One reason why the campaign for generative AI has gained as much traction as it has is because the average person’s conception of CG work is not all that different from AI in their minds. Unlike AI, the artists at Wētā and other effects houses don’t merely press a few buttons, wait for a computer to do the work, and then hand it over. They spend hours and hours (perhaps too many, but that’s another story) working frame-by-frame on hundreds of shots; it’s work that’s not as initially easy to understand as, say, putting makeup on an actor, but it’s still work.

To demonstrate just how much of an effort it is, Ball states in that aforementioned interview that he and 20th Century Studios will include a full alternate cut of “Kingdom” when it releases on home media: a version of the film that’s all raw dailies, just to show the disparity between the pre-Wētā and post-Wētā images. Even though VFX breakdowns have been a thing for years now, they tend to focus on just a few sequences. Showing the entire film in a raw state should help convey the enormity of the work accomplished on “Kingdom,” as well as so many other movies made today.

It also exposes the biggest lie about AI “art.” If a device is doing something entirely for you, then you have had no say in its creation; you can’t say you’re a chef if you exclusively cook microwave meals, right? “Kingdom” is proof that human beings and technology can create massive, money-making, inspiring art together. You only get what you give; generative AI is such a soulless shortcut that even a monkey wouldn’t feel right using it.