OpenAI Reveals AI-Generated Film ‘Critterz’ for Cannes
OpenAI has announced 'Critterz', an animated film produced primarily using AI tools, set to premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The project began in 2021 when OpenAI creative Chad Nelson used DALL-E to create whimsical characters and surreal backdrops. The short experimental film generated enough interest internally to expand into a feature-length production.
The story unfolds in a magical forest where a community of creatures faces disruption with the arrival of a mysterious stranger. It is a playful fable blending comedy, adventure, and dreamlike visuals.
Traditional animated films typically take over three years to produce, but 'Critterz' aims to be completed in just nine months. This is achieved by leveraging OpenAI's ecosystem of generative tools, including GPT-5, DALL-E, and Sora, to generate environments, assets, and sequences directly from artists' sketches.
The workflow is hybrid: illustrators design the foundations, voice actors bring characters to life, and human writers shape the script. However, AI accelerates the production pipeline, keeping the budget under $30 million, a fraction of the cost of Pixar or DreamWorks productions.
'Critterz' is more than just a film; it is a strategic showcase. OpenAI aims to demonstrate that generative AI can scale to professional, commercially viable entertainment projects, beyond technical demos or viral clips. This involves navigating legal and cultural sensitivities, ensuring copyright protections by including human-created elements, original artwork, voice performances, and a screenplay by James Lamont and Jon Foster.
Directed by Chad Nelson in collaboration with Vertigo Films (London), Native Foreign (Los Angeles), and Federation Studios (Paris), the Cannes premiere will be more than a red-carpet event. It will test whether audiences and professionals can embrace a film born from this unprecedented collaboration between human creativity and AI acceleration.
Whether praised as groundbreaking or criticized as disruptive, 'Critterz' is likely to spark a conversation about ownership, artistry, and the future of cinema in an AI age, extending far beyond the Croisette.