Utopai Studios Backs 2023 Book Adaptation 'The Most Serious Fart' as AI Stays a Production Tool
Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 20
Utopai Studios Backs 2023 Book Adaptation 'The Most Serious Fart' as AI Stays a Production Tool
1 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 20
Summary
Mike Bender will write and direct an animated feature of his 2023 children’s book “The Most Serious Fart,” with Utopai Studios planning a theatrical release.
AI will be used only as a tool by human animators and illustrators, marking a narrower role than in many projects on Utopai’s largely AI-generated slate.
Bender said he turned to Utopai after Hollywood animation studios would not risk an original, offbeat story; producer Russell Hollander is also attached, and illustrator Chuck Dillon will stay involved.
Utopai is expanding its literary-adaptation push after announcing last month with Huace a fully AI-generated “Journey to the West: The Lost Five Hundred Years” series built on its PAI platform.
Cecilia Shen said the studio sees the story as a potential global franchise, underscoring how AI-focused studios are using book adaptations to test commercial filmmaking models.