Turning Red Characters & Their Luca Counterparts

Warning: This list contains SPOILERS for Turning Red.

Pixar’s Turning Red and Luca are both culturally rich coming-of-age stories. As their protagonists navigate the challenges of adolescence, identity, and exploring the world around them, there prove to be many significant parallels between the characters in both stories.

Each of the main characters in Turning Red and Luca have a counterpart who match in terms of elements such as personality, motivation, or character arc. Some of these counterparts are incredibly similar, while others are more loosely connected.

Meilin – Luca

As the protagonists in their respective coming-of-age tales, Meilin and Luca have a lot of parallels. Both of them are curious teenagers who are eager to explore the world around them and to partake in new, exciting experiences, much to the chagrin of their well-meaning but overprotective and smothering families.

Meilin and Luca feel pressure to fit in and struggle with whether or not to suppress defining aspects of their identity–the red panda for Meilin and the sea monster for Luca. Their desperation to be accepted even causes Meilin to throw her friends under the bus and Luca does the same to Alberto, decisions that both characters immediately regret and mostly make amends for. Eventually, Meilin and Luca learn to embrace and be proud of who they are, to follow their own paths, and balance this personal exploration with their family and friend relationships.

Ming – Daniela

Ming and Daniela are both overprotective mothers. They worry about the choices their children are making and are willing to take extreme measures to protect their children from the potential danger of those choices. They try to keep Meilin and Luca close to protect them, but by holding onto them so tightly, Ming and Daniela unintentionally push their children away.

Ming is more intense than Daniela, but their personalities and motivations are quite similar. Both mothers eventually learn to embrace their children’s authentic identities and their need to explore their inner selves further.

Jin – Massimo

Jin and Massimo are the fathers of central characters in Turning Red and Luca. Both of them speak very little throughout their respective movies. This makes it all the more impactful when they do speak up and provide much-needed encouragement and acceptance for their children and their children’s closest friends.

Even though Massimo lost his arm to the sea monsters and hunts them, he ultimately embraces Luca and Alberto for who they are, showing in front of the entire town that he respects and stands by his daughter’s friends. In Turning Red, Jin helps Meilin when she is at her lowest point, helping her see that she does not need to completely push away the parts of her that are silly, rebellious, and different, but that she just needs to make room for them, and that Meilin and her mother are not so different after all. Massimo is one of the best characters in Luca and Jin is one of the best characters in Turning Red, as at critical moments in each story, they are essential to the protagonists accepting who they are, along with earning the acceptance of others.

Miriam – Giulia

Miriam and Giulia are character counterparts due to the similarities in their appearance, their personalities, and their impact on the protagonist. Both characters have red hair and are practically always seen wearing a stylish beanie.

In terms of their personalities, they are both bold, ambitious, deeply loyal to their friends, and are among the most likable characters in Turning Red and Luca. While Miriam is alarmed the first time she sees Meilin as a red panda and Giulia is alarmed the first time she sees Alberto as a sea monster,  they waste no time in supporting their friends, making them feel better, and working together to achieve their common goals.

Abby – Alberto

Abby and Alberto are both easily excitable and eager to experience all the various thrills that life has to offer. Abby exudes palpable enthusiasm for everything from 4*Town to the fluffiness of Meilin’s red panda form. While not quite as intense as Abby, Alberto also has a palpable zeal for everything from gelato and pasta to vespas, which is shown in many of Luca‘s best scenes.

The most telling difference between them is that Abby almost always has an overwhelmingly positive reaction to most things while Alberto can be much more cynical. Despite this difference, their loyalty toward their close friends and their general energy makes them fitting character counterparts.

Tyler – Ercole

Tyler and Ercole are both bullies who antagonize the protagonists. In order to feel better about themselves and their own insecurities, Tyler and Ercole put others down, often through cruel and manipulative means.

By the end of each movie, there is a significant difference between the two characters, though. While Ercole remains a hateful character to the very end, Tyler is more humanized and sympathetic when Turning Red reaches its conclusion, even hanging out with Meilin and her friends during the 4*Town concert and when they all go to karaoke.

Grandma Lee – Grandma Paguro

Grandma Lee and Grandma Paguro are the matriarchs of the main families in Turning Red and Luca. They are more perceptive than their children. After barely being around Meilin, Grandma Lee can tell that Meilin has not been suppressing her red panda, while Meilin has been able to fool her own mother for weeks. Grandma Paguro is also more aware of Luca’s fascination with humans than his own parents are.

Grandma Paguro embraces Luca’s curiosity from the very beginning. Grandma Lee takes longer, but she is the first woman in the Lee family to embrace Meilin’s decision to keep her red panda. These grandmothers are not only perceptive, but arguably more progressive than their children.

Priya – Uncle Ugo

This may seem like an odd comparison, but there are actually some parallels between Priya and Uncle Ugo. Both of them march to the beat of their own drum. They do what they enjoy and don’t care what others may think of them, even if it is a bit different. Priya loves her vampire romance novels, 4*Town, unique dance moves, and speaks with a deadpan delivery. Her friendship warms the audience’s heart as a she’s a wonderful pal to Meilin, Miriam, and Abby.

Meanwhile, Uncle Ugo loves living in the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean where pieces of whale carcass float into his mouth. Both Priya and Uncle Ugo are true individuals in a story that celebrates individualism.

The Aunts – Lorenzo

Meilin’s aunt and Luca’s father Lorenzo are well-meaning, sometimes bumbling characters who often follow the lead of others. The aunts follow the lead of Grandma Lee and seem unsure what to do without her bossing them around. Lorenzo is absent-minded and generally follows the lead of his wife Daniela when trying to keep Luca from going to the surface and later on when they search for Luca on the surface.

The aunts prove to be a bit more instrumental in the ending of their respective story, as they briefly transform back into their red panda forms to help save the day. Lorenzo and the aunts are loving characters, but they lack some of the agency demonstrated by their loved ones.

About The Author

Matthew Rudoy
(279 Articles Published)

Matthew Rudoy is a freelance writer who loves to write about his favorite movies and TV shows. In addition to Screen Rant, he also currently contributes to Dork Side of the Force. He has previously self-published two fantasy/sci-fi novels titled CORRUPTION and DESTRUCTION. While his favorite movies and TV shows tend to also fall in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, he enjoys and is open to anything that provides an engaging story, strong character development, and in-depth world-building. Matthew is grateful for the opportunity to write for Screen Rant and looks forward to continue contributing to the site.

More From Matthew Rudoy