Leading independent film and TV producers Vertigo Films (a Federation Studios company) are teaming up with Native Foreign and Opein AI.
Critterz, written by Paddington In Peru writers James Lamont and Jon Foster, is adapted from the 2023 short of the same name which was developed using OpenAI. It will be the first length-feature film to combined OpenAI Dall•E generated visuals with traditional animation techniques.
The story centres on a peaceful village of the Critterz which is disrupted by an unexpected stranger.
Production on Critterz is underway in what is described as a “human-led and AI-assisted” approach, primarily using AI to accelerate and streamline workflow.
The film is produced byAllan Niblo and James Richardson for Vertigo and Nik Kleverov for Native Foreign, a creative agency dedicated to AI storytelling, alongside Chad Nelson from OpenAI. Jane Moore is Executive Producer for Vertigo.
As stated by Vertigo’s Niblo and Richardson in an article by Screen Daily “We’re at a pivotal moment in animation – where technology is once again transforming how stories are told and brought to life. Just as computer animation revolutionized filmmaking with Toy Story, AI is now opening new creative frontiers with Critterz,”.
James Lamont and John Foster added: “We’re really excited to be putting storytelling at the heart of this groundbreaking project. The creative team behind Critterz really impressed us with their vision and desire to make a beautiful, compelling and funny family movie”.
