitting that he would be happy here with Massimo, because while Luca's dream is school, Alberto's need is a father figure

"We carry this friendship with us, I am with you because of the way we grew up together, the way that we changed each other, we're not the same people because of these amazing relationships we've had." - Enrico Casarosa

("You got me off the island Luca, I'm okay." - Alberto Scorfano)

That train shot is basically the same train shot from Evita Leoni (I think I said that right), only animated by Pixar

When the hands lose each other, its real and much harder

Your true friends are those who root for you, who want what's best for you

It's very important that Luca left his home as a sea monster, that he went out into the world as his true self. That he's not hiding, he's going to change the world one person at a time. (So more rain).

But end the film on a hopeful sky.

Enrico loves film that tells a tiny bit more of the story after the credits, which is why we have all those lovely illustrations telling us what happened afterwards, Luca learning and Alberto bonding with Massimo and making more friends

The film took 4 to 5 years to make, and they keep thanking over and over how important each and every person in these departments are, that if one person was replaced or missing this film wouldn't have been as perfect as it is. (Dammit I wanna work at Pixar!)

Amongst the drawings is a boat named Maret, which is named after Enrico's wife

It's confirmed that the fish in the post credits scene is Giuseppe, not the missing Enrico (there goes my headcanon)

They hope at the end of the film that you will call your best friend and share some memories and get a gelato

Enrico Casarosa opens the commentary with a "bongiorno, tuti" which according to Google translate means "good morning, everyone"

the other commentator is producer Andrea Warren, but Enrico thanks the whole crew many times throughout the commentary

the opening song's title translates to "Kiss at Midnight" and is chosen because Enrico considers the song to be "kind of timeless"

one of Enrico's favorite films is La Strada, and he has a number of easter eggs to it in the film, one is the fishing boat in the opening being named Gelsomina, which is named after the film's protagonist

the opening scene sets up the world, as well as set up the conflict between sea monsters and humans when they meet each other

Andrea likes how the opening scene reminds her of the film Jaws

They dramatized the meeting to show the threat between humans and sea monsters, as well as show a sharp contrast to the reality when we meet Luca, who's an anxious, goofy sea monster

The opening scene where we met Luca was the most reworked scene in the film, because they wanted a character who was anxious and limiting himself, but they couldn't do it in a way where you were relating to him and rooting for him to break out of his small life in the sea

Luca and his family live in a town under the Ligurian sea, which is a real location in Italy!

Ligurian sea is not only murky in real life, but they wanted the sea water to look murky so Luca couldn't see out so far from his home, making his home life feel limited, so there's a contrast when Luca goes above water and sees how expansive the horizon above the sea is

The opening also sets up that Luca is a lonely kid who does the same thing day after day and has no kids to play with

It was a challenge to balance the fear and curiosity of Luca, how much should he be careful of human things, and how much should he allow himself to observe them

Seeing inside Luca's daydreams allows us to see inside the mind of an introverted character such as Luca (I personally believe this also makes him a dreamer)

Maya Rudolph is the perfect balance between protective and loving, according to Andrea, giving off both strong sides of Daniela's motherly love

While Lorenzo, according to Enrico, is the distracted dad who raises crabs, which Enrico claims is an undersea parallel to raising chickens

Grandma had a cut line where she says "Luca needs to scrape a fin" noting that grandma can see Luca is curious and needs to get in a little bit of trouble

The VA for the grandma (didn't catch her name) said that according to the hints of grandma's secret above the sea life, she imagined the grandma to be a bit of a mobster

Luca being a good obedient child before he met Luca was to begin showing the progression of him changing to becoming more rebellious

Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer had perfect chemistry as Luca and Alberto, even though they never recorded together due to the pandemic. They couldn't even get them in a studio! While they didn't mention how Jacob recorded his lines, Andrea mentioned that Jack Dylan recorded his lines from inside his mother's coset, and kept bumping his hands against the hangers and skirts

They worked hard to make the cove look and sound breathtaking so Luca can be in wonder when he was literally pulled out of the water

Animating a Ligurian beach is difficult due to the pebbles, simulating them was more difficult than simulating sand

The second meeting of Luca and Alberto was to show that Alberto won't take no for an answer and drag Luca along with him, as well as both Luca and Alberto are lonely kids

The sea monster change was the hardest effect in the film because "all hands needed to be on deck" from skin textures to hair simulation. Enrico knew the importance to actually see it happening, so we can be in that moment with Luca. While animators kept asking things like "can we have him change behind a bush or something?"

