Disney Thanksgiving Art Sparks Fury

Disney has drawn ire over its new Thanksgiving message, which some people are saying was created by AI.

The Mouse House shared an updated version of its traditional Thanksgiving artwork to Instagram. The picture shows major Disney characters around a table ready to feast on a turkey with Mickey and Minnie Mouse at the head hosting them all.

"May your #Thanksgiving gathering be a true masterpiece! Join our feast by sharing a side in the comments 🥧🥗🍗🥖🥔🌽," Disney captioned the post.

But people took to the comments and also to X, formerly Twitter, to express their disgust over the alleged use of AI to create the image.

Newsweek contacted Disney by email for comment.

"Cant even describe to you how grim it is to see Disney, widely considered to be the industry pioneer in art & animation, a company with billions of artists under its belt, using AI. Like why even try anymore man," wrote one person.

Another added: "Here's what's key: Disney doesn't want YOU to have AI tools that can make fun of Disney movies. But THEY want AI tools to cheaply displace you. And when they lobby for laws to control AI, they will make sure those laws give them the advantage. It's called an economic moat."

And a third wrote: "Disney could literally make a artist within their studios or hire one to make this as they have billions to do so but chose to use AI instead."

The use of AI comes after the end of a monthslong strike by the writers' and actors' unions in Hollywood, and one significant point of concern was major studios replacing them with AI in the future.

It also comes after one Disney executive said the animation studio would take a "very cautious approach to AI."

"We are waiting to see how things develop. Truthfully, we like tools that let the artist enhance the work that they're doing. But we don't view it as an end means in and of itself," Walt Disney Animation producer Peter Del Vecho said in an interview in November with The Direct.

Disney has also taken a stand against AI itself and issued a copyright complaint against Microsoft arguing that its Bing AI tool was infringing trademark by generating the Disney-Pixar logo.

The complaint stemmed from a recent social media trend that allowed people to turn their pets into a Pixar style animation complete with the company logo.

Microsoft eventually tweaked the AI generator to present a jumbled version of the logo.

Despite its protest over the Pixar trend, the Disney-owned Marvel Studios came under fire for using AI to create the credits on one of its newer series, Secret Invasion.

The show, starring Samuel L. Jackson, premiered on the Disney+ streaming service in June.

Its executive producer, Ali Selim, defended the use of AI to create the backdrops of the opening credits, saying it played into the show's themes of the shapeshifting aliens, Skrulls, invading Earth.

"When we reached out to the AI vendors, that was part of it," he told Polygon. "It just came right out of the shapeshifting, Skrull world identity, you know? Who did this? Who is this?"

Method Studios, which created the AI backdrops for Marvel's Secret Invasion also defended its work and promised no artist missed out on work as a result.

"The production process was highly collaborative and iterative, with a dedicated focus on this specific application of an AI toolset. It involved a tremendous effort by talented art directors, animators (proficient in both 2D and 3D), artists, and developers, who employed conventional techniques to craft all the other aspects of the project," it wrote in a statement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"However, it is crucial to emphasize that while the AI component provided optimal results, AI is just one tool among the array of toolsets our artists used.

"The entire process, guided by expert art direction, encompassed the initial storyboard phase, illustration, AI generation, 2D/3D animation and culminated in the final compositing stage."