History Fridge / Luca

* This may be unintentional, but Uncle Ugo may exist as something ''more'' than just the creepy uncle archetype: he's actually Luca and Alberto's ShadowArchetype. He's a cautionary tale of what would happen to Alberto if he remained isolated, and a reflection of how Luca would be if he had stuck with being afraid of the surface to the point of never exploring it.

* While Alberto's different lifestyle and adventurous spirit initially enables Luca greater freedom to sate his curiousity and explore, Alberto's insecurities and fears actually make him a bit like the family Luca ran away from as the film goes on. Like Daniela, once Alberto sees Luca changing in ways he doesn't like, Alberto tries to use the threat of danger and exposure to keep Luca from changing further or exploring possibilities when these desired changes go beyond what Alberto can handle. Both Alberto and Daniela are okay with Luca changing, but only in ways they are comfortable with--Alberto wants Luca to be at his side and encourages him to be braver and more outgoing but also wants him to live with no other influences but Alberto; Daniela was okay with the massive implied life change that is sending her son away to the Deep if it avoided the changes and risks that came with him going away to the surface. Both assert to Luca that they know how the world is without actually being interested in hearing Luca's counters, and Luca realizing this is the point that both relationships break into conflict. Both, at their most extreme moments, ignore how Luca feels but demand that he complies with their idea of how his life should be through the validity of their bond with him (explicitly with Daniela, who pairs reminders that Luca knows she loves him with her increasingly restrictive behavior; implicitly with Alberto, who relied on the assumed strength of his bond with Luca when exposing himself as a sea monster to try and force a wedge between Luca and Giulia, and feels betrayed when Luca does not follow his lead and turns on him). This is why it was important for Alberto's character are that he not only accept and support his and Luca's differing interests and let Luca go to school without him, but is the one to convince Luca's family, particularly his mother, to do the same.

* Why did Giulia throw up during her previous attempt at the cycling portion of the Portorosso Cup? Because the Cup’s a ''triathlon''- the three challenges (swimming, pasta eating, and cycling) are meant for a team of ''three'' participants to tackle separately. Giulia, however, entered the contest as an individual, meaning she had to do all of them herself. The pasta eating challenge takes place before the cycling-without another teammate to handle the pasta challenge, she didn't have time to properly digest the food she’d just eaten.

* Whatever part of the sea monsters's bodies gets wet reverts to its true form, but their eyes and teeth also change appearance between forms and both are supposed to be always wet.
** Perhaps bodily fluids don't count? Otherwise, well, they also must be sweating a lot under that sun.

* Right before the climactic scene where Alberto reveals his sea monster form, he and Luca have their first ''actual'' fight after becoming frustrated by their clashing dreams. It's somewhat PlayedForLaughs, but as it goes on, it becomes more serious until Alberto pins Luca down and raises a fist to actually ''punch'' him, and only stops when Giulia walks in. What if she ''hadn't'' shown up at that moment, and Alberto had managed to punch Luca in the face, or if the fight had escalated further without Giulia to step in, resulting in ''either'' of the boys becoming seriously harmed? And how bad would either of them feel after that they hurt their friend?

* Right before the climactic scene where Alberto reveals his sea monster form, he and Luca have their first ''actual'' fight after becoming frustrated by their clashing dreams. It's somewhat PlayedForLaughs, but as it goes on, it becomes more serious until Alberto pins Luca down and raises a fist to actually ''punch'' him, and only stops when Giulia walks in. What if she ''hadn't'' shown up at that moment, and Alberto had managed to punch Luca in the face, or if the fight had escalated further without Giulia to step in, resulting in either of the boys becoming seriously harmed?

* "Pinocchio" seems like a very appropriate book for Luca to be interested in. The story mirrors to Luca's own story: a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman less-than-human]] child who makes a friend with another boy (Lampwick/Alberto), runs away from his [[AdultFear worried-sick]] family (Geppeto/Daniela and Lorenzo), and is trying to achieve their dream (Pinocchio's being his humanity and Luca's to see the world). Unto itself, both kids are also trying to fit in somehow and (in varying ways) become a "real boy".

* "Bruno" seems to have been someone Alberto knew personally. The way Alberto described Bruno is very specific, especially given Alberto's behavior. It might have been a former friend or even his father.
** WordOfGod says that, while in early drafts it was considered that Bruno would be his father's name, that it ultimately ended up not being the case and that Bruno is truly just a name that Alberto thought up. That being said, Alberto having a voice in his mind that both reprimands him and pokes at his insecurities about being unwanted definitely must have come from ''somewhere,'' and considering how his father abandoned him, it's clear where that must have been from.

