Man Spends $750 To Make 'Live Action Princess Mononoke' AI Trailer, Twitter Debates What His Punishment Should Be

Social media seems to agree that the $745 worth of Kling credits Twitter user @PJaccetturo spent to make an AI-generated trailer for a hypothetical live-action version of the Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki classic anime film Princess Mononoke was a waste of money.

What users disagree on is what punishment he should face for this perceived crime against art.

After 22 million views and thousands of death threats, I felt like I needed to take this post down for my own mental health.
This trailer was an EXPERIMENT to show my 300 friends on X how far we've coming in 16 months.
I'm putting it back up to keep the conversation going. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/tFpRPm9BMv

— PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo) October 8, 2024

Granted, @PJaccetturo's money served to create a more convincing-looking trailer than other recent "AI-movie trailer" attempts like the 1950s Mario video from a few months back. There's none of the "smear" that has been typical of AI art in the past and the "people" generally look like people instead of melting wax figures.

Technological advancements in AI aside, social media users generally despised the video due to the fact an "AI-generated live-action Princess Mononoke" goes against everything they believe the movie and Hayao Miyazaki stand for.

Princess Mononoke is a fiercely pro-environment movie, as themes of the movie champion nature over the destructive forces of humanity and war. A constant criticism of AI since it's become more widespread is that it contributes to destroying Earth's natural resources. Thus, using AI to pay "tribute" to Princess Mononoke struck many as a strikingly ignorant act.

Secondly, Hayao Miyazaki notably loathes AI, and famously said upon seeing a demonstration of artificial intelligence, "I am utterly disgusted… I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."

The video led to the usual hurling of insults at the "creator," as is the case with every AI-generated video that goes viral. As @PJaccetturo's creation deeply offended viewers on social media, users offered a range of suggestions for what his punishment should be, with some suggesting jail and others going so far as to say Miyazaki should be allowed to hunt him for sport.

Despite the improvements in AI showcased in @PJaccetturo's $745 trailer, it seems social media is less receptive than ever to its use in art

It's difficult to imagine an AI-generated movie trailer that could receive universal acclaim, but an AI-generated trailer for a recreation of a classic film directed by a beloved auteur who famously loathes AI is definitely not the way.