Luca Paguro

Luca Paguro is the titular protagonist of the 2021 Disney•Pixar animated feature film, Luca. He is a sea monster that is influenced by Alberto Scorfano to venture into the surface. Once he discovers his parents will send him to the deep, away from the surface, he and Alberto escape to the Italian town of Portorosso, and enter the Portorosso Cup so they can buy a Vespa and see the world together.

Background

 * Luca Paguro is a bright and inventive 13-year-old sea monster with endless curiosity – especially when it comes to the mysterious world above the sea. Although he's been warned his whole life that the human world is a dangerous place, he longs for something beyond his quiet farm life where he herds goatfish day after day. So when another sea monster with actual experience above the surface takes Luca under his fin, his eyes open up to a whole world of possibilities.

Personality
Luca starts out as a very timid and shy character. He is afraid of the surface, but is also very curious about it. He meets Alberto, who Luca thinks is a human diver, but turns out to be like a sea monster just like him. After Alberto introduces him to the surface, Luca attempts to confidently refuse staying there as he believes himself to be a "good kid." When he receives the opportunity to approach the surface shortly later on, his first reaction is reluctance to disobey his parents' orders and see Alberto again.

As the movie progresses, Luca is able to expand on his curiosities about human life and what was on the surface as Alberto shows him his collection of human items. Alberto is able to teach Luca to ignore his doubts and leave his comfort zone, which is how he gained his skills on a bicycle that he needed to compete in the Portorosso Cup. He credits Alberto with teaching him how to be crazy.

He starts bonding with Giulia when she tells him about astronomy and the universe, which makes Luca want to go to school with her. After deeply hurting Alberto, Luca attempts to make it up to him by winning the prize money for their Vespa. He was even willing to come to Alberto's rescue and expose himself as a sea monster when Ercole caught and attempted to kill Alberto when his sea monster identity was revealed during the Portorosso Cup.

By the end of the movie, Luca is much braver and wiser than the fearful, nervous version of him that existed early in the story.

Physical appearance
In human form, Luca is slender with fair skin, rosy cheeks, brown eyes, and wavy, dark brown hair. He wears a teal striped ivory shirt, blue shorts, and is barefoot all the time.

In sea monster form, Luca has blue-green scales and blue "hair". His eyes are still brown, but they have yellow sclera and oval shaped pupils. He also has a long tail with blue caudal fins. Luca is seen wearing green pants made of seaweed.

Trivia

 * The DisInsider initially reported that Portorosso was going to be Luca's surname, and possibly a reference to Porco Rosso.
 * His actual surname, Paguro, is Italian for "hermit crab".
 * Out of all the characters in the film, Luca has the largest eyes (proportional to his head) since he is so curious and eager to "take everything in."
 * Luca has, in some ways, drawn comparisons to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Both characters arguably suffer from boredom from living under the sea and find happiness when they come to the surface, where they have to hide their oceanic origin. The major difference is that Ariel is motivated by love, having fallen in love with Prince Eric, while Luca's motivation is adventure and discovery.