They didn't want the change to look disgusting and gross. They wanted the change to look almost biological and organic, as if evolution gifted them this ability to hide in plain sight. (Enrico mentions the octopus, I bring this up because animators called the spots on the non scaly parts of sea monsters "octopus spots.")

Developing the process of the change took a year of development

Luca learning to walk was a good moment for the animators to play with pantomime, and to show that Luca is a fast learner

The first act sets up Alberto the teacher, but what he teaches Luca can be amusing or dangerously wrong

Introducing the hideout sets up that Alberto has been collecting and living there for a long time, as well as show that Luca hasn't had much time to play often below the surface, and he now is above the surface

Alberto's most prized possession is his Vespa poster, but Enrico does make a mention to a fedora style hat in his collection

Luca's first Vespa daydream is to set up how he wants to see more of the world, and the Vespa represents how he can do that, while also representing the silliness of a child's mind as he thinks at first that a Vespa can fly

The Vespa sets up "childlike dreams" as well as childlike thoughts and goals that they can build a Vespa out of random junk

Enrico calls the daydream Luca has of getting caught by his parents almost immediately Luca's "day nightmare"

Enrico started out as a storyboard artist at Pixar twenty years ago, and misses "getting his hands dirty" so he saved a scene or two from Luca to storyboard himself, such as the scene where Luca and Alberto first test their homemade Vespa

The testing the homemade Vespa scene has a small reference to Miyazaki fans, which references the film Castle of Cagliostro

The song in the friendship montage, title translated to "The Cat and the Fox," was an easy pick due to its themes of comradrie and getting into trouble with someone

The "multiple limb effect" that was used during the film was difficult technically, but a lot of fun

The fisherman who says the line "what's wrong with you stupido?" was voiced by Enrico Casarosa in the English dub, while in the Italian dub he was voiced by Enrico's best friend and "real Alberto" Alberto Surace, Enrico thought it'd be fun if he and his friend shared a line

"Silenzio Bruno" was a fun way to characterize the feeling of fear holding you back, as well as shortening the phrase "the feeling of fear holding you back."

(No, they did not mention Fear from Inside Out, or the coincidence of Bruno and not talking about him being in Encanto a few months later)

The side mirror gag is a nod to legendary Italian film Actor Marsello Magistriani (I'm sure I butchered that), and Enrico joked that he does not have a big enough ego to put a picture of himself in the film

The scene where Alberto gets Luca to join him in testing the bike not only shows Luca's getting confident enough to at least get roped into things, but smart enough to get them out of trouble. Enrico says "don't try this at home, kids."

The scene after they survive the crash was not only a moment for the two characters to bond over sharing their feelings, but that Luca's dream is shifting to become both Luca and Alberto's dream

Portorosso is a made up town, BUT is inspired by five towns located around the Ligurian sea

Andrea notes that the second Vespa dream strongly reminds her of Enrico's short La Luna

While Daniela has made up her mind of what to do after catching Luca sneaking out, Lorenzo is worried for him and trying to cue him into saying the things that would appease Daniela, and of course Luca doesn't say them

Sacha Baron Cohen voices Uncle Ugo, and made so much good material for Ugo to say that they used it to make the post credits scene

According to Enrico, the deep can actually change a sea monster to becoming transparent and having a light on their head and adjust to low oxygen

The deep was also made to threaten Luca with the worst place a curious child could be: a place full of darkness and loneliness

To add some levity, they made Uncle Ugo a character who lives almost a monklike life in the deep, enjoying the depravation in an almost masochistic way

They did watch documentaries on the deep, and not only is it as horrible as Ugo says, but there is bits of whale carcass floating down there

The argument Daniela and Luca have is supposed to mirror the scene earlier when Luca was obedient, but now he's not and standing up for himself

The drawing Alberto makes signifies Alberto's vulnerability and how invested he is in their friendship