** This also sheds some light on ''why'' exactly the kids in Portorosso are all intimidated by Ercole. At first, he seems to be a JerkAss who is so pathetic that he races against children far younger than him, but is otherwise harmless and kind of lame. However, considering his willingness to [[WouldHurtAChild corner and beat up Alberto when he and Luca are alone, ram his boat into theirs, and to even try to kill them despite knowing them in their human form for so long,]] it almost makes you wonder what else Ercole has done over the years to keep winning the races, especially to kids he sees as threats to his record. No wonder Giulia hates him, he's not just a jerk, but a potential ''danger'' to the kids of Portorosso!

** Massimo later proves to be exactly what Alberto ''actually'' needs, as he [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure provides Alberto with a stable environment, a job to keep him occupied, and a curb to his reckless tendencies (such as keeping him away from the knives until he's able to use them properly), while still being very kind and supportive.]] Luca makes a good peer and friend for Alberto, but is no replacement for his lack of a father figure.

** The few pieces of information we get about the Alberto's father, such as how he left when Alberto was still young feeling that he was old enough to live on his own, and how Alberto has quite a few emotional issues that clearly stem from trauma (seeing himself as a “kid who ruins everything”, his fear of abandonment, his overcompensation in order to be useful, his habit of running away when he’s upset, and his strong attachment to Luca to the point of jealousy and possessiveness) paints quite an ugly picture of what Alberto’s father was like [[AbusiveParents when he was actually around.]] Perhaps Alberto is better off ''without'' him.

* Sprinkled with some Fridge Heartwarming, even though Luca is upset with Alberto for not knowing how to do things right, he still asks Guilia, "We were wondering if we can come with you to your school" He intended to take Alberto with him still seeing him as a friend

** From the few pieces of information we get about the guy (such as how he left when Alberto was still young feeling that he was old enough to live on his own) and how Alberto has quite a few emotional issues of his own (seeing himself as a “kid who ruins everything”, his fear of abandonment, his overcompensation in order to be useful, his habit of running away when he’s upset, and his strong attachment to Luca to the point of jealousy and possessiveness) paint quite an ugly picture of what Alberto’s father was like [[AbusiveParents when he was around.]]

* While The Underdogs hate Ercole for being a jerk, Ercole acts as a kind of ShadowArchetype for each of them:
** Ercole and Giulia are both incredibly competitive and want to win the Cup, but while Giulia tries to win by her and the boys training and putting in the work, Ercole cheats the whole time and suffers for it. Not to mention that, ultimately, Giulia throws the race to help Luca and Alberto, showing that other people are more important to her than winning, while Ercole turns out to be willing to kill in order to win, showing that there isn’t a low point he won’t stoop to. Giulia even throws the race at the exact moment Ercole is about to harpoon the boys.

* While The Underdogs hate Ercole for being a jerk, Ercole acts as a kind of DarkReflection:

** Luca and Ercole both have some cowardly tendencies, both of which end up harming someone else (Ercole’s fear of losing makes him abuse Ciccio and Guido and eventually become violent towards the Underdogs, while Luca hurts Alberto when he pretends not to be a sea monster for fear of exposure). That being said, Luca proves to overcome his fear and expose himself with Alberto, and become more confident in his dreams and wishes, while Ercole is controlled by his disgust and fear of sea monsters, costing him his reputation and the race he wanted to win so badly.
** Ercole and Alberto both hold controlling tendencies towards their friends, as, while Ercole orders Guido and Ciccio around and expects them to follow them completely, Alberto is very possessive of Luca and wants him to give up his dream of going to school in favor of what Alberto wants, to the point of jealousy and hostility. The key difference is that Alberto genuinely cares for Luca and is a very lonely child, and he ultimately puts Luca’s happiness first by selling the Vespa. Ercole’s friends get tired of his abuse and promptly leave him in the dust.

** Luca and Ercole both have some cowardly tendencies, both of which end up harming someone else (Ercole’s fear of losing makes him abuse Ciccio and Guido, while Luca hurts Alberto when he pretends not to be a sea monster for fear of exposure). That being said, Luca proves to overcome his fear and expose himself with Alberto, while Ercole is controlled by his disgust and fear of sea monsters, costing him his reputation and the race he wanted to win so badly.