Annecy: Disney & Pixar Announce ‘Gatto,’ Sneak Peek ‘Zootopia 2,’ ‘Toy Story 5’ & ‘Hoppers’

Disney and Pixar shared an abundance of news, images and special presentations with the an excited audience of fans at Annecy on Friday.

In the morning, Jared Bush, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer and director/writer of the upcoming Zootopia 2, made his first appearance in Annecy to sneak peek the upcoming sequel to the Oscar-winning film, which will hit theaters on November 26. The original Zootopia will be toasted with an open air screening on Le Pâquier on Friday night.

New footage featured returning characters Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Mr. Big (Maurice LaMarche), and new characters Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), Nibbles (Fortune Feimster) and Dr. Fuzzby (Quinta Brunson). Appropriately for the setting, it was revealed that French actor Jean Reno will lend his voice to a cameo role as an officer of the Zootopia Police Department.

Also within the presentation, legendary Disney director Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, Moana) was honored on stage with an induction into Annecy’s Walk of Fame. The celebration continued with a surprise announcement from Jared Bush revealing that Clements will return to Walt Disney Studios Animation in an advisory role.

Pixar CCO Pete Docter took over the stage to share the first 27 minutes of this summer’s anticipated pic Elio with directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi producer Mary Alice Drumm.

Docter also announced that in the summer of 2027, Disney will release Pixar’s Gatto, an original feature set in Venice, Italy, directed by Enrico Casarosa, who helmed the studio’s 2021 feature Luca, and produced by Andrea Warren. The movie centers on the friendship between Nero, a music-loving black cat, and a lonely street musician named Maya. The film will have a more painterly, 2D look than all of the studio’s previous features.

From the studio: “…After years of maneuvering 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.”

Docter shared behind-the-scenes art and footage from the studio’s Toy Story 5, which is slated for June 16, 2026 release. He confirmed that the movie will be directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris and produced by Jessica Choi, and feature the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and just-confirmed returning co-star Joan Cussack as Woody, Buzz and Jessie. Ernie Hudson takes over the role of Combat Carl, which was originally voiced by the late Carl Weathers.

“It’s toy-meets-tech,” said Docter, as the film will explore the challenges faced by the familiar toys in a digital world. The toys will come up against tough competition from a new plaything for the film’s eight-year-old Bonnie Anderson: a tech tabled named Lillypad. The opening scene of the movie shows a pack of Buzz Lightyears awakening on an isolated desert island and trying to connect with “star command.”

As 2025 is the 30th anniversary of the original Toy Story, Docter also shared behind-the-scenes and archival footage of the studio’s much-loved and imitated CG-animation classic.

The studio also shared a first-look clip from another original Pixar movie in the works, titled Hoppers, which is slated for March 6, 2026. Directed by Daniel Chong (We Bare Bears), the movie follows the adventures of a young girl named Mabel (Piper Curda) who “hops” into the body of a robotic beaver in order to save the local animation popular from a selfish mayor’s (Jon Hamm) construction project. The voice cast also includes Bobby Moynahan as the local pond’s top beaver, King George. The colorful new movie, which will be Pixar’s 30th feature is produced by Nicole Grindle (producer on Incredibles 2, assoc. producer on Toy Story 3).