Originally there were extra scenes of Luca and Alberto leaving after Alberto gives his little running away speech. But when they cut the scenes and overlapped much of his dialogue over them running away, it brought the scene up to a whole new level

We see Luca developing his courage as he couldn't jump off the cliff in the montage, now he's jumping off the cliff

The swimming away scene not only shows Alberto dragging Luca along, not only shows Luca learning and mastering something fast, but showing a joyful moment, and Enrico thought that was the most important part, so important that he fought to keep it in the film

The boat Elena was named after Andrea's daughter

Yes, that bike underwater is the same bike Luca uses in the race

The whistling fisherman is also Enrico

The introduction to Portorosso shows off how wonderful small towns are

They had discussions if Luca and Alberto should eat the gelato after it being in their hair

Ercole is voiced by Saveiro Raimondo, an Italian comedian. (He reprises his role in the Italian dub, which I have to watch.)

Enrico wanted Ercole to be a two dimensional bully. While he loves Pixar being known for three dimensional characters, he loves that Enrico is just "horrible and funny"

The town despises Ercole, and Ercole is unaware of this

Ercole's favorite food is Foccacia, the type of sandwich he keeps trying to eat in the film

Ciccio is voiced by Peter Sohn, an execute producer and director at Pixar. (I make reference to this because he directs the next film Elemental, and he voices a bunch of Pixar characters over the years)

Enrico loves that Ercole is full of himself

Andrea mentioned how Ercole should have moved on from bullying kids, but this had them making sure Ercole wasn't too old to be bullying kids. (Probably why he says he's sixteen later in the film.)

Enrico loves the character Giulia, who is played by Emma Berman

They wanted to set up the danger of hiding in Portorosso by having Luca and Alberto spotted in the harbor as they entered Portorosso

Giulia's introduction not only sets up her character, as an underdog who's energetic with a sense of justice, but she's also lonely, but in a way that she has a bit of pride to that

Alberto's confidence rubs Giulia the wrong way

Enrico and Andrea mention that their favorite moments in the animation are the hand gestures some characters do, such as when Giulia corrects Alberto when he calls her "Spewlia"

In the introduction to Giulia, we can see Luca is now the character pulling Alberto rather than the other way around

Enrico finds the quick daydream of Luca and Alberto with the prize money a bit interesting as both Alberto and Luca are technically daydreaming the same dream together

Andrea likes how the bike gets stuck in the road, showing visually the importance of teamwork

Luca trying to ride a bike sets up two things: convincing Giulia they can do this, and Giulia is teaching Luca something that Alberto can't teach him

Giulia teaching Luca something also starts Luca beginning to go towards Giulia

The scene also sets up that Luca is a fast learner, but he still hasn't controlled his fear

They mention Portorosso has a cinema, and it's the building with the movie posters on it, such as Roman Holiday, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and, of course, La Strada

The moment of sincerity, where Luca admits that he doesn't want to go back to his family, wins Giulia over

Massimo is voiced by Marco Barricelli, and he sang so much Italian opera for this scene that he got so tired of it "there's more?"

The dinner scene is supposed to represent the awkwardness of meeting your friend's parents, as well as the threat that Massimo is a fisherman who believes in sea monsters

Machiavelli knows right away that Luca and Alberto are sea monsters

The dinner scene was the first scene that was put into production, as well as the easiest one to make. Everything fit perfectly: the humor, the danger, Machiavelli, eating pasta for the first time

Enrico was very particular that the pasta was perfectly done Genovaian trenette el pesto, mde the traditional way with potatoes and string beans

The recipe for this trenette el pesto is out there. (Look up "cooking with pixar luca")

Giulia goes with the fact that Luca and Alberto are bizarre, and Enrico loves that about her

They played with the lightning when Massimo and Giulia have their talk, making you feel like you're in a different room, until you realize Luca and Alberto are right next to them

There's a bit of connection between Alberto and Giulia when Alberto calls the treehouse her hideout

They didn't want the jealousy to come in right away, but it starts when Luca tells Alberto how Giulia taught him how to ride the bike

The close up of the waves on the shore was a step away from realism, as Enrico wanted it poetic and stylized

The side plot of Daniela and Lorenzo looking for Luca in the town came in late in development

Daniela and Lorenzo haven't been up on land for a long time. (Mentioning it as, is it hinting they have been on land before?)

