Critterz brings AI-assisted animation to Cannes as Hollywood debates AI's role in filmmaking

Hollywood's first AI-assisted animated film 'Critterz' is heading to Cannes, right as the industry draws its lines

The Paddington in Peru writers are behind it, but it's the AI pipeline that has everyone talking. The debate over AI in Hollywood just found its biggest stage yet. AGC Studios is bringing Critterz to the upcoming Cannes Film Market, positioning it as the first mainstream commercial animated family film to be made with AI assistance woven into its production pipeline (via Deadline). The film is a feature-length expansion of a 2023 viral short of the same name. That original short was itself one of the earliest films to use OpenAI's creative tools. What is Critterz actually about? The story follows a nervous but courageous woodland creature who bands together with a ragtag group of outsiders. Their shared mission is to find her missing brother. Director Nik Kleverov, co-founder of AI production studio Native Foreign, has described the film as a love letter to '80s adventure films. Recommended Videos Critterz isn't a fringe experiment or a low-budget short either. It's a full-length feature with serious creative talent behind it and an estimated $30 million budget, which would have been far higher without AI tools in the mix. AI may be involved, but the creative team is very much human The screenplay comes from James Lamont and Jon Foster, the duo behind Paddington in Peru and Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball. They're joined by Tom Butterworth, known for Birthday Girl and Ashes to Ashes. Despite the AI-assisted production, the voice cast is expected to be entirely human. Chad Nelson, a creative strategist at OpenAI, is producing alongside Vertigo Films' Allan Niblo and James Richardson. AGC's Stuart Ford has been careful to frame AI as a tool that supports human artists rather than replacing them. The studio sees Critterz as proof that filmmakers can stay creatively in charge while AI handles the visual heavy lifting. Where does Hollywood stand on AI in movies? Critterz is arriving at a moment when Hollywood is still figuring out where the usage of artificial intelligence belongs in the industry. Cannes has banned films where AI serves as the principal authoring tool from its main competition. Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently updated its rulebook, making it explicit that AI can be used in production, but it cannot be credited or awarded an Oscar for acting or writing. Earlier this year, Steven Spielberg made his position equally clear, stating he has never used AI in his films and strongly opposes AI replacing human creativity. Not everyone is drawing the same line, though. The upcoming indie film As Deep as the Grave used generative AI to reconstruct the late Val Kilmer's voice and performance, raising its own set of questions about consent and creative legacy. Critterz lands right in the middle of all of this. Whether it ends up being a proof of concept for a smarter way to make films or a cautionary tale, the conversation it starts may matter more than the film itself.

'Paddington in Peru' Writers Team Up for Animated 'Critterz'

James Lamont and Jon Foster, the screenwriting duo whose credits include Paddington in Peru and Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball, have teamed up for the script to Critterz, a new A.I.-assisted animated feature, which will be pitching to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Nik Kleverov, co-founder of A.I. production studio Native Foreign, is directing as well as producing Critterz together with Chad Nelson, a creative strategist at OpenAI, and Allan Niblo and James Richardson of London-based Vertigo Films. The film is pitched as the first mainstream commercial family feature created with A.I. integrated throughout the entire production pipeline. According to the official pitch, the film follows "an anxious but brave little woodland creature who unites with a group of eccentric outcasts -- each with their own peculiar quirks and hidden strengths -- on a high-stakes quest to find her long-lost brother." Executive producers on the film are Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan, Jane Moore, Stuart Ford and Aghi Koh.