Piacere
Girolamo Trombetta. What does that mean? Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and in
this video I'm revealing the secret meaning of Alberto's catchphrase, and explaining the
many other hidden details and themes you might have missed in the end of Luca. Spoilers ahead so take care. The movie's bittersweet ending finds both
Luca and Alberto seizing the chance of a bright new future, with Luca leaving for Genoa where
he'll pursue his passion for study, while Alberto finds the father figure he longed
for in Massimo. And as the pair tearfully leave each other,
Alberto repeats the phrase he said to Luca when they first met:
"Piacere, Girolamo Trombetta." Back then, when Luca first asked him what
that meant, Alberto amusingly changed the subject;
but now at the end of the movie, he admits he never actually knew. "Go find out for me, will ya?" Director Enrico Casarosa has since explained
that Alberto's catchphrase is a pun that comes from his own childhood, with the words "Piacere,
Girolamo Trombetta" translating roughly as "Nice to meet you, my name is twisty trombone". Notice how Alberto twists his hand and then
pulls and pushes Luca's arm during the handshake, mimicking the twist in the name as well as
the slide of a trombone. There's also a double meaning embedded in
this phrase. Firstly, the word "girolamo" is a play on
the Italian "giro la mano" which means "I turn my hand", hence the "twisty" meaning
part of the pun. Secondly "Girolamo" is also the Italian equivalent
of the name "Jerome", which would make the literal translation of the phrase "Pleased
to meet you, my name is Jerome". Like the "stupido" phrase, humour comes from
the fact that this is something Alberto overhead one day and didn't really understand what
it means. "It's a human thing. I'm kind of an expert." So although he kind of used it correctly when
he first met Luca, the second time he uses it he's basically saying "pleased to meet
you" as they say goodbye, which makes their farewell even more touching in a way as he's
saying he's happy to know his friend. The double meanings of Alberto's parting phrase
nicely reflect the bigger theme of the characters' dual nature in the movie, which is highlighted
again in those final moments as the rain transforms Alberto back into his sea monster form, and
the same happens to Luca as the train pulls out of the tunnel, with both of them no longer
afraid to show their true nature to the world. That theme of difference and how individuals
may choose or feel forced to keep their real selves a secret was also addressed in various
other moments from the end of the movie. When Luca sees his friend Alberto cruelly
trapped in a net by Ercole after the rain reveals his sea serpent nature, he decides
he won't pretend to be someone he isn't anymore as he did earlier when he shamed Alberto for
revealing himself as a sea monster. In a powerful moment, Luca sheds his colander
safety helmet and comes to his friend's rescue, revealing his own true colours at the same
time. On another level, Luca Paguro, whose surname
means "hermit crab" in Italian, is symbolically casting off the protective shell he's worn
until now, something that hermit crabs do in real life as they grow and seek out a better
fitting shell or home. This scene is crucial for many reasons as
it has the power to speak to anyone who's felt the need to hide who they really are
for fear of rejection, intolerance, and even violence from society,
which is one reason why Luca and Alberto's transformations have been so readily seen
as a metaphor for the LGBTQ+ community. It's interesting then that "the feathery scaling"
effect of Mystique's transformation scenes in the X-Men films, which are also allegories
for LGBTQ+ experiences, was one of the major inspirations for the way Luca's animators
designed the transformation of the sea monsters in this movie. Shortly after, we get another similar moment
when the two old ladies reveal a secret it feel likes they've been hiding for a very
long time, that they too are sea monsters. What these two old ladies represent is open
for the viewer to decide for themselves. On the one hand, their names Concetta and
Pinuccia Aragosta may suggest that they are the aunts or some other relatives of the underwater
Aragosta family who Luca talks to at the beginning of the movie. "Hi, Mrs. Aragosta." And you could also definitely view their sea
monster reveals as a metaphor for their coming out, making them a lesbian couple who've been
living in secret in a society that they felt would not openly accept them. Given the 50s to 60s period that Luca is set
in, the reality of gay couples living together claiming to be relatives or just platonic
friends was not uncommon. Check out the touching Netflix documentary
'Secret Love', for example. Also notice how the two ladies in Luca live
on the outskirts of town near the Old Tower, a nod towards their feeling of being outsiders
and needing somewhere they could be safe. Casarosa specifically addressed these metaphors
in an interview with SlashFilm where he explained that he loved the idea that the film explores
the feeling of otherness and difference and he added that the story is about a person
making the decision to say "Here I am. Let the chips fall where they may. I'm going to fly my flag and I don't care." The film also acknowledges that other people's
acceptance of who you are isn't necessarily something that will either come easily or
sometimes even at all, but what's important is finding your own tribe so that you can
thrive. "Some people, they'll never accept him. But some will. And he seems to know how to find the good
ones." As Casarosa says, good friends are important
"because they are the people that see you for who you are, and they don't care about
whatever differences you have." And you can see this in how Luca and Giulia
support each other's passions. "Just promise you'll tell me everything you
see! Sorry. Too much?" "Never." "Sorry. Too much?" "No way." We also see this theme of outsiders and the
feeling of being rejected or feared by society in several other characters. Ercole, the villain of this story, calls Luca
