'Luca' Alternate Opening Reveals How Sea Monsters Keep Their Big Secret (Exclusive)

Disney is taking you below the surface of Isola Del Mare.

Disney's Luca is a (literal) fish-out-of-water story about a curious young sea monster who must disguise himself to spend his summer in a human town on the Italian Riviera. But one version of the movie began by introducing an entire island of sea monsters living in secrecy, as revealed in an alternate opening debuting exclusively on ET.

Here, Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay in the finished film) narrates the first moments of the movie and acquaints audiences not to the town of Portorosso but to the small island of Isola Del Mare.

"I guess from a distance, it could seem like the most exciting thing that happens is the tide comes in -- and then goes back out again," Luca says. "Nobody ever really visits us here, and that's how we like it. So, if you didn't know our island, you'd probably think it really is just a quiet place where nothing ever happens. But things aren't always as they seem."

After an unsuspecting fishing boat passes, a bell signals that the islanders are in the clear and we watch as café owners and other locals each douse themselves in water to reveal their true forms, before taking a look under the surface to a sea monster world that's closer to what we saw in Luca.

ET previously spoke with director Enrico Casarosa, who explained where the inspiration for sea monsters came from. "I've always been fascinated by old maps, because there were such amazing creatures drawn on them. Weird sightings turned into some very strange drawings," he said. (Hence, why this alternate opening begins with an old map.)

"On the character side, it enabled me to have a fish-out-of-water story. What's the worst possible thing for a curious kid? Being a sea monster," Casarosa continued. "That felt juicy, and it felt really wonderful to put the audience into a gaze that comes from the outside. I really loved the idea of taking the world to Italy, to a tiny little town through the eyes of someone that is also discovering it."

Watch the clip above, one of two alternate openings, plus deleted scenes and more included when Luca arrives on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 3. Luca is also streaming on Disney+ now.

Disney

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