They loved Luca and Alberto's close calls and discussed how many times can they get them so close to being caught as a sea monster

The fishing scene was not only the fun of the danger of being on the boat with Massimo, but they wanted Luca and Alberto to work for the entry fee

Luca and Alberto really are bribing Machiavelli with fish to win him over

Jim LeBrecht (hopefully spelled it right) is a director and activist who helped them get Massimo right, portraying him as a character with one arm

The heart of Massimo's one arm is his backstory, that he was born with something that made him different, just like Luca and Alberto were born as sea monsters

What was also difficult and fun was designing the parents human forms, so you can tell who they are as humans, but their human forms look nothing like their sea monster forms

The triathalon was made to set up an exciting third act, but also makes it a silly kids film as there's this kids race at the end

The race reminds Enrico of the film Breaking Away, which is also a coming of age film with a bike race in it. I think Enrico also hinted that this was inspiration for the race in Luca

The fact that Luca and Alberto can win the prize money in this race in order to buy a Vespa is the "spine" for the second and third act

Enrico loves the touches in this sign up scene, such as the shadowboxing Alberto and Ercole do, and how Guido copies Ercole's hands on his hips pose

Andrea points out that someone pointed out that none of the focaccia sandwiches were ever eaten in this film. This makes Enrico and Andrea feel sad whenever a good sandwich is ruined.

They debated whether "cappuccino" or "chocolatta" was funnier. They decided on chocolatta because imagining sixteen year old Ercole drinking hot chocolate was kidlike and silly

Ercole does have at least one fan, it's the kid that kept his hand up

They wanted to make sure each part of the race would not be easy. For Luca, it's that he's never ridden a bike. For Giulia, it's that she's not the best swimmer. For Alberto, it's that he doesn't know how to use a fork

Enrico giving nods to the animators during the disastrous training, such as Ercole's butt wiggle and the fish rotating over dazed Luca's head

Ercole's boat is named Focaccia

Ercole trying to ram the boat is inspired by the scene in Stand By Me, where the bully character tries to run over the protagonist with a truck. The scene is also to show how serious Ercole is as a bully

Even in human form, Daniela has a "swimming sea monster" quality to her movements while showing off her surprisingly mad soccer skills

Andrea points out a "no soccer" sign in the piazza, where the kids are always playing soccer. Enrico says this happened all the time in his childhood town in Italy

While Alberto is glad to help Massimo, he's unsure of leaving Luca and Giulia alone, he may be worried that they are getting along

And Giulia and Luca connect, and we learn a bit of Giulia's backstory, that she's kind of an outsider herself

Jesse (missed his last name) is one of the writers of the script, Enrico claimed he knocked it out of the park with Giulia asking if she's a little much, and Luca saying she isn't for him, showing that when you find those friends, you're never too much

Enrico loves the skeptical face Giulia makes after hearing Luca call the stars "fish" one too many times

The rooftop walking scene was another scene they fought to keep in the film, just because it's so beautiful to watch

Old Man Bernardi is an inside joke: he is a set supervisor at Pixar who loves telescopes, he also made the telescope Giulia and Luca are using

The learning daydream was a challenge to show the excitement of learning new things and Giulia teaching Luca these things. What was also important is express how fantastical it is to see Luca's knowledge expand because we want Luca to go to school

Angela finally mentions music composer Dan Romer, specifically how the music in the learning daydream expressing soaring and that Luca's dream is the grandest and wildest it's ever been

Enrico loves Giulia and Luca geeking out, and how Jacob sells it

They wanted Giulia to be goofy and instantaneous by doing that bad backflip

This scene shows that Luca and Alberto are now misaligned, Alberto is showing his heart with his new plans for their Vespa, and Luca is thinking of telescopes and school

(Just want to mention that they did not mention the disappearing pencil error. Either Pixar still hasn't noticed it, or they choose not to discuss it.)

