YMMV / Luca

• Accidental Aesop: While the main Aesop of the story is that real friends will understand that their bond matters more than material things, another one could be "If you don't know everything about the world, it's okay to admit your limitations and gaps in knowledge". Alberto and Luca have a fight because Luca learns from Giulia that no, the world isn't made of fish in the sky, but objects that are called stars.
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• Accidental Innuendo: These lines near the beginning, if taken out of context:
  Alberto: First time?
  Luca: OF COURSE IT IS! I'm a good kid!
  Alberto: Hey, relax. Breathe.
• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Is Alberto, like his namesake, bold, nonchalant, doesn't care what anyone thinks of him and is willing to do anything to protect those he cares for? Or is he a lonely, insecure kid who puts on a brave façade to hide behind, and his overprotectiveness is just him being terrified of losing the only person he knows and calls friend?
  • Did Ciccio and Guido defy Ercole's demands for a harpoon and throw him in the fountain because they Grew a Spine and had enough of his abuse? Or is it rather because he (technically, legally) lost the Portorosso Cup to someone else?
• Applicability: The director, Enrico Casarosa, states that his intention was to write a film loosely based on his own life about kids from vastly different backgrounds, summer adventures and the strong platonic bonds that form between them, though he welcomes the LGBT+ interpretation.
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• Catharsis Factor: Ercole is such an unbelievable jackass throughout the whole movie, that seeing the whole town turn against him, and his toadies Ciccio and Guido humiliate him further by pushing him into the fountain, is the most satisfying moment in the film.
• Fanon: Many fans have theorized that the "Bruno" in Alberto's "silenzio Bruno" may be referring to Alberto's father who left him.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Ever since it's revealed the movie used the towns of Cinque Terre in the region of Liguria as the reference for Portorosso, the movie has gained a lot of interest from Italians, especially those from Liguria who instantly loved it for its accurate portrayal of the region and its lifestyle. In Monterosso (one of the towns of Cinque Terre), they've even placed two statues of Luca and Alberto on the seabed off their main beach a few days after the movie debut.
• Ho Yay:
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  • Luca's Imagine Spot of riding across the country with Alberto on the Vespa is very similar to other explicitly romantic Imagine Spots... Well, except for the "Wild Vespas."
  • Alberto gets up in Ercole's face when he insults Luca, saying he smells like a pescheria (ie a fish shop). It's the same kind of intensity a guy would show if someone insulted his girlfriend, especially when it comes to smell.
    Alberto: Hey. My friend smells AMAZING!
  • Alberto, upon encountering Ercole and his goons, puts his arm in front of Luca protectively in a way that seems more reserved for family or lovers than friends.
  • Alberto gets very jealous of Luca's growing friendship with Giulia in a manner similar to someone feeling jealous that their partner or crush might be falling for someone else.
  • The bicycle scene just before the Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure. It's a blank-and-you'll-miss, but Alberto looks down and notices Giulia placing her hand on Luca's which causes him to flip and tell Giulia to back off.
  • Then there's the Train-Station Goodbye which has Alberto running alongside the train as Luca heads off to Genova.
  • There's the Italian love song sung during the credits, "An Empty City." The lyrics speak of a city bustling with activity, and full of life. But the singer hopes and pleads that the one they truly love will return soon, because the city feels empty without them. "Come back to me, my love. And the city will be empty no longer, and I will live with you all of my days."
• LGBT Fanbase: The film has attracted a large gay/bisexual following, since the plot reads almost like a story between two gay kids struggling with coming out due to living in a conservative environment.
• Love to Hate: Ercole may be a nasty bully and complete jerk but he is also incredibly funny and entertaining.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Comparisons of Massimo Marcovaldo's design to Tim Lockwood.
  • Following the meme about Pixar using "What if X had feelings?" as the main basis of their films, people joked that this film is about what if Italians had feelings. People from Liguria, specifically, played with the meme "What if Genovesi have feelings?" with the answer being "No, they don't."
  • Comparisons to Call Me by Your Name.
  • Hitman fans comparing Portorosso and Ercole to Sapienza and Silvio Caruso.
