OpenAI Is Making a Feature-Length Animated Movie

This seemed inevitable to me, but news has finally broken that a fully AI-generated movie is coming.

According to a recent article from Mashable (by way of the Wall Street Journal), a new film called Critterz is backed by none other than OpenAI, alongside LA- and London-based partners Native Foreign and Vertigo Films.

Their goal is to debut at the Cannes Film Festival next May.

The film is being created almost entirely with artificial intelligence.

Let's dive in.

What is 'Critterz' and Why Should You Care?

Critterz is being touted as the most ambitious attempt yet to replace some or most human filmmaking with AI.

The film, which is about a group of woodland creatures on an adventure, will be largely generated by AI tools. Human artists will feed images into the system, and the AI will create the footage. The script, it's worth noting, is still human-written.

The big selling point here is, of course, money and time.

The creators of Critterz are hoping to prove that AI can slash production costs and speed up the filmmaking process.

The whole film is reportedly being made on a budget of less than $30 million.

Is This the End of Filmmaking as We Know It?

I'd be interested in knowing how they use AI for the animation and to generate the actual critter images. Like, if they mined other parts of the internet for inspiration, this AI movie might be linked to lawsuits we've seen.

If they used concept artists to draw all the characters and design them, and the AI is just used to animate, then they may be safe. We need way more information before we parse out the legality of the situation.

It's easy to see this news and immediately jump to the doomsday scenario. Are we all going to be replaced by machines? Will our creativity and vision become obsolete?

I don't think so. At least, not yet.

Here's the thing: AI is a tool. And like any tool, it's only as good as the person wielding it.

The fact that Critterz still has a human-written script is a testament to that. An AI can generate images, it can edit footage, but can it tell a story that truly connects with an audience? Can it create characters that we love, hate, and root for?

And look, it still needs humans to draw the characters to avoid lawsuits.

We don't know anything until we watch this movie and look at its budget to decide if it really saved them that much money in the long run.

What's My Takeaway?

Look, the rise of AI in filmmaking is inevitable. People are lazy, and they want cheap results. But it's not going to replace the need for human creativity.

So, how do we battle this kind of stuff?

The answer is just to be human and use your human creativity.

• Humanity Prevails: Double down on your voice. Tell stories that only you can tell. Create characters that are so real that no machine could ever replicate them.
• Keep Telling Your Stories: If you have a story to tell, go out and tell it. Write that script, shoot that short, and make your movie.

Summing It All Up

Again, we really don't know a ton about this movie or its budget. It's all preliminary reports, and we may not even see it embraced by audiences or studios/talent who see it as an infringement on humanity.

Let me know what you think in the comments.