OpenAI Backs 'Critterz': A Groundbreaking AI-Assisted Animated Film Set for 2026 Release

This new OpenAI-backed movie has a budget of just $30 million, but will it prove AI can make movies Hollywood can't?

The movie with a $30 million budget is expected to debut at Cannes Film Festival in 2026 A new animated feature-length movie, Critterz, is being produced with the help of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and it could debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026. Critterz, a story about forest creatures who go on an adventure following a disruption in their village, was originally created as a short film using OpenAI's DALL-E back in 2023. Now, the creator, Chad Nelson, who is a creative specialist at OpenAI, has teamed up with Vertigo Films and the writers of Paddington in Peru to create a full-length version on a shoestring $30 million budget. $30 million might sound like a huge amount of money, but compared to other feature-length animated movies like the latest Pixar movie, Elio, which has a reported $200 million budget, it's barely a scratch. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Vertigo Films is "attempting to make the movie in about nine months instead of the three years it would typically take." This is possible thanks to AI and Native Foreign, "a studio that specializes in using AI along with traditional video-production tools." The film won't be fully AI-generated, however. Critterz will have human voice actors, original artwork from artists that will then be fed into GPT-5 and other AI image generation tools, and an original script. The plan for the movie is to showcase the power of OpenAI's tools and prove that AI can have a positive impact on the film industry. "OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it's much more impactful if someone does it," Nelson told WSJ, "That's a much better case study than me building a demo." An OpenAI spokesperson told WSJ that Critterz "reflects the kind of creativity and exploration we love to encourage." And the company will hope that the movie showcases the capabilities of creativity through AI, rather than damaging the technology's reputation in the industry through bad PR. The original Critterz short film has a measly 3.2/10 on IMDB from 13 ratings, which shows not only the lack of interest in the original source material but also the lack of acclaim from those who did watch the short. Critterz won't be the first feature-length AI movie to grace our screens, but it is the first with such a huge budget, albeit small compared to other animated movies. With the backing of the world's most renowned AI company, Critterz could succeed where other media have yet to do so by emphasizing the ability of AI to foster creativity. That said, we'll need to wait until next year to find out if Critterz can really cause a disruption in the animation industry run by juggernauts like Disney and Dreamworks.

OpenAI backs AI animated film, Critterz, for 2026 release

OpenAI is backing the creation of an AI-assisted animated feature film called Critterz, a project designed to test how generative AI can be used to make films faster and with lower costs than traditional animation methods. Critterz tells the story of forest creatures whose lives are disrupted by a mysterious stranger, leading them into an unexpected adventure. Initially planned as a short film, the project expanded into a full-length feature with support from OpenAI and production companies Vertigo Films and Native Foreign. The film is expected to reach theaters worldwide in 2026. OpenAI is providing its tools and computing resources to help with the film's production. One of these tools, Sora, generates video content from text prompts, allowing the team to visualize scenes quickly and experiment with ideas. The goal is to see how AI can assist animators and filmmakers in completing work more efficiently, without replacing the creative decisions made by humans. The film is being produced on a timeline of nine months, significantly shorter than the usual three years for a traditional animated feature. The budget is under $30 million, demonstrating how AI tools can reduce costs while keeping production on track. The project has drawn attention within the animation and film industry. Some see it as a way to speed up production and explore new workflows, while others raise questions about how AI might affect roles in animation and issues like intellectual property. Critterz provides a practical example of how AI can be integrated into the filmmaking process, showing both potential benefits and limitations. As Critterz moves toward its 2026 release, it will offer a clear test case for the use of AI in feature film production. The outcome could influence how studios approach animation and the tools they use, highlighting the balance between technology and human creative input.

OpenAI Aims to Take AI-Made Film to Cannes | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The artificial intelligence (AI) startup is lending its resources to help create a feature-length animated film made largely with AI that is expected to be released next year, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (Sept. 8). The movie is called "Critterz," an adventure featuring a cast of woodland creatures, and comes from Chad Nelson, an OpenAI creative specialist. He began developing the idea three years ago when attempting to make a short film using what was then OpenAI's new DALL-E image-generation tool, and is now hoping to show a feature-length version of the film at the Cannes Film Festival next year. "Critterz," the WSJ added, has a budget of under $30 million, much lower than what an animated film would usually cost. The production plans to cast human actors to voice the characters and employ artists to draw sketches that are fed into OpenAI's tools, such as GPT-5 and image-generating models. "OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it's much more impactful if someone does it," Nelson said. "That's a much better case study than me building a demo." A recent report by Rolling Stone on the use of AI in moviemaking said the market for artificial intelligence tools in film is projected to jump tenfold by 2023, amid an ongoing debate about the technology. "Felix Dobaire, a film director and critic, argues that films generated entirely by AI seem empty, and cinema needs human vision," that report said. "Another film critic, Lukasz Mankowski, sees a threat to creativity for filmmakers if they stop challenging themselves and use AI as a shortcut. On the other hand, AI has the potential to simplify repetitive and tedious filmmaking tasks, enhancing artistic work." At the same time, the WSJ notes, there's a lot of uneasiness in the film industry about outright embracing AI, out of fears of upsetting actors and writers, whose unions have fought for safeguards against AI tools. There's also the issue of entertainment companies seeking to protect copyrighted characters and works. Disney, Universal and Warner Bros Discovery have all sued AI provider Midjourney, alleging that the company had made copies of their copyrighted properties. Midjourney has disputed those claims in legal filings.

