A new animated movie made mainly with AI could challenge the time and resources it takes to put together a Hollywood production.

A report from The Wall Street Journal on Sunday revealed that OpenAI is providing support through its tools and computing resources to develop a new feature-length film titled “Critterz.” The film chronicles the adventure of woodland creatures who embark on a quest when an outsider disrupts their habitat.

Three years ago, Chad Nelson, an expert at OpenAI, came up with the idea for “Critterz” while experimenting with OpenAI’s image generation tool, Dall-E. Initially, the project was a short film supported by OpenAI, which premiered in 2023. Nelson has since partnered with film production companies in London and Los Angeles to bring his dream of a full-length movie to fruition. It’s still unclear if OpenAI plans to promote the feature film extensively.

Nelson asserts that the movie will showcase the capabilities of OpenAI’s technology, providing a prominent example, as it’s set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this May.

“OpenAI can talk about what its tools are capable of, but it’s more compelling if someone actually demonstrates it,” Nelson mentioned to WSJ. “This serves as a stronger case study than simply creating a demo myself.”

After its Cannes debut, “Critterz” is anticipated to reach global theaters in the following year. In a Monday press release, Vertigo Films announced that Federation Studios, its Paris-based parent company, would finance the film.

With a budget under $30 million, “Critterz” is projected to be less costly than typical Hollywood movies. For example, big-budget films like Disney’s “Tangled” took over $200 million to produce, and “Tarzan” cost $130 million. If “Critterz” succeeds, it might prompt Hollywood to incorporate AI in future productions.

“Critterz” would also take less time to produce: The production team is aiming to create it in nine months instead of the standard three to four years. Production has started, with casting decisions aiming to go out within the next few weeks.

Other Hollywood studios have already begun experimenting with AI. In July, Netflix disclosed that it had used AI to generate a scene on an Argentine TV show called “El Eternauta.” Meanwhile, Disney has experimented with tapping into AI to create clones or digital body doubles of actors.

Entertainment companies have also pushed back against unauthorized AI use. In June, Disney and Universal filed the first major Hollywood lawsuit against AI startup Midjourney, alleging that the startup copied its characters from copyrighted works without permission.