Critterz is a fully AI-generated animated film made for a fraction of what Disney or Dreamworks would spend on a comparable feature, says Paul Armstrong

OpenAI has chosen film as the next showcase for what its models can do, backing Critterz, a fully AI-generated animated feature scheduled for release in 2026 and aiming for a premiere at Cannes. The reported production budget is under $30m, a fraction of what Disney or Dreamworks would spend on a comparable project. The message is clear: generative systems are going beyond the writers’ room faster than people predicted, and it’s not just Hollywood that should be worried. Businesses have an interesting role to play here.

Budgets tell the real story. Disney’s Elemental cost around $200m. Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish came in at close to $90m. If Critterz reaches global distribution at one-tenth the cost of a Pixar feature, the attraction for investors and studios will be undeniable. Animation has always been a high-margin but high-risk category, dependent on long pipelines, complex rendering and vast teams of artists. Compressing those workflows through AI shifts the balance of power inside Hollywood, with studios less reliant on armies of specialists and more reliant on engineers managing synthetic production pipelines.

The attraction isn’t just outlay. AI pipelines promise tighter control and repeatability. A feature could be localised for multiple markets in parallel, swapping dialogue, lip-sync, and cultural references at minimal cost. Sequels or spin-offs could be built in months rather than years. To a studio accountant, this is a........

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