Alberto is worried about Luca slipping away as his mind has changed from Vespas to school

Enrico says they had fun making puns in Italian for the writing in the backgrounds, for example the brand of tires translates to "trash tires." (I think the word he says is "rabbadi")

This scene is to show Ercole's true side, when the town isn't watching him, he's pretty dark

So dark that Enrico decided that Ercole should punch Alberto, it's to show that he is a real threat to them

They literally said that Ercole has a "xenophobic fear" of Luca and Alberto

On Luca's face you can clearly see that he's doubting Alberto knows what he's doing

The training montage is to show them getting better at their training, but also becoming further misaligned in their goals

They love the joke that Uncle Ugo became the inspiration for a sea monster in a horror movie, that they toyed around with the backstory that Ugo became a Hollywood star until something went terribly wrong!

The training montage also shows the town noticing Luca, and Ercole is losing his control over them

While a great connection moment for Massimo and Alberto, the scene where Alberto finally figures out how to eat pasta was really meant to show how Alberto is losing Luca's attention and is now officially jealous

They needed a scene where the parents learn their lesson, they go through their own change, and the best way to do that is after a long failed attempt at trying to find him

Followed by the last close call, and the parents found which kid is Luca

That tower atop the hill is common since the 1400s, as Italy was known for its waters being filled with pirates, and those towers were for spotting them. (I just love that fact and how Enrico mentioned that.)

We're setting up the train to school, and Alberto now literally getting between Giulia and Luca, representing the struggle he's going through in losing Luca

Alberto taking over and riding the bike is a mirror of them riding the homemade Vespa in the first act, except this time Luca isn't holding on, and they're both fighting each other

Another focaccia crime

This scene is meant to set up the heartbreak. (Ouch, Enrico.) The lighting helps as it's setting up the turmoil building throughout the scene. You got the strong yellows of the sunset, the gathering clouds, the rough waves

Not only did they want Luca and Alberto to fight, they wanted them to literally fight, show how physical kids can get

When Giulia comes in, she starts noticing something's up, but can't make heads or tails of it, but the more the scene goes on, the more she begins to piece it together

At one point it was Alberto betraying Luca by dragging them both into the water. But Enrico decided that it was important to have the protagonist do the wrong thing

However, this change to have Luca be in the wrong was so powerful, some even questioned if it was too much. But Enrico thought it was important to have the audience actually question Luca's decision like "what have you done?"

Alberto is happy to scare Giulia

And then the betrayal

Not only did Luca betray Alberto, he's denying his sea monster self

And now Giulia has enough of the pieces that she's suspecting something

A moment of seriousness topped off with a moment of levity

Massimo is having a connection with Alberto that he'll go out to look for him. Enrico takes it a step further by assuming Massimo also had a troubled past, so he sees that much of Alberto in him

(Ugo is a movie star? Massimo has a troubled past? Enrico, show us these backstories!)

While Alberto wanted to scare Giulia, in this reveal it's different, because she's different enough to see past the sea monster and worry for Luca

Emma sells how heartbroken Giulia is, that she was happy having friends, and now they have to go

And now Luca needs to dig himself out of this deep hole he made

While this scene is called "reconciliation" and they did consider the two reconciling, they found it more interesting if they didn't reconcile

The point of the scene is words are not enough, Luca needs to do something

Jack Dylan is known to play the troublemaker and the improviser, now we see this fragile side to his acting

Alberto is trying to make sense of his dad abandoning him, and now Luca abandoning him, and he now thinks that he's unloveable, that he would have left himself too. (Dammit Enrico! My heart!)

For this music score in this scene, they wanted the loneliest piano playing the saddest thing

They added the bike Luca has earlier in the movie when Luca and Alberto first entered Portorosso, it was a late addition for the keen eye to do the math

This split up was not only for the kids to start the third act all separate, but for Luca to win the Vespa alone for Alberto

Originally Enrico was going to cheat at the swimming portion of the race by using butter, but Enrico said butter is a French thing, and Italians are known for their wine, lemons and olive oil

It's important to show that Luca still has fear, he hasn't defeated Bruno yet, especially when there's harpooners out on the waters

They wanted the race to be hard for Luca, so the diver suit breaks, and he struggles with the fork, and it rains during the bike race

A little convenient that they're serving the pasta that Giulia's an expert at, but they went with it

And Giulia can't help herself and gives Luca a quick fork tip

To get the feeling of eating pasta just right, Enrico filmed himself eating spaghetti for reference. (I knew Pixar is detailed af, but damn)

They wanted to show these goons that hang with Ercole are really struggling with him during the race

That really was Jacob Tremblay burping! No joke, he made a number of different takes on command, ad different varieties of belches!

