A new Pixar movie means new Easter Eggs to find in the film! Make sure to check out Luca, now streaming on Disney+! We also have a great activity sheet printable for you to download and enjoy with the family to celebrate the fun.
Luca is a sweet story about friendship and following your dreams. Luca and Alberto are sea creatures that venture on land in search of a Vespa to carry them all around the world because they think it will bring them happiness. They discover that their happiness is closer to home. I love that this story includes a family dynamic that includes separated parents. So many children live in these households now but don’t see that much representation. Normally in Disney Pixar movies, a parent has died. Giulia visits her father in the summertime in Portorosso and lives with her mother in Genoa during the school year. While the film is named Luca, it really follows all three of the children in an inspiring way.
Pixar Luca Hidden Gems and Easter Eggs
02:43 – Crabs
The crabs are so cute and remind me of the little hermit crab from the Pixar Short Piper.
Alberto’s home is just like Ariel’s Grotto collecting human objects and wanting to be closer to their world.
There is a little treasure chest on the shelf that looks like the one from Finding Nemo‘s fish tank. Also, the old diver’s helmet is in the tank as well!
15:03 – Carl Hat
Hanging on the hammock is a hat that looks like the one Carl from Up wheres to the courthouse.
There is also a Turning Red easter egg that will make itself known as more about the movie comes out. I think it’s this box that saws China on it though. Also in this scene is the propeller from the planes the dogs fly in Up.
15:57 – Wall-E Boot and Lady and the Trap accordion
On the floor of Alberto’s home is a boot that looks just like the one Wall-E uses to hold the plant. 
You can also see an accordion on the right-hand side, and that is a nod to Lady and the Trap and the scene where they eat Italian to the tune of “That’s Amore.”
28:03 – Elena Coco
The name of the boat is Elena, and that is Miguel’s Abulieta in Coco.
To Bouys also look like Cars cones.
29:03 – Cars Luigi
While he isn’t the right color, there is a car that is the same model as Luigi from Cars. So maybe he was this color before Ramone got ahold of him.
Pizza Planet Truck
Also in the square is the Pizza Plant truck, but they made it an authentic version in the form of a Piaggio Ape parked on the street in Portorosso.
29:49 – There is a poster for Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which opened in December 1954 at the cinema in Portorosso.
43:21 – Gelsomina from La Strada
The boat is named Gelsomina, the character from La Strada, which we say on the poster in the town square. La Strada is a popular 1950s Italian movie.
55:12 – Pinocchio
In Julia’s bedroom is a stuffed Donald Duck
1:13:38 – Pixar Ball
When the kids are riding up the hill during the race and the rain was about to start, the Pixar Ball is sitting on a balcony.
1:21:36 – A113 and 94608
On the ticket to Genova is reads A113. The number on the train is 94608, which is the zip code of Pixar’s hometown Emeryville. Pixar’s signature A113, the number on a CalArts classroom where many filmmakers studied, appears on a train ticket seen in the film.
Fun Facts about Pixar Luca
CHARACTERS
BEST FRIENDS – The character of Alberto is inspired by director Enrico Casarosa’s own childhood best friend, also named Alberto.
SCALE IT BACK – Sea monster Luca has 3,436 scales on his body.
SOUND EFFECTS – When Luca gobbles up his first plate of pasta, Jacob Tremblay, who lends his voice to the character, was happy to provide the burp that followed. It turns out that burping on command is a special skill of the actor.
QUICK COMMUTE – Jack Dylan Grazer (voice of Alberto) recorded every single line of dialogue inside his mother’s closet.
MANGIA, MANGIA – Emma Berman (voice of Giulia) speaks fluent Russian and has an extreme love for spaghetti. She loves to go to her favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant in San Francisco, where she practices ordering food in Italian for her family.
GETTING IN SHAPE – Artists gave Giulia a distinct look, embracing triangle shape language—particularly in her hair and pants.
CAMEO – Director Enrico Casarosa provides the voice of the winning card player in Portorosso, who shouts “Scopa!” He is also the fisherman in the boat who yells to a speeding boat, “What’s wrong with you, Stupido!”
OUT OF CONTROL – There are 221 and 223 individual controls in Luca’s and Alberto’s mouths, respectively, to help animators create the rounded mouth expressions they use throughout the film.
FISHY BUSINESS – One of Luca’s chores on his underwater family farm is herding goatfish. There are several real-life species of goatfish—some found in waters off the coast of Italy.
PRODUCTION
DELIZIOSO! – Filmmakers traveled to Italy to research the local culture, architecture, and overall feeling of the film’s setting. Food was a welcome highlight of their research. Director Enrico Casarosa, who’s a native of Italy, even treated team members to dinner at his parents’ house in Genoa.
TAKE A LOOK – When Luca and Giulia sneak a peek through the telescope, she mentions it belongs to a “Old Man Bernardi.” This is a nod to set supervisor Chris Bernardi’s lifelong love of astronomy and astrophotography. He personally owns six telescopes!
KEEPING IT LOCAL – All of the background kid voices in the film were recorded by local children in Italy.
THAT’S AMORE – “Luca” director Enrico Casarosa was inspired in part by Italian films of the 1950s, including “La Strada” and “Roman Holiday,” among others. Pixar-created posters for both appear in the film.
