AI animation stirs Luxo Jr. memories as veteran artist asks: is this the end of us?

ccerrato147 · x · 2026-09-24

The author opens with a scene: a founder shows him an AI-generated animated shot — lit, composed, alive — and it feels like 1986 watching Luxo Jr. take its first breath. The same day, an artist he's known for 30 years texts: "Is this the end of us?" His answer: certainly not.

He draws on Hollywood history: in 1906, America's biggest composer Sousa claimed the phonograph would kill "human skill, intelligence and soul," but the real fight was money — machines played his songs and paid him nothing. Sousa got composers paid.

The takeaway: the question isn't whether AI replaces creatives, but who gets the terms and the compensation.

Related event: Katzenberg's Essay: AI Animation Reminds Him of the Pixar Moment(5 posts)→

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