Culture 3 min read By Trevor Kendall
Travis Knight Says AI Is 'Amazing' but He's Not Embracing It at Laika
The 'Wildwood' director and Laika CEO told AFI Fest audiences that generative AI is 'antithetical' to the studio's stop-motion craft, calling it a tool he won't adopt despite acknowledging its power.
Travis Knight, the director of «Wildwood» and CEO of the stop-motion studio Laika, said he is not adopting artificial intelligence in his filmmaking, even as he acknowledged the technology's capabilities. Speaking at the AFI Fest opening night U.S. premiere of «Wildwood» on Wednesday, Knight described AI as «an amazing piece of technology» but made clear that his stance on using it is firm.
«I'm not embracing it at all,» Knight said. He framed his position around a broader definition of what counts as a tool in animation. «I see technology as a tool, and we use technology at Laika. A pencil is technology, a paintbrush is technology, a 3D printer» is technology, he explained, drawing a line between the physical instruments of stop-motion craft and generative systems that produce images or text on their own.
Knight went further in separate remarks, describing generative AI as «antithetical to everything that we are at this studio.» He said he hopes audiences «see the danger» in the technology as much as they see its value. The comments place the Laika chief among the more vocal skeptics in Hollywood, where studios and creators are increasingly divided over how — or whether — to incorporate AI into production pipelines.
The timing of Knight's remarks is notable. «Wildwood» arrives as Laika's latest feature, a stop-motion project that the director has said took roughly 16 years to bring to the screen. The film's premiere at AFI Fest gave Knight a prominent platform to discuss the labor-intensive, handcrafted process that defines his studio's output, and he used it to contrast that approach with automated generation.
Laika has built its reputation on tactile animation, with films that rely on physical sets, puppets, and frame-by-frame photography. Knight's argument leans on that identity: the studio's work is defined by human hands and deliberate imperfection, qualities he suggests generative AI cannot replicate or replace. His distinction between a pencil and a generative model is central to that case — one extends the artist's hand, the other substitutes for it.
The debate over AI in entertainment has intensified as tools for generating images, scripts, and voice performances improve. Unions and guilds have pushed for protections, while some filmmakers have experimented with the technology. Knight's comments add a high-profile voice to the camp urging caution, particularly from a director whose medium depends on slow, manual craft.
For now, Knight's position is clear: Laika will keep using the tools it has always used, and generative AI will not be among them. «Wildwood» is now in theaters following its AFI Fest premiere, carrying with it the studio's case for handmade animation at a moment when the industry is asking what machines should be allowed to make.
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