Pixar is heading back to Italy for its next big film

Though Disney and Pixar are about to start getting everyone hyped for Toy Story 5, the studios are already working hard on another feature.

While Disney and Pixar opened their Annecy presentation with more details about their next movie, Elio, and gave updates about Toy Story 5, the studio surprised festival goers by announcing that Luca director Enrico Casarosa and producer Andrea Warren are working on a new film due out in 2027. Titled Gatto, the movie will tell the story of a music-loving black cat living in Venice who bonds with a young human girl as he tries to disentangle himself from the city’s feline crime scene. According to Deadline, Gatto will feature a “a distinct, unique hand-painted” aesthetic that looks like nothing Pixar has ever produced before.

Disney and Pixar also revealed that they are developing Hoppers, a new project from We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong about a girl named Mabel (Piper Curda) who sets out to save a local pond using technology that transfers her mind into the body of a robotic beaver. Hoppers does not yet have a firm release window, but the studios did share more about Toy Story 5, which slated to hit theaters next year on June 19th. Toy Story 5 will bring back a number of the franchise’s classic playthings as their new owner, Bonnie, becomes enamored with a fancy new tablet that looks very much like it was inspired by Leapfrog / VTech devices.‘

Developing movies years in advance has always been the Disney / Pixar way, and it’s good to finally see some of what we can expect from the studios in the next few years. Disney / Pixar’s output hasn’t always popped off the way the studios hoped for as of late, but these upcoming projects could turn that around when they ultimate make their debuts.