Amazon AI fund greenlights three shows, but one gets canceled after intense backlash

Amazon's New AI Creators' Fund Sees Prime Video Greenlight 3 TV Series

Though Kourtnee hasn't won any journalism awards yet, she's been a Netflix streaming subscriber since 2012 and knows the magic of its hidden codes. Amazon is continuing to integrate generative AI technology into its business, and next, Prime Video subscribers will get to experience it on the entertainment side with three new TV series. During its AI on the Lot event on Wednesday, the company announced the launch of its new Gen AI Creators' Fund, under Amazon MGM Studios and Amazon Web Services. Three projects are coming to the streaming service at a future date, produced with the help of Project Nara, one of Amazon's AI tools: Love, Diana Music Hunters, Cupcake & Friends (from BuzzFeed Studios) and Punky Dunk. The new creators' fund is aimed at financing startup projects for filmmakers and digital creatives using AI production tech. With Project Nara, they'll be able to access Adobe Suite, Maya, Kling and other tools to bring their stories to life, some of which will hit screens as a new TV show or movie. CNET's Aaron Pruner is attending the Amazon event live and had the chance to view short clips of each show, and says Love, Diana Music Hunters "feels very focused for toddlers and preschool age audiences. Adding that the show turns live-action K-Pop-loving characters into animated versions of themselves, he described it as "a weird blend of familiar-looking, big-eyed animation and AI weirdness." Punky Dunk, which follows a punk-rock duck and his cat bestie through an LA filled with monsters, aliens and family drama, uses stop-motion animation. Cupcake & Friends has a sleepover theme with claymation-style visuals, and Pruner says it has an Adult Swim vibe to it (complete with a Ouija board and references to Bloody Mary). Prime Video isn't the only company moving ahead with generative AI in content. Netflix tapped the tech to de-age characters in a scene in Happy Gilmore 2, while Disney has been looking toward AI for some of its animation processes. What seems certain, however, is that viewers will see more big entertainment brands using it during content production.

Amazon's AI-Generated Animated Series Canceled After Relentless Derision

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech At first, it felt a bit like Emmy-winning writer director Jorge Gutierrez had been living under a rock. On May 27, Amazon announced that it had ordered an animated series, dubbed "Punky Duck," as part of its GenAI Creators' Fund, celebrating it as a "creative breakthrough." The fund, a collaboration between Amazon's MGM Studios and its Amazon Web Services, was designed to hand creators "access to professional-grade AI tools and funding" to "produce high-quality cinematic entertainment." Gutierrez seemingly couldn't believe the power he'd been handed. "The best way I can describe it is, it's like you have sex, and then someone hands you the baby," he told a panel during an announcement last week. "It's pretty crazy." However, given the way the conversation surrounding the use of AI in creative industries has been headed, it shouldn't come as a surprise that reactions to the news were overwhelmingly negative, with Gutierrez swiftly becoming the target of an astonishing amount of online outrage. His Wikipedia profile was edited to describe him as a "sellout" and early attempts to allow his fans to vent their frustration on his Instagram account didn't go over well, either, forcing him to delete swaths of posts. Not all the derision was from the online peanut gallery. "It is very seductive that something now exists that contains the collective works of millions of artists and wordsmiths all thrown in a blender allowing one to pour out on demand things based on suggestions and prompts," wrote acclaimed voice actor Billy West. "You become a soul stealer, a grave robber of sorts. You are an artist! God gave you a far greater gift and purpose to share with others. We need your true self!" The backlash was so extensive, Gutierrez ended up backtracking on the lucrative gig entirely, in one of the clearest signs yet that AI has become toxic sludge to much of the audience Amazon is trying to woo. "I have decided to drop out of the AI program at Amazon," he tweeted on May 29, just two days after the company's announcement. "I will not be making a Punky Duck series. Actions speak louder than words." The incident perfectly highlights just how much the AI backlash has grown, with experts warning that the tech is causing cultural stagnation while Hollywood actors panic over being replaced. Some of the biggest names in the industry have publicly spoken out against the use of AI in creative fields, forming a expanding line of resistance. It apparently wasn't just angry comments directed at Gutierrez for "selling out." In a separate tweet, Gutierrez said that "the racist stuff and the attack on my kid were too much," indicating pundits online had gone to extreme lengths. Even this attempt to defuse the situation didn't sit well, with users accusing him of pulling the "racism card," while others claimed he was "making this up to deflect from your piss poor choices." Oddly enough, Gutierrez was once a vocal critic of AI, as the Los Angeles Times reports, posting several memes decrying the tech between 2023 and 2025. "Threatening the dude and his family is obviously going way too far, but I'm still against major animators using AI, 100 percent," one Reddit user argued. "I'm still glad he dropped out of it, but I f***ing hate that people threatened the dude." "Animation isn't worth that, the hell is wrong with people?" the user added. Meanwhile, Gutierrez has tried to get the angry mob back on his side. "Learning a lot from many of you," he tweeted. "Thank you. Lots of information that I'm digesting wholeheartedly. I am absolutely understanding the concern of using AI to assist an animation pipeline." "For all those showing me grace, I really appreciate it," Gutierrez added. "I have a lot to think about."

