Enrico Casarosa (born 20 November 1971) is an Italian director, screenwriter and storyboard artist. Best known for his work at

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

, he has directed the short film '' La Luna'' (2011) and the feature film ''

Luca Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people * Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people * Luca (surname), including a list of people Places * The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...

'' (2021), which both were nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

Early life

Casarosa was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, Italy, but moved to New York City in his twenties, to study animation at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

and Illustration at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

Career

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''. Before joining Pixar, he worked as a storyboard artist at

Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American visual effects and computer animation animation studio, studio, which was active from 1987 to 2021. It was based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was founded on February 22, 1987, by Chris Wedge, Michael F ...

on ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

'' and ''

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''. In 2002, Casarosa joined Pixar, where he worked as a story artist on ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'', ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...

'', '' Up'' and ''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from the studio ...

''. In late 2004, Casarosa started a drawing marathon community called ''SketchCrawl'' and has been organizing the event ever since. In 2011, his short film '' La Luna'' premiered at the

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

in France, and was released theatrically with Pixar's ''

Brave Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage * Braves (Native Americans), a Euro-American stereotype for Native American warriors Film and television * ''Brave'' (1994 film), a concept ...

'' in 2012. Cararosa then worked as head of story on ''

The Good Dinosaur ''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream, from a screenplay written by Meg Le ...

'' when Bob Peterson was the original director, and later as a story artist on ''

Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...

''. In 2021, Casarosa made his feature directorial debut with ''

'', which was released on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its nostalgic feel and acting. The film won a

Hollywood Critics Association The Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) is a group of critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry influencers, and creatives. The vision and mission of the HCA is to amplify diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and cult ...

award for Best Picture. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the

79th Golden Globe Awards The 79th Golden Globe Awards honored the best in 2021 in film, film and 2021 in American television, American television of 2021, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The ceremony took place privately on January 9, 2022 ...

and the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after their usual late February dat ...

. In October 2022, Cararosa stated he was developing another original Pixar feature film. 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.

Personal life

Casarosa currently resides in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

with his wife Marit and daughter Fio.

Filmography

Films

Shorts

Featurettes and TV

Bibliography

* ''The Adventures of Mia, Volume One'' (2001) graphic novel * ''Fragments'' (2001) art book with

Ronnie Del Carmen Ronaldo del Carmen (born December 31, 1959) is a Filipino writer, director, storyboard artist, illustrator, and voice actor. He co-directed and co-wrote the story for the Pixar film '' Inside Out'' (2015), for which he was nominated for an Acad ...

* ''The Adventures of Mia, Volume Two'' (2004) graphic novel * ''Fragments Intermezzo'' (2004) art book * '' Flight, Volume One'' (2004) part of a larger comic anthology * ''Three Trees Make a Forest'' (2007) exhibition art book with

and Tadahiro Uesugi * ''Totoro Forest Project'' (2008) with

Daisuke Tsutsumi (born November 6, 1974) is a Japanese animator and illustrator living in San Francisco, California. He is a former art director of Pixar. Biography Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, he is married to , a jewelry artist and the niece of acclaimed ...

, and Yukino Pang * ''The Venice Chronicles'' (2008) * ''Disney Picture Book: La Luna'' (2012) in support of '' La Luna'' * ''Disney Pixar: The Art of Luca'' (2021) in support of ''

Awards and nominations

Special projects

In 2008, Enrico Casarosa (along with

Ronnie del Carmen Ronaldo del Carmen (born December 31, 1959) is a Filipino writer, director, storyboard artist, illustrator, and voice actor. He co-directed and co-wrote the story for the Pixar film '' Inside Out'' (2015), for which he was nominated for an Acad ...

and Yukino Pang) initiated the Totoro Forest Project, a fundraising exhibition/auction to support the non-profit Totoro Forest Foundation. This initiative also produced a corresponding art book reprinting the various pieces contributed and included the likes of

James Jean James Jean (born 1979) is a Taiwanese-American visual artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He lives and works in Los Angeles, where he moved from New York City, New York in 2003. Early life Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New J ...

Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau p ...

Iain McCaig Iain McCaig (born March 19, 1957) is an American artist, writer, and filmmaker. He was involved in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and many other iconic film and book projects, including an album cover for Jethro Tull's ''The Broadsword and the Beas ...

and

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Fascism, fascist and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the World War II, Second World War. After moving from ...

among others.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casarosa, Enrico 1971 births Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Italian emigrants to the United States Italian film directors Italian male screenwriters Living people Film people from Genoa Pixar people School of Visual Arts alumni Italian storyboard artists Blue Sky Studios people