• Moral Event Horizon: Ercole crosses it at the climax, when he all-but-says that he is using Luca and Alberto's status as sea monsters as an excuse to kill them. All just to win a race and the prize on their heads. Tellingly, this action is the catalyst for his bullied goons to turn on him.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • For the brief time Uncle Ugo appears, his overall appearance is unsettling due to the fact that his transparent body shows his organs. Then there's a moment where he freezes up while talking to Luca and Luca's father has him punch his uncle's heart hard enough to get it working again.
  • Ercole tries to run down Luca and Alberto with his motorboat while Giulia is training for the swimming portion. They are frozen in fear since jumping into the water will expose them. It's only thanks to Guido, who grabs the rudder at the last moment, that no one suffers injury since Ercole could have gotten himself and his friends killed.
  • Ercole's attack on Luca and Alberto in front of the Vespa shop is disturbing to watch. In the dead of night, he first throws a harpoon at them to get their attention, then he has Guido and Ciccio pin Alberto to the wall while he gut-punches him. It's an unpleasant display of Ercole's Bully Brutality and shows who is the true monster.
  • The climax has Ercole suffering a Villainous Breakdown and chasing after the now-transformed Luca and Alberto, hellbent on killing them after the latter makes off with the former. This turns him from a mere obnoxious bully to a downright sociopathic monster who will do anything for his own gain. Worse, Luca and Alberto cannot rely on anyone's help (with the fortunate exception of Giulia, who is chasing after Ercole to stop him) as they are perceived as The Dreaded by the townsfolk.
    • This line by Ercole also qualifies:
      Ercole: You should've left when I told you. Now, I GOTTA KILL SOME SEA MONSTERS!
• Rainbow Lens: The story is a coming of age tale where three kids, Alberto, Luca and Giulia have a grand adventure over the summer while becoming close friends, the catch being that Alberto and Luca are sea monsters that assume human form when out of the water and they are exploring Portorosso, a town that is known for hunting sea monsters. As such many events in the movie can mirror the experience of a queer child. Luca's parents plan to send him away to the deep sea after discovering his "human stuff" - much like a youth might be confronted upon discovery of questionable magazines or Internet search history - and to keep him from Alberto's "bad influence", prompting the two to decide to run away together. Alberto shows visible jealousy when Luca starts spending more time with Giulia, leading to the betrayal by Luca at the beach like how a closeted gay person could throw their mate under a bus to firmly remain in the closet. Alberto reveals he was abandoned by his father like a lot of queer/LGBT youth who are disowned by their parents, Luca's parents wonder what they did wrong and say that they never thought he'd "do something like this", and at the end, when Luca's parents have accepted him, they are worried for his safety since they know there will always be people who don't accept him for who he is.
• Shocking Moments: Many found the scene where Luca shouts "Sea monster!" after Alberto transforms in front of Giulia to be a particularly hard-hitting moment because of how unexpected it is, being quite incongruent with Luca's character.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: While the art style was well-received overall, the way the characters are animated has lead to some detractors accusing Pixar of trying to copy the more recent output from Sony Pictures Animation, mainly in how they seem to move in a cartoony, exaggerated manner at times.
• What an Idiot!:
  • Ercole is The Bully of Portarosso. He makes fun of Giulia because she's the only kid in town who stands up to him, and includes Alberto and Luca on his list when Luca almost damages his Vespa. While searching for sea monsters on a motorboat with his cronies Guido and Ciccio, he spots the three kids training for the triathlon with Giulia swimming and Alberto and Luca paddling in her rowboat. Seeing his three rivals in one place (and no adults around to reprimand him), Ercole can't pass up the opportunity...
    You'd Expect: He'd choose to do something petty yet safe for all the parties involved, like order Guido and Ciccio to jump into the water, swim over to Giulia's boat, and capsize it. It's still a jerk move, but not so bad because the boat can easily be turned upright again and the paddles won't sink.
    Instead: He tries to outright ram his motorboat into Guilia's rowboat. This act could've easily gotten himself and everyone else involved drowned.
    The Result: When it's apparent Ercole isn't just trying to scare them, Guido realizes the danger, grabs the rudder from Ercole, and turns it sharply, narrowly missing Giulia's boat.

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