Like 'having sex and then they hand you the baby': A beloved animator on using AI

Writer and director Jorge R. Gutierrez is best known for creating the 2014 animated film The Book of Life. A labor of love and a tribute to Mexican folk art, the movie took Gutierrez 14 years to make, and it paid off: The Book of Life's beautiful handcrafted 3D animation was near universally lauded. But Gutierrez's next project is taking a different approach. It won't take him 14 years -- in fact, his upcoming animated series Punky Duck was greenlit just two months after he pitched it to Amazon MGM Studios. How are things moving so quickly? Punky Duck will feature AI-generated animation, courtesy of a new AI-powered production pipeline at Amazon. Mixing AI and animation At Amazon MGM Studios' AI on the Lot conference, Gutierrez was announced as the creator of one of three AI-generated series greenlit through the studio's new GenAI Creators' Fund. The fund grants creators exclusive access to Amazon's AI production platform Project Nara, which Amazon MGM Studios created in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. The so-called "collaborative workspace" reportedly blends AI production agents with traditional animation tools, as Amazon MGM Studios' chief operating officer Albert Cheng told Variety. "One of the biggest complaints we hear from creators is: AI will not do what you want it to do," Cheng said, adding that Amazon is repurposing AI models geared toward social media creation "into usable tools for the industry."

AI Filmmaker Compares His Tech to Something That Gets Worse the More You Think About It

