Pixar has revealed the full details for its next original film, Gatto, including the complete cast and official premise. The movie stars Mark Ruffalo and Laurence Fishburne and is set for a theatrical release on March 5, 2027.
The Official Premise
Set in the canals and cobblestone streets of Venice, Italy, Gatto follows Nero, a black cat who has spent years navigating the superstitious, labyrinthine city. As the story begins, Nero starts to question whether he has truly lived the right lives. Indebted to Rocco, the local feline mob boss, Nero finds himself forced to forge a truly unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose. That is, unless Venice gets the better of him first.
As Variety reported alongside the teaser release, the premise leans into themes of identity, redemption, and unlikely connection. Pixar has revealed that the friendship Nero forges is with a young human street artist named Maya, who adopts him against his will. The Venice setting gives Pixar a rich visual playground, combining the city’s romantic architecture with the hidden world of cats navigating it on their own terms.
Mark Ruffalo And Laurence Fishburne Lead The Cast
Mark Ruffalo voices the lead character Nero, while Laurence Fishburne voices Rocco, the feline mob boss at the center of the story’s conflict. Both actors bring serious dramatic weight to what promises to be one of Pixar’s more atmospheric offerings in recent years.
Ruffalo is best known to Disney audiences as Bruce Banner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making Gatto a different kind of collaboration with the studio. Director Enrico Casarosa has said Ruffalo was cast in part because of his genuine, well-documented love of cats. Fishburne, meanwhile, has a long history with animated and voice work, and his commanding presence should bring real menace to the mob boss role.
What We Already Know About Gatto
Gatto is directed by Enrico Casarosa, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Luca and the short La Luna, and produced by his Luca collaborator Andrea Warren. It will be Pixar’s 32nd feature film, and it employs a distinctive “living painting” visual style that blends traditional 2D hand-painted textures with modern computer animation. Pixar released the first teaser trailer for Gatto earlier this month, ahead of the release of Toy Story 5.
Gatto is one of several Pixar originals in development as the studio looks to balance franchise sequels with fresh storytelling. After the massive success of Toy Story 5, which opened to rave reviews, Gatto represents a deliberate swing toward something new. A Venice-set story about cats, mob loyalty, and self-discovery is about as far from Buzz and Woody as Pixar can get, and that creative ambition is exactly what fans of the studio’s original work have been hoping for.
Gatto arrives in theaters on March 5, 2027. For more Pixar news, read about the first Gatto teaser trailer that debuted earlier this month.
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