OpenAI and AI filmmaking: Why Critterz could change animation forever

Faster, cheaper animation emerges as Critterz demonstrates generative AI's cinematic potential worldwide For decades, animation has been one of the most labor-intensive art forms in entertainment. Studios like Pixar and DreamWorks often spend years - sometimes close to a decade - perfecting every detail of their films, from storyboarding and character design to the complex rendering pipelines that bring digital worlds to life. But what happens when artificial intelligence can shorten that process from years to months? That's exactly the question being tested with Critterz, the first AI-assisted animated feature film backed by OpenAI. Also read: Netflix and Disney explore using Runway AI: How it changes film production Critterz is not just another animated movie about quirky woodland creatures. It is a proof of concept that demonstrates how AI can be woven into the filmmaking process. Produced in only nine months, compared to the three or more years it typically takes to make an animated feature, the film blends traditional artistry with cutting-edge AI tools. Human writers and animators sketched out the story and characters, but artificial intelligence helped accelerate the process by generating script variations, producing visual concepts, and building out scene ideas. Professional voice actors still played a central role, ensuring that the emotional core of the film remained human-driven, while AI supported the production by reducing repetitive, time-intensive tasks. OpenAI's role here is not to transform itself into a movie studio but to highlight what its technology can do. By showing how AI can speed up production pipelines, cut costs, and expand creative possibilities, the company is offering a glimpse into a future where large-scale animation is no longer confined to billion-dollar studios. Critterz cost less than $30 million to produce, a fraction of the $100 to $200 million that major animated features typically require. This kind of cost reduction has massive implications. Independent creators and smaller studios could soon compete with Hollywood giants. Storylines could evolve more dynamically, with AI quickly generating new concept art, storyboards, or even fully animated sequences. Instead of years of specialized training in animation software, creators may be able to use natural language prompts to bring their ideas to life. In this sense, AI could democratize animation much like YouTube democratized video publishing. What was once a medium dominated by a handful of powerful players could open up to a new generation of storytellers armed with affordable tools. Yet for all its potential, Critterz is still an experiment. The film is expected to debut at the Cannes Film Festival, giving it one of the most prestigious stages in world cinema. But despite the buzz, it does not yet have a distribution deal. That uncertainty reflects a larger question: will audiences embrace a film that so openly wears its AI origins? Also read: What is Wan 2.2: Free AI video generation tool going viral right now Reactions within Hollywood have been mixed. Some see the project as a bold step into the future, a sign that filmmaking will become faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Others are more cautious, worried about what this trend could mean for jobs in animation, visual effects, and screenwriting. There are also open questions around copyright and intellectual property, particularly concerning the data used to train AI models. One of the most important takeaways from Critterz is that artificial intelligence is not replacing human creativity, at least not yet. The film still relied heavily on the work of artists, writers, and voice actors to give it depth and emotional resonance. AI acted as an accelerator, not an author. This hybrid approach points to a possible new era of filmmaking where humans remain responsible for vision and storytelling, while AI handles the heavy lifting in production. If Critterz succeeds, it may mark the beginning of a seismic shift in how movies are made. Studios could begin using AI to prototype films more quickly before committing large budgets. Entirely new AI-native production houses might emerge, challenging traditional giants. Storytelling itself could evolve, with rapid iteration enabling new genres or even interactive experiences shaped by audience feedback in real time. Of course, risks remain. Copyright disputes are already surfacing across creative industries, fears of job displacement persist, and the challenge of keeping human artistry at the center of AI-driven projects will only grow. Still, one thing is certain: Critterz is more than just a movie. It is a test case for the future of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence, and its reception will help determine whether AI becomes Hollywood's newest co-star or its most controversial disruptor.