Pixar is returning to original storytelling with Gatto. The studio has released a short teaser trailer offering the first glimpse at its criminal feline underworld, where Nero, voiced by Mark Ruffalo, is a small black cat serving as a lieutenant to mob boss Rocco, voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
The teaser also reveals the striking “living painting” animation style Pixar is embracing for Gatto. Shifting away from the 3D style that it has been known for, the studio builds the film’s Venetian environments in three dimensions to preserve depth, then layers hand-painted textures, visible brushstrokes, and illustrative details over them. The result resembles concept art brought to life, giving the city a textured, watercolor quality that feels moodier and more romantic than the vibrant Italian setting of director Enrico Casarosa’s previous Pixar film, Luca.
That is evident in the teaser opening, where the buildings, roof tiles, cats, and even the night sky feel texturally distinct from any other Pixar film we’ve seen. Of course, these blends of 2D and 3D animation aren’t particularly new, as films like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the Spider-Verse franchise, and Disney’s Wish have used similar techniques.
Ruffalo (Poor Things, The Avengers) has joined the voice cast as the scrappy black cat Nero, and Fishburne (The Matrix trilogy, Boyz n the Hood) will voice the ruthless mob boss cat Rocco. The teaser trailer introduces Nero and Rocco as they question another cat in a funny interrogation scene that involves a lightbulb. What happens with said lightbulb as Nero and Rocco interrogate the poor, tied-up cat only brings laughter.
Here’s the plot synopsis for Gatto:
In Gatto, after years of maneuvering the canal-ridden, superstitious city of Venice, Italy, Nero begins to question whether he’s lived the right lives. Indebted to Rocco, the local feline mob boss, Nero finds himself in a quandary and is forced to forge a truly unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose — unless Venice gets the better of him first.
Directed by Enrico Casarosa and produced by Andrea Warren, Gatto opens exclusively in theaters on March 5, 2027.
