Venice Cat Crime
Pixar Unveils "Gatto" Teaser, Showcasing a Venice Mob Story with Striking Hand-Painted Animation
Key Points
Pixar’s "Gatto" is directed by "Luca" filmmaker Enrico Casarosa, with producer Andrea Warren—bringing the project back to Casarosa’s home country of Italy.
At the film’s earlier Annecy preview, Pixar said Nero’s “unexpected friendship” is with a young human girl.
The movie’s official logline is: “Indebted to a feline mob boss, a black cat named Nero finds himself forced to forge an unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose.”
The painterly look wasn’t just concept art: Pixar showed it as an actual animation test, with the Venice canals flowing like watercolor “waves,” and the audience “gasped.”
Pixar has dropped the first teaser for *Gatto*, a Venice-set animated crime film arriving in theaters on March 5, 2027. The studio's 32nd feature follows Nero, a black cat shunned for bad luck superstitions, who gets tangled up with a feline mob boss — and stumbles into an unexpected friendship that may give him a purpose ABC7.
Mark Ruffalo voices Nero and Laurence Fishburne plays Rocco, the ruthless mob boss to whom Nero is indebted. The film is directed by Enrico Casarosa, who previously helmed Pixar's *Luca*, and produced by Andrea Warren. It marks a return to Casarosa's home country of Italy ABC13.
A Hand-Painted Look That Made Audiences Gasp
*Gatto*'s most striking feature isn't the cast — it's the visuals. Pixar has developed a brand-new production approach for the film. Sets are built in 3D, but textures and brushstrokes are hand-painted on top, giving Venice a watercolor, painterly look. When Pixar showed the animation test at an early preview, the audience reportedly gasped as the canals flowed like watercolor waves ABC7 New York.
Pixar CCO Pete Docter said the goal was to "capture the painterly texture of Venice while still preserving the depth and dimension you've come to expect from Pixar." He called it a clear departure from the studio's traditional "glossy CGI." Industry outlet Creative Bloq called the look "glorious" and "the most exciting animation in years" ABC11.
Nero's Story: Mob Debts and a Surprise Human Friend
The film's official logline reads: "Indebted to a feline mob boss, a black cat named Nero finds himself forced to forge an unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose." That friendship, revealed at Pixar's 2025 Annecy preview, is with a young human girl named Maya — described as a street musician and artist ABC7.
Nero is shunned in Venice because locals see black cats as bad luck. Rocco, voiced by Fishburne, pulls Nero into the city's criminal underworld. The teaser features a comedic interrogation scene involving a missing stash of tuna and a swinging lightbulb — a playful nod to classic mob-movie tropes ABC13.
Pixar Bets on Originals While Dodging a Crowded Summer
*Gatto* was originally set for June 18, 2027, but Disney moved it up to March 5, 2027. The reason: June 2027 is packed with *Shrek 5* and *Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse*. The March window has worked well for Disney before — *Zootopia* opened there in 2016 ABC11.
The film is also a high-stakes test for Pixar's originals strategy. After sequels like *Inside Out 2* and the upcoming *Toy Story 5*, Disney CEO Bob Iger has pushed for a "quality over quantity" approach. *Gatto* is the centerpiece of that push, alongside *Hoppers*, slated for 2026 ABC7 New York.
Annecy Festival Preview Set for Late June 2026
Pixar will give a major preview of *Gatto* at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, running June 21–27, 2026. The studio plans to show the film alongside *Hexed*, another upcoming Pixar project. Researchers expect Annecy to reveal more technical details about the watercolor rendering system used for Venice's canals ABC7 News.
The teaser itself is set to play in front of *Toy Story 5* beginning June 19, 2026 — giving the film its widest exposure yet. With Casarosa's *Luca* already regarded as an awards-circuit contender in its time, industry watchers are already eyeing *Gatto* as a 2028 Best Animated Feature frontrunner ABC13.
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