Pixar's Gatto Trailer: Mark Ruffalo Is a Mobster Cat on His Last Life
Nine lives, one mob debt.
Pixar just dropped the full trailer for Gatto, and it looks like the studio's most beautiful original in years. Mark Ruffalo voices Nero, a scrappy black cat in Venice who owes a debt to a feline mob boss named Rocco, voiced by Laurence Fishburne, according to Variety.
Per the official synopsis, Nero has started questioning whether he has lived the right lives in the city of canals. He is then forced into an unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose. The catch is that he's down to his last life, which raises the stakes a lot. (Cats really should be more careful with those.)
Who is in the Gatto cast?
The voice cast is stacked. Along with Ruffalo and Fishburne, Bianca Babaşa plays Maja, and the lineup includes Sherry Cola, John Turturro, Isabella Rossellini, Rhys Darby, Jason Schwartzman, Jason Mantzoukas and Tracey Ullman. Natasia and Jamie Demetriou, the sibling duo from Stath Lets Flats, are in it, too.
Babaşa's Maja is a street musician, according to Mouse Info. She looks like the friend who pulls Nero toward a better life. Rhys Darby also voices a character named Focaccia. (Peak Italian name.)
Who is making Gatto?
Enrico Casarosa directs and Andrea Warren produces, the same pair behind Pixar's Oscar-nominated Luca, per Variety. Oscar winner Dario Marianelli wrote the score. Slovak violinist Barbora Botošová plays violin on it.
Why does Gatto look so different?
Casarosa wants Venice to feel like a living, breathing character. "Venice is our setting. We have a new, very immersive, painterly look," he said, according to MickeyBlog. He also described the city in the film as "a heightened version of Venice."
When does Gatto come out?
Gatto opens in theaters on March 5, 2027. It's Pixar's first original movie since Hoppers. Before that, the studio's biggest hits were sequels like Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5. According to Mouse Info, it will also come with a new Pixar short, Loving Dory, with Ellen DeGeneres back as Dory.
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My read is that Gatto could be Pixar's best original idea since Coco. A mob movie told through Venetian street cats is a great pitch, and the hand-painted look is exactly the kind of risk Pixar should be taking more often. Luca proved Casarosa can make Italy feel warm and lived-in, and a darker, moodier Venice sounds like a great next step. (Pixar, please let Nero land on his feet.)
Are you seeing Gatto in theaters? Tell us in the comments.
