Pixar has been in a creative rut, if you ask me, after years of being the most inventive animation studio around. It is finally ready to break some fresh ground with Gatto, a new film from Luca director Enrico Casarosa that will look like nothing Pixar has ever done before.
Gatto, about a music-loving black cat ostracized by the people of Venice because, well, black cats are bad luck, will have a totally different animation style than Pixar’s typical CGI. The film will be Pixar’s first hand-painted feature film, and you can get a look at the gorgeous animation in a new trailer.
Nero, voiced by Mark Ruffalo, is on his last life and indebted to the local mafia feline, Rocco. Navigating the criminal underworld, Nero will form an unlikely alliance with a musician who may be the key to a brighter future.
While the comparison isn’t perfect, Gatto does remind me of the phenomenal Loving Vincent, an animated film comprised of thousands of stunning oil-painted frames. Of course, comparisons to the incredible Oscar-winning Flow will be tough to avoid. Here’s hoping that Pixar branches out and tries new stuff like this more often.
Gatto will feature voice work by Laurence Fishburne, Enrico Casarosa, John Turturro, Jason Schwartzman, Isabella Rossellini, Natasia and Jamie Demetriou, and Jason Mantzoukas. The film opens in theaters on March 5th 2027.
