"Silenzio Bruno!" (And What It Means In Real Life)

Luca Paguro isn’t so different from other twelve-year-olds in 1950’s Italy. He’s curious and loves learning about everything he can get his hands on. He can often be spotted training on his bicycle for the local Portorosso Cup race. And he’s obsessed with Vespas—whether that means trying to save money for one of his own or helping his best friend, Alberto, build one in the meantime.

Not so different from other kids at all.

Oh, and he also never gets wet. No rain. No swimming. Not even a spilled water glass.

Because if he did, everyone would see that he’s actually a sea monster. (Albeit one with a remarkable ability to look human when he dries out.)

Totally normal.

Silenzio Bruno!

I’ve been excited for Pixar’s Luca since the trailers launched. (You may not have known this, but I’m a bit of a Pixar nerd.)

However, a lot of my peers said it didn’t quite have the sparkle of a Pixar movie. That it didn’t quite have that feel.

I watched it anyway and loved it. (I thought it very much seemed like a Pixar movie.)

One of my favorite scenes is the “silenzio Bruno!” scene. Slices of it were used in trailers and other marketing. You can watch the full scene below.

It seems cute enough (if not deadly) in that clip. And sometimes it is just little irrational fears that tug at us.

Not that “I was just thinking maybe I might die” is an irrational fear.

And for the record, if Bruno is telling you not to put something in your mouth, you might want to listen. Good? Good.

What were we talking about?

Right. Then there are the bigger fears. As we see in Luca, often the biggest struggles hide behind carefree faces. Without giving too much away, the kids in Luca are dealing with some big problems: bullying, parents’ separation, and abandonment by a parent, for starters.
It hurts.

Can we really silence our inner doubts when we’re stuck in the middle of those big things? Can we silence Bruno when it hurts?
 
You Have More Reason Than Anyone Else To Say It

Once again, for the record, sometimes we do need to listen to Bruno. Sometimes he’s warning us and/or leading us towards a good change.

But more often than not, Bruno wants us to doubt ourselves.

You can’t.

You’re not good enough.

And worse, he wants us to doubt the One Who cares for us.

You are a child of God. A child of the true King, the Leader of angel armies. And it’s that Father Who stands by you in every fear you face, big or small. He doesn’t leave when the crisis is over, either. He stays with you in every aspect of your life, the mundane and the insane.

He has a plan in all this. And it doesn’t feel good at the time. But because He is good, because He’s been good for a million other people a million times before, we know His plan is good.

He’s the reason that you’re good enough, because His sacrifice made you worthy.

He’s the reason you can, because He gives His power to you.

You can go to that youth group and meet others your age.

You can be gracious and merciful to the cruel person in your life.

You can bear up under abuse or bullying, always knowing where your worth is.

With Someone like that on our side, why on earth should we listen to Bruno?

So I don’t care what you say to him, or why his name is Bruno. Just shut him up.

Because you have a reason that you can say, “Silenzio Bruno.”

*What is your Bruno? Have you seen Pixar's Luca? What did you think of it? Share your adventures in the comments!*