Pixar at Annecy 2025: Toy Story 5, Gatto, Hoppers, and More
At this year’s Annecy International Film Festival, Pixar held a showcase featuring 2025’s Elio as well as upcoming films Toy Story 5, Hoppers, and an announcement for an original film called Gatto. Following the adventures of a black cat, Gatto is directed by Enrico Casarosa (Luca) and returns to that film’s Italian setting. Gatto is described as follows: “After years of manoeuvring the canal-ridden, superstitious city, a black cat named Nero begins to question whether he’s lived the right lives. Indebted to a local feline mob boss, Nero finds himself in a quandary and is forced to forge a truly unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose… unless Venice gets the better of him first.” Check out concept art for Gatto here:
Toy Story 5’s opening scene was screened (but not shared with the public): a container of Buzz Lightyear action figures wakes up on an island and attempts to contact Star Command. The film sees the toys struggle with Bonnie’s preference for her tablet, Lillypad. Strangely, descriptions of this include Woody, although I don’t see how he will end up with Bonnie and the other toys after the events of Toy Story 4. Here’s some artwork for Toy Story 5:
A clip from Hoppers was also played for the Annecy audience, but not shared with the public. The film is described as follows:
“What if you could talk to animals and understand what they’re saying? In Disney and Pixar’s all-new feature film Hoppers, scientists have discovered how to ‘hop’ human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals! The adventure introduces Mabel, an animal lover who seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world that are beyond anything she could have imagined. Directed by Daniel Chong and produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, Hoppers features the voices of Piper Curda (May December), Bobby Moynihan (SNL) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Fargo). The film opens exclusively in theaters in March 6th, 2026.”
And here’s a still from Hoppers:
I feel pretty much the same about the Pixar Annecy 2025 presentation as I did about the Incredibles 3 news: Pixar is in the toilet. I don’t think anyone wants another Toy Story movie; Toy Story 3 wasn’t my favorite, but it clearly should have ended there. Toy Story 4 was an abomination, and I just can’t believe we’re talking about a new one. I feel like I should be happy or at least relieved that Andrew Stanton, who worked on the original and has been at Pixar forever, is co-directing, but I’m not. Much like Peter Sohn directing Incredibles 3, I fear the name of someone I respect being attached to a bad movie that should not exist. I’m not looking forward to Hoppers; I think it just sounds strange, which used to be a good thing for Pixar movies. But I’m just confused by the premise, to be honest. However, I am excited that it’s not a sequel or an obvious attempt to recreate something else, as far as I’m aware. I will likely see it, as I will see Elio, just because it’s original.
However, I’m genuinely surprised by and interested in Enrico Casarosa’s Gatto. I love cats and animation, so this may be my biases talking; those are two of my favorite things in the world. I didn’t care much for Luca, and I don’t know anything about Enrico Casarosa beyond that. But I like the artwork, and the synopsis is really intriguing. I have basically no hope for Pixar, which was all but doomed in the Disney buyout in 2006. We just didn’t know it yet; animated films take years to make. But I look forward to Gatto, and will definitely see it when it comes out.
But what do you think about Hoppers, Toy Story 5, Gatto, or anything else Pixar? Let us know in the comments!
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