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Jorge R. Gutierrez, the animator behind the beloved animated film "The Book of Life," is enraging his fans after seemingly selling out to AI. At a conference held by Amazon MGM Studios on Wednesday, he unloaded a gushing encomium to the tech after announcing that he'd be working with the Amazon studio to create an AI-generated animated series called "Punky Duck." (A shared still from the series is littered with hallucinations and nonsensical words, like a concert poster that says "Satorsay IUCT7AX - 0 PM.) Further raising eyebrows, Gutierrez made an utterly bizarre analogy to explain why he had come to love using machine-amalgamated imagery. Per ToonHive, he enthused that animating with AI was like "having sex and then they hand you the baby" -- in what may very well be the last attention-getting image he ever produces if he continues to let AI do his job for him. Gutierrez's point: you can skip over the actual creative process that goes into art and get instant results. Never mind the figurative pregnancy, in his analogy, when the idea is actually incubated and given life. "I'm used to two years for a pilot, and something like this... it feels like the most rebellious, punk rock thing you can do right now is to make something this fast," he said of AI, as quoted by IndieWire. "For someone like me who's used to waiting so long, this has been a life-changer." As a rule, if something has to be described as "punk rock," it's not, in fact, "punk rock." That aside, it's a revealing insight from Gutierrez, epitomizing the logic of shameless AI boosters who think a machine can replace an artist. The truth is that art is inseparable from the labor that produces it, and any attempt to take that labor out of the equation will produce something hollow. The "I hate writing, but I love having written" crowd can embrace AI all they want, but there is no "having written" with the tech. It's just doing the work for you. AI takes the labor we loathe out of the process, sure, but also the opportunity to stamp actual intent. All in a way of saying, sure. Typing a prompt into an AI model is sex, somehow, and the uncanny, and hallucination-mangled images its spits out is just like a precious baby. Getting ahead of the backlash, Gutierrez made another questionable statement. "I understand a lot of you are happy for me and a lot of you are really angry at me for experimenting with AI at Amazon," he tweeted Thursday morning. "I'm going to leave the comments open so you can get it all out and hopefully feel better." "Any death threats will be reported," he said, in a dramatic escalation, before randomly namedropping his wife and son. "Come at me all you want and need, just leave my family alone." We didn't see any death threats. Actually, what we saw was far more gutting: legions fans thoughtfully articulating why Gutierrez had completely let them down, heavily laden with word "disappointed." There isn't "really anything to 'get out,'" one fan wrote. "this [isn't] the kind of thing you can just do and wait for it to blow over. [It's] a betrayal, and even if the anger subsides, [people aren't] going to trust you anymore." "Disappointment is an understatement," another wrote. "It goes against why we tell stories, why we motivate and move people. You discarded something priceless."

Amazon greenlights AI-generated shows for children

Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday it has greenlit the first three children's shows that were created under a new initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) in content development. AI Studios chief at Amazon MGM Albert Cheng told the conference that the technology won't eliminate jobs, it will actually reduce costs and timelines to make it possible to increase the number of productions. Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday it has greenlit the first three children's shows that were created under a new initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) in content development. The GenAI Creators Fund pays filmmakers, digital creators and startups to use AI to develop their projects in a short time frame. "Punky Duck" series director Jorge Gutierrez said he is used to spending two years making a pilot, but his new show was greenlit to run on Amazon after just two months. "The best way I can describe it is, it's like you have sex and then someone hands you the baby," Gutierrez said at the annual AI on the Lot Conference, where the first images of the approved animated series were shown. "It's pretty crazy." Two more projects - "Diana Music Hunters" from Albie Hecht and "Cupcake & Friends" from Buzzfeed Studios -- were also greenlit in a couple of months, reflecting a new approach from major studios. Hollywood's unions and artists have raised concerns about the use of AI, with creatives, writers and actors fearing they could be replaced by digital facsimiles. AI Studios chief at Amazon MGM Albert Cheng told the conference that the technology won't eliminate jobs, it will actually reduce costs and timelines to make it possible to increase the number of productions. But Cheng acknowledged "AI is addictive," adding that it's important for humans to make sure they don't "succumb and let our brains go to waste."

Director Jorge Gutierrez Drops Out of Generative AI Series for Amazon

Filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez says he will not be making a hybrid generative AI series with Amazon after all. The Maya and the Three and The Book of Life director wrote on social media on Friday that he was dropping out of a Punky Duck series that had been announced at Amazon's AI on the Lot event just two days earlier. "I have decided to drop out of the AI program at Amazon. I will not be making a Punky Duck series. Actions speak louder than words," the filmmaker wrote on social media. "My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech. My sincerest apology to those I upset. I promise to do better moving forward. Thank you for your patience with me. I will try harder." The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Amazon for comment. A boldfaced name in animation, Gutierrez was the highest-profile director associated with a project emerging from Amazon's new GenAI Creators Fund. His Punky Duck series was set to follow "a lovable punk duck and his best friend, Smiley Cat" as they "tear through a wildly exaggerated Los Angeles, hilariously stumbling into alien invasions, giant monsters, robot criminal conspiracies, telenovela-style family drama, and supernatural mayhem -- all while trying (and usually failing) to do the right thing." His remarks follow criticism from another creator whose work was announced in association with the initiative. On Wednesday, the creator of the star of Buzzfeed Studios' Good Advice Cupcake slammed the company for partnering with Amazon on a generative AI series adaptation of her creation. Loryn Brantz said she was "horrified and disgusted by BuzzFeed taking my character, The Good Advice Cupcake, and giving it to an AI platform."

