Pixar Unveils Strongest Slate Featuring Elio, Toy Story 5, Gatto at Annecy

Pixar is experiencing a resurgence after a few challenging years, highlighted by the success of Inside Out 2 and the highly anticipated release of Elio, a sci-fi adventure praised for its heartfelt story and stunning visuals. At the 2025 Annecy Animation Festival, Pixar's Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter unveiled an ambitious slate of upcoming projects, including the original films Hoppers and Gatto, as well as sequels like Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3. Gatto, directed by Enrico Casarosa, is notable for its unique hand-painted animation style and is set in Venice, telling the story of a black cat named Nero entangled with a feline mob boss. Toy Story 5, directed by Andrew Stanton, explores themes of shifting attention from traditional toys to technology, introducing a new character named Lillypad. Hoppers, described as "Avatar meets Mission: Impossible," follows a teen using mind-transferring technology to save a forest. Docter emphasized that Pixar is standing on one of its strongest slates ever, signaling a commitment to pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual innovation in animation for the coming years.