Last year, Kartoon Studios (formerly Genius Brands) introduced two educational animated series largely created by artificial intelligence. ChatGPT wrote the scripts, while other AI tools handled the animation and character voices.
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| Illustration by Dana Davis |
One of the series, Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club, aims to teach children financial literacy. It features a 3D animated Warren Buffett as a talking head, discussing the importance of mentors. The background includes cartoon images of a piggy bank and a multigenerational family, complemented by streaks of color.
"So remember, the key to life is knowing who to be the bat boy for," the renowned investor advises, as a stock image of a baseball player appears on the screen. "This is crucial if you want to be a home run hitter!"
The release of the animated shorts series, which features episodes like "Did You Know These Facts about Computers?" and "The Tallest Animal in the World!" coincided with the onset of the AI craze.
Some companies, especially those not bound by labor agreements, anticipated a broad industry shift towards adopting this technology, particularly in children’s entertainment, where it’s assumed younger audiences might not be as discerning.
"The future of children’s entertainment is here, and we’re excited to lead this revolution," states Andy Heyward, CEO of Kartoon Studios. President Todd Steinman highlights that AI offers "significant cost efficiencies and speed to market," enabling the company to "expand our content initiatives and fuel our programming pipeline in ways that were previously unimaginable."
The shows have struggled to gain traction. Since last year, around 20 episodes have been released, but they collectively have garnered less than 40,000 views on YouTube, making them some of the least watched content on the company's channels.
Several factors contribute to this issue: Production leaders are hesitant to produce cheaper content with AI technology due to concerns about compromising quality.
On Netflix’s July 18 earnings call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos addressed the matter, stating that AI "is going to generate a great set of creator tools, a great way for creators to tell better stories."
However, he also noted that "there’s a better business and a bigger business in making content 10 percent better than in making it 50 percent cheaper." He emphasized that audiences "largely care mostly about connecting with the storytelling."
Moonbug Entertainment CCO Richard Hickey shared a similar view. Although the company, known for its children’s animation powerhouse CoComelon, is experimenting with AI, he told The New Yorker that there is currently “zero” AI used in the series as they assess "where the benefit is, for raising the bar creatively."
Legal constraints are also hindering adoption. The U.S. Copyright Office does not grant copyrights to machine-generated works, limiting the use of such content. Studios are cautious. “Contracts say you need to ask permission from studios, and many studios’ policies state that it’s simply not allowed,” explained showrunner and writer Mark Goffman (Bull, Limitless, The West Wing) at AI on the Lot, a conference on AI in entertainment, in May.
However, some creators are adopting AI tools in certain production areas. Animation studio Toonstar, known for StEvEn & Parker, launched a dedicated AI studio in January to enable digital creators to produce low-cost content and streamline production.
Co-founders John Attanasio and Luisa Huang claim their proprietary tools make production 80 percent faster and significantly cheaper than industry standards, particularly in handling time-consuming, repetitive tasks like animating hands in various positions.
Other productions are exploring innovative uses of the technology. PBS Kids' series Lyla in the Loop will feature interactive episodes where AI assists in conversations between the audience and the show’s main character, who answers viewer questions using AI.
"I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing now without the tech at Toonstar," says Parker James, creator of StEvEn & Parker. "I can come up with any idea, and they can execute it within 24 hours."