Amazon Launching AI Creators Fund, Picks Up Three Animated Prime Video Shows That Use Its New Tech

The projects include work from 'Maya and the Three' director Jorge Gutierrez, former Nickelodeon exec Albie Hecht and Buzzfeed Studios. Amazon is embarking on a major push to integrate generative AI into all corners of its business, and entertainment is no exception, with the tech company launching a new fund on Wednesday to incentivize creators to use the tech throughout the production pipeline. The company's Amazon MGM Studios and Amazon Web Services divisions announced a GenAI Creators Fund that will offer filmmakers, digital creators and startups funding and access to Amazon's AI tools in order to create "high-quality cinematic entertainment." Says Albert Cheng, the head of AI Studios for Amazon MGM Studios, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "AI unlocks a lot of things that always been cost prohibitive for us when we're making storytelling with incredible scope." He adds, "We are able to take world building shows or movies and shoot them on a sound stage in much faster time than it has been in the past." The announcement took place during the tech company's "AI on the Lot" event in Culver City, where the first few greenlit projects emerging from the fund were also unveiled. They include three original animated series: Punky Duck from Maya and the Three and The Book of Life director Jorge Gutierrez and Love, Diana Music Hunters, a series featuring pocket.watch and YouTube star Diana, created by former Nickelodeon exec Albie Hecht. The third series order is Cupcake & Friends from Buzzfeed Studios. Projects from the Fund will use Amazon's Project Nara platform, a new production tool on Amazon Web Services that features third-party generative AI models like Kling as well as a proprietary AI tool trained on Amazon MGM Studios projects. The platform additionally features traditional industry tools like Blender, Maya and Adobe Suite. Project Nara is geared at serving creative teams, says Cheng. "What it tries to do is it streamlines and facilitates the end-to-end workflows of what we do, but also leverages the existing applications that professionals already know about," he adds. Amazon MGM Studios also has access to the platform but, notes Cheng, Amazon's AI Studios are the most engaged users. "Is it being used for other films and TV shows? Yes," he says. "But in what I would call point solutions where most companies are using AI today and it's mostly, 'I have this VFX shot. I wonder if it could be cracked by AI, can you help us with it?' And we have been doing that for a lot of our films and our TV shows." The Fund found its animated projects through referrals from Amazon's animation team and from agents who knew creatives who were AI-curious. That may not have been easy in a field where many creatives feel threatened by, ethically torn about and/or suspicious of generative AI. "You kind of wanted to have people who are leaning into it or curious. Not a whole lot of people are," admitted Cheng. Still, another Amazon exec makes the argument that the Fund will help democratize access to professional-grade tools and funding. Samira Panah Bakhtiar, the general manager of media and entertainment for Amazon Web Services, says the initiative will lead to a "leveling of the playing field when it comes to cinematic storytelling." Amazon is set to next announce the digital creators it's collaborating with via the Fund. "The interesting part about the fund is it brings together established filmmakers as well as digital native creators and technology startups," Panah Bakhtiar says. "So I think it gives, specifically on the tech side, the opportunity for some of these startups to build production solutions for studios and have AWS expertise for validation against some of these real cinematic workflows." She says it will lead to "more storytelling at scale." The new AI effort from Amazon comes as other entertainment companies, both legacy players and tech-forward streaming giants, are trying to integrate the tech into their workflows to make content at a speedier cadence and at a lower cost. Earlier this year for example Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking company founded by Ben Affleck, with plans to make its tech available to creatives on its films and TV shows. And earlier this month YouTube unveiled a suite of AI tools that will let users "remix" shorts, and even insert themselves into other creator's videos. Animation is also seen as ripe for AI disruption, given the ability of models to quickly animate scenes, likely requiring far fewer people to accomplish. Dreamworks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, for example, said that he believes AI can cut the costs of animated feature films by 90 percent. Cheng, who had been the VP of Prime Video, shifted to his new AI-focused role last summer. The announcements this week are the first fruits of that labor, though they are unlikely to be the last.

