Enrico Casarosa | |
|---|---|
 Casarosa in 2014 | |
| Born | 20 November 1971 |
| Alma mater | School of Visual Arts Fashion Institute of Technology |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Employers |
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| Spouse | Marit Casarosa [1] |
| Children | 1 |
Enrico Casarosa (born 20 November 1971) [2] [3] is an Italian director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. Best known for his work at Pixar, he has directed the short film La Luna (2011) and the feature film Luca (2021), which both were nominated for Academy Awards. [4]
Casarosa was born in Genoa, Italy, but moved to New York City in his twenties, to study animation at the School of Visual Arts and Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Casarosa began his professional career as a background designer and storyboard artist on several animated TV series, including 101 Dalmatians: The Series and PB&J Otter . [5] Before joining Pixar, he worked as a storyboard artist at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age and Robots .
In 2002, Casarosa joined Pixar, where he worked as a story artist on Cars , Ratatouille , Up and Cars 2 . [6] In late 2004, Casarosa started a drawing marathon community called SketchCrawl and has been organizing the event ever since. [7] In 2011, his short film La Luna premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, [8] and was released theatrically with Pixar's Brave in 2012. [4]
Cararosa then worked as head of story on The Good Dinosaur when Bob Peterson was the original director, and later as a story artist on Coco . [9] [10]
In 2021, Casarosa made his feature directorial debut with Luca , which was released on Disney+ in the United States. [11] [12] [13] The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its nostalgic feel and acting. The film won a Hollywood Critics Association award for Best Picture. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 79th Golden Globe Awards and the 94th Academy Awards.
In October 2022, Cararosa stated he was developing another original Pixar feature film. [14] [15] In June 2025, the film was titled Gatto, with the story centered on a black cat named Nero living in Venice who questions whether he's lived the right lives. It is scheduled for release on 18 June 2027. [16] [17]
Casarosa currently resides in San Francisco with his wife Marit and daughter Fio. [1]
| Year | Title | Director | Story | Story Artist | Other | Voice Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ice Age | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2005 | Robots | No | No | Uncredited | No | [5] | |
| 2006 | Cars | No | No | Uncredited | No | [18] | |
| 2007 | Ratatouille | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2009 | Up | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2011 | Cars 2 | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2015 | The Good Dinosaur | No | No | No | Yes | Additional Story Supervision | |
| 2017 | Coco | No | No | Yes | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team [15] | |
| 2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2020 | Onward | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Soul | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| 2021 | Luca | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Card Player / Angry Fisherman | |
| 2022 | Turning Red | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Lightyear | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| 2023 | Elemental | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2024 | Inside Out 2 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2025 | Elio | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2026 | Toy Story 5 | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2027 | Gatto [16] | Yes | TBA | No | Yes |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Story Artist | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | La Luna | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2016 | Piper | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2021 | Ciao Alberto | No | No | No | Yes |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders | 13 episodes Background design, storyboard revision |
| 1997 | The Secret of Anastasia | Direct-to-video Lead character model designer, background layout designer |
| The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules | ||
| 1997–1998 | 101 Dalmatians: The Series | 23 episodes Storyboard artist, storyboard revision artist, designer |
| 1998–2000 | PB&J Otter | 18 episodes Background artist, storyboard artist |
| Association | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 2012 | Best Animated Short Film | La Luna | Nominated | [19] |
| 2022 | Best Animated Feature | Luca | Nominated | [20] | |
| Annie Awards | 2016 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production | The Good Dinosaur | Nominated | [21] |
| 2022 | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Feature Production | Luca | Nominated | [22] | |
| British Academy Film Awards | 2022 | Best Animated Film | Luca | Nominated | [23] |
| Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Short Form Program | Ciao Alberto | Nominated | [24] |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2022 | Best Animated Feature Film | Luca | Nominated | [25] |
In 2008, Enrico Casarosa (along with Ronnie del Carmen, Daisuke Tsutsumi and Yukino Pang) initiated the Totoro Forest Project, a fundraising exhibition/auction to support the non-profit Totoro Forest Foundation. [26] This initiative also produced a corresponding art book reprinting the various pieces contributed and included the likes of James Jean, Charles Vess, Iain McCaig and William Joyce among others. [27]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