Daniela showing off her competitive nature as well as how impressed she is with her son

They knew they needed a moment for Luca to take that big risk, and the rain during the bike race felt like the perfect moment for that

The fact that they didn't reconcile, yet Alberto is coming for Luca with a beach umbrella, gives a strong sense of hope

Fully showing that moment of commitment, the effects department had to place every drop on Luca and Alberto perfectly to make the slow mo shot so grand, yet so difficult

Enrico's favorite music cue is Luca rescuing Alberto, sends shivers down his spine

Both Enrico and Andrea are impressed with every single department's perfect contribution to the downhill scene, making it feel so dangerous, exciting, visceral, yet so clear and stylized

What Ercole does to be so over the top intimidating is just impossible on a bike

Giulia gets her own shining moment of bravery

Luca and Alberto had a clear chance to escape to the water, but risked it all to go back and check on their friend Giulia

Ercole is egging on the crowd with his fearmongering, and looks unhinged with his hair hanging down, but it was more important for Massimo to have this moment because he is respectfully known in this town with the prejudice against sea monsters, that even he would change his mind on sea monsters

Massimo's respect in town and care for these kids is what helps turn the tide, as well as pointing out that they won

"The fishermen are like 'what do we do?' And Massimo is like 'what do you think?'" - Enrico

They wanted a fine line between the town accepting them, but not the entire town. Not only does Ercole obviously hate them, but some of the fishermen reluctantly stand down. It helps illustrate the message of the story that grandma states just two minutes later

It also visualizes that it's not always black and white, that not everyone can be changed instantly, or at all

This sets up the truth that changing the world is not going to be instant, but it can be a seeded change that grows over time, and the catalyst to find those that do accept you

Enrico comments that the film is curiosity and friendship being a bridge over fear and division, that there are Ercoles in the world, you have to find the Albertos, give our faith to the new generation, and as parents, feel for Daniela who is going to release Luca into a world that is dangerous

The final scene was worked on a lot, and even hinted that it could have been cut, but was saved as it was seen as the perfect ending once it was added to the film. It was also touching to Enrico as someone who left his home and immigrated to the US in order to chase his own dreams, that going out into the world is a bittersweet feeling of sadness and hope, as you leave your friends and family behind

The parents being there at the train station was a late addition to the ending, but was a big part of this moment to make this happen, that Luca needed to leave with their blessing and support, and it's a big sacrifice to let him go

Speaking of sacrifices, Alberto's important scene of sheepishly admitting that he would be happy here with Massimo, because while Luca's dream is school, Alberto's need is a father figure

"We carry this friendship with us, I am with you because of the way we grew up together, the way that we changed each other, we're not the same people because of these amazing relationships we've had." - Enrico Casarosa

("You got me off the island Luca, I'm okay." - Alberto Scorfano)

That train shot is basically the same train shot from Evita Leoni (I think I said that right), only animated by Pixar

When the hands lose each other, its real and much harder

Your true friends are those who root for you, who want what's best for you

It's very important that Luca left his home as a sea monster, that he went out into the world as his true self. That he's not hiding, he's going to change the world one person at a time. (So more rain).

But end the film on a hopeful sky.

Enrico loves film that tells a tiny bit more of the story after the credits, which is why we have all those lovely illustrations telling us what happened afterwards, Luca learning and Alberto bonding with Massimo and making more friends

The film took 4 to 5 years to make, and they keep thanking over and over how important each and every person in these departments are, that if one person was replaced or missing this film wouldn't have been as perfect as it is. (Dammit I wanna work at Pixar!)

Amongst the drawings is a boat named Maret, which is named after Enrico's wife

It's confirmed that the fish in the post credits scene is Giuseppe, not the missing Enrico (there goes my headcanon)

They hope at the end of the film that you will call your best friend and share some memories and get a gelato