and Alberto "out-of-towners" before proceeding to mock the way they dress and use his goons
to bully the pair. Giulia lives with her mother in Genoa for
most of the year and doesn't feel fully accepted by the community in Portorosso when she comes
to visit her father. "Every summer, I come here, and everyone thinks
I'm just some weird kid who doesn't belong. Which is one reason why she may feel especially
drawn to Luca and Alberto. "You know, we underdogs have to look out for
each other, right?" Another reason being her strong sense of justice
against society's intolerance as represented by Ercole. "So long, evil empire of injustice." And when Massimo refers to his disability,
pointing out that he was born that way and that his right arm wasn't bitten off by a
sea monster, the film is making the point that we shouldn't make assumptions about people
based on their appearances. Showing disability as something that simply
exists and is just one part of who someone is is all-too-rare on screen, so it's good
to see it here. Massimo himself shows how a person can overcome
their fears of what they think of as "the other", as he progresses from being obsessed
with hunting sea monsters to adopting Alberto and even visiting Luca's sea monster family
during the end credits. Even Ercole's sidekicks decide they've had
enough of being abused by him at the end of the film and reject him and what he represents
by tossing him into the town fountain, which is what he tried to do to Luca when he first
met him. Casarosa says that he loves the idea that
the film's sea monsters are a way for "the audience to come in and bring their own experience
of feeling 'other'" and project their own sense of difference onto it. Now, I want to mention a few other details
you might have missed from the end of the movie. As the credits roll, the accompanying images
reveal the story of what happened after Luca left Portorosso. We can see that Massimo has fully adopted
Alberto as his son, and when he gives him a knife for a birthday present, it pays off
this earlier scene in the movie. "Which knife do I get? Huh? Huh?" "You don't." And as well as helping out Massimo, Alberto
also now seems to have a job as a lifeguard. Also, the statue of the town's famed sea monster
killer appears to have been replaced by Luca's stone statue of himself that he used as a
decoy for his illicit trips to the surface, which shows just how much attitudes have changed
in Portorosso. As for Luca and Giulia, they get a dog together
called "Nerone", the Italian name for the Roman Emperor Nero. The turtle from the island that held up the
ramp for Alberto and Luca's homemade Vespa jump has been adopted too and given the name
Caligula. And many thanks to Pier Gio who commented
on my easter eggs video that "Caligula was a mad Roman emperor, who named his horse a
senator and ordered a war against the sea god Neptune." Machiavelli has a litter of kittens, many
of which are mini-moustachioed versions of him, and his name is a reference to the Italian
writer and political philosopher whose most famous work The Prince has a notable quote
that: "Men usually judge things by the eye rather
than by the hand. Everyone sees what you appear to be, but few
feel what you are." Which feels especially pertinent to the story
of Luca. Some other little details you might have missed
in the end credits include Luca and Giulia indulging their joy of space as they watch
the moon landing, which as Charles Lee points out was in 1969. There's also a Lady and the Tramp easter egg
with two cats sharing a plate of spaghetti. And the cheese, basil, garlic, and nuts that
appear at the end of the credits are most of the ingredients needed to make classic
pesto, an essential part of Giulia's favourite pasta dish. "I made your favourite, trenette al pesto." The post-credits scene also reveals what might
have been in store for Luca if he'd ended up going to the deep with his Uncle Ugo as
the strange fish chatters on about how great life is at the bottom of the sea. "Mmm. Whale carcass. Anyway, you're gonna have fun." The visual punchline at the end though is
that all this time Ugo's been talking to a solitary goatfish who sidles off once he realises
exactly what life's going to be like with Ugo in the deep. A fun theory I had, and which Cepterman also
noticed, is that this goatfish could be Enrico, who Luca mentioned at the beginning of the
movie. "You want to run off like your buddy Enrico? He's either dead, or he's out there. Somewhere." I also love their idea that that line could
be a Finding Nemo reference too. On top of that, this goatfish Enrico is quite
likely also a reference to director Enrico Casarosa himself, who grew up in Italy, but
left his home to go to New York and pursue his passion for animation, eventually getting
to work and direct films at Pixar. In fact, Casarosa has said that Luca's story
very much channels his own childhood and how, as a shy kid of 11, he met his real-life best
friend Alberto, who was a much more boisterous character, just like the one in the movie. Alternately, the goatfish with Uncle Ugo might
be Giuseppe who had a habit of drifting off by himself. "Giuseppe, get back here!" And thanks to "Just Someone" who pointed out
the scene may also be a nod to Finding Nemo's post-credits scene in which an anglerfish
with a glowing lure like Uncle Ugo's gets eaten up by tiny little green fish. Now, as great as the ending of Luca was, the
original story was going to be incredibly different with a big battle and Alberto turning
into a giant kraken. I'll be explaining all that in my next Luca
video, and I'll add a link to watch it here and in the video description as soon as it's
ready. So what did you think of Luca, Alberto and
Giulia's story and what does the movie mean for you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! And if you enjoyed this video, then don't
forget to hit that thumbs-up and share, it's hugely appreciated. You can tap left to discover all of the Pixar
easter eggs in Luca including Inside Out, Up, Pizza Planet and many more or tap right
for something else you're sure to like. Thanks for watching and see ya next time. Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!