'You're One of the Last People Anyone Expected to Turn to AI' -- The Book of Life Director Is Making an AI Animated Series for Amazon and His Loyal Fans Are Heartbroken

El Tigre and The Book of Life creator Jorge R. Gutierrez has sparked a significant backlash for signing up to make an AI animated series for Amazon. Earlier this week, Amazon launched an AI creator fund to incentivize creators to use the tech to make new TV shows and films. One of those creators is Gutierrez, who recently likened animating with AI, from starting with a March pitch to green light today, to "having sex and then they hand you the baby." The animator, who is also known for Netflix's Maya and the Three, is currently working on an AI-animated series known as Punky Duck for Amazon after having opposed AI in the past. In 2024, Gutierrez spoke out against AI, noting that it would hurt the ecosystem. "The original animation creators of the future are learning skills by working up the ladder with experience and teamwork," he said at the time. "With all the AI short-term thinking, a whole generation of creators will not be able to grow to make original hit movies and series. The ecosystem is in peril." Loyal fans have pushed back against Gutierrez's decision to embrace AI for his new show, expressing immense disappointment. "We're incredibly disappointed in you. I've been a long time fan of your work," said one fan. "You opposed AI and denounced it for what it was. You have several amazing animated projects in the pipeline everyone wanted to back and support, and you still chose to chase the dollar and sell your morals to AI 'animation' and for what? What did you gain? Experimentation? There's nothing to experiment with, and you know what, you KNEW how many people, including your peers and colleagues, would feel with this sudden announcement, and it's been exactly that, widespread disappointment." Unfortunately, this has also led to some fans apparently taking things way too far. Gutierrez noted on X that while he's welcoming and tolerating criticism, some have targeted his family and it has led to threats against them. "I understand a lot of you are happy for me and a lot of you are really angry at me for experimenting with AI at Amazon," he said. "I'm going to leave the comments open so you can get it all out and hopefully feel better. Any death threats will be reported. Anyone threatening Sandra and my son Luka, I will report those too. Come at me all you want and need, just leave my family alone." "With respect, people trusted and championed you because you saw what we saw, the theft and the damage to artists and the arts," one fan replied. "I think people are shocked and would just like to know why you've changed your mind, because you're one of the last people anyone expected to turn to AI." "Going to be real with you man, you're really talented. Have admired your work for a long time. My heart breaks for all the creatives your work lifted up. Especially those in/from Mexico. You had a unique voice that you brought to the craft and it's just incredibly disappointing," another added. Gutierrez's decision to use AI is upsetting to a lot of fans, as his work has always featured unique animation and art styles. The Book of Life was a beloved film directed by Gutierrez and was praised for its beautiful animation, for example. By embracing AI, some fear that his shows will lose the human touch that makes them so unique and devolve his creations into something less interesting or notable. In a separate statement to Cartoon Brew, Gutierrez defended his usage of AI by stating that he hopes artists will drive the tech instead of the other way around. "It's a big experiment for me and I will be as cautious as possible with AI," he said. "Artists driving tech, and not the other way around, is my goal. I've been developing things at most legacy studios for years and Punky Duck, to my complete surprise, went to greenlight in two months from my first pitch. Cautiously optimistic of what we can accomplish with the support of Amazon MGM Studios. Taking a chance on an original feels like a miracle these days!" Amazon itself has gotten backlash for leaning on AI in recent years. Last year, Amazon released an AI-generated recap of Fallout ahead of the show's second season, only for it to get key story details wrong. The recap was later pulled. Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios. Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.