Uncle Ugo is a supporting character in the 2021 Disney•Pixar animated feature film, Luca. He is a sea monster, Luca's uncle and Lorenzo's brother, who lives in the deep.
Background
- Uncle Ugo, perhaps Luca’s strangest and most bizarre relative, emerges from the deepest part of the ocean to help Daniela and Lorenzo convince Luca of the dangers of the surface. Like Luca, Ugo once wondered about the world beyond the surface. But following a near-death encounter he learned to steer clear, relocating to his deep-water home where it’s pitch dark, bitterly cold and far, far away from the scary humans above the sea—just the way he likes it.
Physical Appearance
In his sea monster form, Ugo resembles a humanoid anglerfish as he has a glowing blue antenna and glowing blue eyes that rotate. He also seems to be wearing tan moss shorts. He has see through skin, where his heart, bones, and other vital organs are visible.
Personality
Ugo seems to be a generally nice person, but is also very off-putting and borderline frightening due to his physical appearance, somewhat oblivious nature and odd interests. He seems to have been unaware that his nephew was somewhat frightened by him when they first meet and did not seem to realize that floating around in the dark, eating whale carcass and talking to himself are not hobbies well-liked by others. During the end credits scene, Ugo calls out those who think he's crazy for enjoying being in the deep to a fish. He sounds like he thought he was speaking to Luca but was unaware that Luca wasn't with him.
That being said, Ugo does not seem to mean any harm. Unlike real life anglerfish who are aggressive predators, Ugo seems content with just eating whatever whale carcasses that just so happen to float by. He enjoys his quiet, simple life, siting that it's away from the "hustle and bustle" and likes to talk to anyone who will listen, even when there is no one there.
Role in the film
At some point prior to the film, Ugo went to the surface where he had near fatal encounter with humans, which caused him to hide in the deep. He eventually took a liking to it, very rarely going up to the shallow waters, even thinking it's better. After being concerned of his son Luca's trips to the surface, Lorenzo and his wife Daniela invite Ugo over to try and dissuade their son from going to the surface. When Luca mentions he's not going alone, Ugo cites it as a bad influence. When he attempts to greet to Luca, he almost dies, due to the fact that he's not used to low pressure water, although he is saved by Luca when he punches his heart. Ugo then starts boasting about the Deep, admitting while there's no sunlight or much to do, he does bring up positives like whale carcass that floats into mouths and how Luca is living by himself just through his thoughts. This does little to persuade Luca, as he runs away from home to explore the human world above them.
Later when Daniela and Lorenzo are trying to look for Luca across the town of Portorosso, the two of them (in their human forms) see a movie poster depicting a sea monster with the characteristics of an anglerfish, which reminds the two of Ugo.
He finally appears in a post credits scene where he talks to a Goatfish, thinking it's Luca, he then starts boasting about the Deep and calling out people for thinking he's mad for living there.
Trivia
- Ugo is the second Disney character played by Sacha Baron Cohen, the first being Time from Alice Through the Looking Glass.
- He is also the second character to be voiced by Baron Cohen in an animated movie, the first being King Julien from the Madagascar trilogy, and third overall animated character to be voiced by Baron Cohen, with the second being Jakob from The Simpsons episode, The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed.
- He is also the fourth character in a family film to be played by Baron Cohen after King Julien in the Madagascar trilogy, Inspector Gustave Dasté in Hugo, and Time in Alice Through the Looking Glass, as Baron Cohen is more known for starring more adult-oriented productions
- At one point the movie, Ugo says that there is too much oxygen where Luca and his parents live. In real-life, fish who live in the deep sea, like anglerfish, cannot survive in low-pressure water.
- It's unknown if he's older or younger than Lorenzo.
- His appearance in the post-credits scene is similar to the Anglerfish from Finding Nemo: both being used once the screen is completely dark with them being the only light for their final gag. Unlike in Finding Nemo, there is no other sea creature near Ugo conquering its fear of predators and devouring him whole before leaving as it is replaced by Ugo eating a piece of food instead.
- Given that he is Lorenzo's brother, it can be assumed that Ugo's last name is also Paguro.
- Ugo is the only member of the Paguro family who does not go up to the surface in the film.
