Paddington in Peru Writers Tackle Critterz, Hollywood’s First Major AI-Assisted Animated Movie

Let’s talk about Critterz, the animated movie that wants you to believe sticking a 'z' onto a word is still cool in 2024. (Spoiler: It’s not, but I guess we’re doing this.) The first thing you’ll notice from the promo art is that the characters have a definite 'vaguely Fortnite sidekick' vibe—think the Ice Prince’s woodland cousin, maybe. Not necessarily bad, just… oddly familiar.

Here’s what actually makes Critterz worth a second look: AGC Studios is calling it the first major commercial family movie built with artificial intelligence used across the entire production process. That’s right, AI isn’t just taking your job—now it wants to tell you bedtime stories too.

The Brains Behind the Critterz

Critterz has a pretty stacked writing team:

• James Lamont and Jon Foster (the same duo working on Paddington in Peru)
• Tom Butterworth (of Birthday Girl and Ashes to Ashes fame)

Nik Kleverov, who co-founded creative shop Native Foreign, is directing. But here’s the eyebrow-raiser: Chad Nelson—a creative strategist straight out of OpenAI—is one of the producers. Yes, OpenAI, as in DALL-E and ChatGPT. The production team also ropes in Allan Niblo and James Richardson of Vertigo Films, plus an executive producer lineup that includes Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan, Jane Moore, Ford, and Aghi Koh.

What’s It Actually About?

This new movie is based on a 2023 short film also called Critterz. The story: you’ve got a 'nervy but plucky' woodland creature who rounds up a band of oddball misfits, each with their own hang-ups and hidden talents, and they’re all off on a desperate quest to find our hero’s missing sibling. So basically, it sounds like every family animation ever—but hey, a formula earns 'formula' status for a reason.

Big Comparisons, Bigger Hype

Nik Kleverov really likes his '80s fantasy adventures. According to him, Critterz is aiming to channel a mix of The Goonies, The NeverEnding Story, and the original Star Wars. That’s a mountain of nostalgia to climb. As Kleverov puts it:

'Critterz will be a timeless film—a world that feels truly its own. It’ll carry the wonder of the ‘80s fantasy movies I grew up on, with the scrappy, adventurous spirit of The Goonies and the mythic, emotional scale of The NeverEnding Story…plus the scope of early Star Wars. At its core is a fractured world trying to heal, and a main character whose real power is faith in herself and her family.'

I’ll be honest: those are some massive shoes to fill. If Critterz gets even halfway to the magic of its inspirations, I’ll be impressed. But throwing those names around this early sets expectations at 'please don’t be a generic streaming filler' levels.

AI Animation: Progress, Gimmick, or Existential Threat?

So here’s the real point of intrigue—and controversy—on this project: it’s being pitched as a milestone for mainstream AI-powered animation. That means artificial intelligence touching everything from storyboards to the look of the characters. I get why AGC wants to tout that. But let’s be blunt: there are a lot of people (me included) who have nightmares about what heavy AI use could mean for flesh-and-blood artists and the future of animation’s soul.

I have a word of advice for the team: for the love of everything, check your assets before shipping them out. Studios keep getting burned for accidentally leaving AI leftovers in their final products, and nothing kills credibility faster than a bad AI watermark or a cut-and-paste digital artifact.

That said, whether you think AI is creative progress or a shortcut to uncanny valley mediocrity, I’m genuinely curious to see how Critterz pulls this off. Even if it feels a bit like animation heresy, I’ll keep an open mind—at least until I see the actual footage. You know, as long as the woodland creatures don’t start reading me TikTok poetry.

Official first-look test footage and sales news should be dropping at Cannes, so we’ll get a sense soon whether Critterz is the start of something new or just another digital curiosity with a 'z'.