Pixar’s Gatto trailer introduces a water-fearing cat, a feline crime boss, and the studio’s first-ever 2D animated feature. It’s gorgeous.
Pixar just dropped the first teaser trailer for Gatto and this one kinda caught me off guard. And not because it is set in Venice or because the cast is impressive, and even because it’s cute, I mean Pixar has this ability to do cute in its sleep. It is because Pixar has finally done something it has never done before. They made a 2D animated movie. Yeah, that’s right!
This is the studio that practically convinced Hollywood that 3D animation was the future. For three decades Pixar has been synonymous with computer animation. Then a light bulb went on and somebody decided to try something completely different.” And judging by this first teaser, that gamble looks like it paid off. The film comes from Luca director Enrico Casarosa, which immediately got my attention. If by chance you are familiar with Luca, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Casarosa has a knack for creating worlds that feel warm and inviting, but with just enough melancholy bubbling beneath the surface to give them real heart. And having Venice as the setting feels like the most natural thing in the world.
The story follows Nero, a scrappy black cat with one rather unfortunate problem. He’s terrified of water in Venice of all places. Yeah, I wish him much luck with that. Nero lands in trouble with a feline crime boss and gets pulled into the city’s underground cat world. A rather purring situation, wouldn’t you agree? Anyway, as the story moves on he forms an unlikely friendship with Maya, a lonely street musician who helps him figure out where he belongs.
Nero is voiced by none other than the MCU star Mark Ruffalo, while Laurence Fishburne plays Rocco. Rocco is a large, intimidating grey cat who seems to be somewhere between mentor, boss, and professional nightmare. Someone we have all met at sometime in our life. The trailer keeps their relationship deliberately vague, but their chemistry is immediately entertaining. The teaser runs for less than a minute and focuses almost entirely on one scene involving Nero, Rocco, and a very nervous hostage cat who apparently knows something about some missing tuna. And I’m not even joking.
The interrogation starts off fairly serious. Then both cats become completely distracted by a swinging lightbulb overhead. Because they’re cats.
World domination, organised crime, high-stakes negotiations. None of it matters when there’s a thing dangling in front of their faces.
The scene ends with Rocco casually biting through the lightbulb. Crunch. Gone. It’s absurd and funny in the best way. And it tells you almost nothing about the actual plot while somehow making you desperate to see more.
The aim of the teaser trailer accomplished. And this one does the job. Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter has described the Venice of Gatto as a living painting, almost dreamlike in appearance. For Nero, though, it’s less of a dream and more of a waking nightmare. He’s a cat who fears water and somehow lives in a city built on it. The contrast between Venice’s beauty and Nero’s chaotic existence feels tailor-made for Casarosa’s storytelling style. The movie was originally scheduled to be released around June 2027, but Pixar has now moved Gatto forward to 5 March 2027. And while release date changes aren’t always good news, moving a film up is usually a real confidence booster for any studio.
Between Hoppers, Toy Story 5, and now Gatto, Pixar suddenly feels like a studio that’s willing to take a few creative risks that are paying off. As for Gatto it might just be the most interesting thing they’ve announced in years. A charming story with a fantastic cast. But it’s that gorgeous hand-painted 2D animation that really steals the show.
Go watch the trailer.
Then try convincing yourself you don’t immediately want to see more.
Gatto arrives in cinemas on 5 March 2027.
