Today, as artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, OpenAI has announced support for the creation of the first animated film entirely produced by artificial intelligence, "Critterz." The film is scheduled to be released globally in 2026, with its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The story of "Critterz" revolves around a group of forest creatures living in a quiet village, whose daily lives are disrupted by a mysterious outsider.
The project originated three years ago when creative consultant Chad Nelson used OpenAI's image generation tool DALL-E 2 to create early concept art. Now, Nelson leads the production of the film, with collaboration from London's Vertigo Films and Los Angeles's Native Foreign, and financial support from Federation Studios in Paris.
The production team of "Critterz" plans to complete the film in about nine months, which is far shorter than the three-year production cycle typically required for traditional animated films. The production process will combine OpenAI's GPT-5 language model with image and video generation tools Sora. Human artists will provide initial drawings, which will be input into AI tools, while the characters' voices will be performed by human voice actors. The film's budget is set below $30 million, significantly lower than industry standard costs.
Currently, the production has already started, and casting is ongoing. However, the team has not yet announced distribution partners or marketing plans. According to James Richardson, co-founder of Vertigo Films, this project is an ambitious large-scale experiment. To ensure legal protection for the film, the team deliberately invited human creators to participate, as works entirely generated by AI cannot be copyrighted. According to Nick Klevrov, co-founder of Native Foreign, this approach increases the possibility of copyright protection for the film, such as through voice acting performances and original artwork.
For OpenAI, this film is a high-profile demonstration opportunity aimed at proving that its tools can produce professional results in commercial projects, not just for demonstrations.
Key Points:
🌟 **OpenAI supports the production of the first AI animated film "Critterz," planned for release in 2026.**
🎨 **The film production process combines human artists and AI tools, and is expected to be completed in nine months.**
💰 **The budget is set below $30 million, and the team has not yet determined distribution partners.**
