Writer and director Jorge R. Gutierrez is best known for creating the 2014 animated film The Book of Life. A labor of love and a tribute to Mexican folk art, the movie took Gutierrez 14 years to make, and it paid off: The Book of Life’s beautiful handcrafted 3D animation was near universally lauded.
But Gutierrez’s next project is taking a different approach. It won’t take him 14 years—in fact, his upcoming animated series Punky Duck was greenlit just two months after he pitched it to Amazon MGM Studios. How are things moving so quickly? Punky Duck will feature AI-generated animation, courtesy of a new AI-powered production pipeline at Amazon.
Mixing AI and animation
At Amazon MGM Studios’ AI on the Lot conference, Gutierrez was announced as the creator of one of three AI-generated series greenlit through the studio’s new GenAI Creators’ Fund. The fund grants creators exclusive access to Amazon’s AI production platform Project Nara, which Amazon MGM Studios created in collaboration with Amazon Web Services. The so-called “collaborative workspace” reportedly blends AI production agents with traditional animation tools, as Amazon MGM Studios’ chief operating officer Albert Cheng told Variety.
“One of the biggest complaints we hear from creators is: AI will not do what you want it to do,” Cheng said, adding that Amazon is repurposing AI models geared toward social media creation “into usable tools for the industry.”
Speaking at the conference, Gutierrez compared animating with AI to “having sex and then they hand you the baby.” In other words, it lets you skip over the metaphorical pregnancy—the development, the care, the investment of time—and get straight to the product.
Gutierrez explained his participation in the GenAI Creators Fund to Cartoon Brew, saying, “It’s a big experiment for me, and I will be as cautious as possible with AI. Artists driving tech, and not the other way around, is my goal.”
“I’ve been developing things at most legacy studios for years, and Punky Duck, to my complete surprise, went to greenlight in two months from my first pitch. Cautiously optimistic of what we can accomplish with the support of Amazon MGM Studios,” Gutierrez continued. “Taking a chance on an original feels like a miracle these days!”
In addition to Punky Duck, Amazon MGM Studios greenlit Love, Diana Music Hunters, created by former Nickelodeon executive and current chief content officer of pocket.watch, and Cupcake & Friends, a series from BuzzFeed Studios.
“The most important thing to remember is, we’re human-centric,” Cheng said. “AI tools are meant to empower human creativity, and allow TV shows and movies that would not have been possible before.”
“I’m beyond disappointed”: Gutierrez faces online backlash
Fans of Gutierrez’s previous work were quick to call him out on social media after the announcement, calling him a sellout for apparently endorsing AI after such a long career in the animation industry.
“Jorge R. Gutierrez has been animating since the early 2000s with one of the most stunning, unique styles out there. The Book of Life took him 14 years,” one user pointed out. “How does someone like that support AI? He above all should know the most beautiful art is human-made.”
“Jorge being chill with AI animation has gotta be one of the worst things I’ve heard this year dude,” lamented another user.
“This is kicking the ladder down for all future artists by embracing technology built on the exploitation of his peers’ work,” a third user wrote. “He knows better. Or he should. Deeply disappointing.”
Users also pointed out that Gutierrez’s previous posting about AI contradicts his current stance. In 2024, he’d posted a meme saying that AI’s “secret ingredient is crime.” That same year, he’d commented on an early attempt at AI-generated animation, writing, “The thing about generic AI stuff like this is that it will absolutely make unique and original artists even more unique and original.” In 2025, he compared AI to a machine gun, saying it “makes killing easy and thoughtless.”
“He’s so blatantly aware of what AI is and chooses to participate anyways,” one user commented. “It’s baffling, I’m beyond disappointed.”
Gutierrez responded to the backlash with a controversial statement on social media. “I understand a lot of you are happy for me and a lot of you are really angry at me for experimenting with AI at Amazon. I’m going to leave the comments open so you can get it all out and hopefully feel better,” he wrote, adding that he’d report any threats toward him or his family.
Many users took issue with Gutierrez’s apparent dismissal of their concerns. “No explanation or anything?? No elaboration on what was so valuable for you to sacrifice your morals on??” one user replied. “This is genuinely such an uncaring response. He should’ve just stayed quiet if he was going to act like we just need to ‘get it all out’ ?? You betrayed your entire community and this is what you have to say.”