🐾 Critterz: OpenAI Backs Its First Feature-Length Animated Film
OpenAI is funding and powering the production of Critterz, a feature-length animated film to be generated almost entirely with AI tools. The project is slated to premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
The concept originates from OpenAI creative director Chad Nelson, who in 2023 released a short film of the same name using DALL-E. This time, the feature is being produced in partnership with UK studio Vertigo Films and AI-focused Native Foreign, with the script penned by the writers behind Paddington in Peru.
"OpenAI can say what its tools do all day long, but it's much more impactful if someone does it. That's a much better case study than me building a demo," Nelson said.
The goal is to show Hollywood that AI-generated content is "good enough for the big screen," delivering professional quality at a fraction of the cost and time.
The production budget is expected to come in under $30 million—five to seven times less than a typical Pixar feature—with a timeline of just nine months instead of the usual three to four years.
