OpenAI’s latest image-generation technology took the world by storm by copying Ghibli’s iconic art style. In this extremely ironic situation, people who have historically made fun of anime by calling it cartoon for children have suddenly resorted to recreating their images in the same ‘cartoonish’ art style. But Hayao Miyazaki is here to be a much-needed savior.
In the midst of it all, Ghibli has already established its dominance by re-releasing Princess Mononoke in North American theaters. Hayao Miyazaki’s spirit and creations are still indomitable, and the overall earnings of this almost 3-decade-old movie is proof of it.
Once a movie that was deemed to be too mature for families, Princess Mononoke‘s re-release has taken North America by storm.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke rerelease stands glorious amidst AI chaos
G-KIDS, the American distributor of Studio Ghibli films, has re-released a 4K restoration of Hayao Miyazaki‘s Princess Mononoke anime film. Released just a few days ago, on March 26, the movie is already on track to be the highest-grossing movie in the North American box office.
Released onto 330 Imax screens in the US and Canada, the movie is estimated to gross $3.5 million through the weekend. The film has already made $1.2 million in previews before its Friday opening. But the best response was by Chance Huskey, the VP of GKids’ distribution:
In a time when technology tries to replicate humanity, we are thrilled that audiences value a theatrical experience that respects and celebrates Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece in all its cinematic hand-drawn glory.
-Chance Husky
This statement was released just a day after OpenAI’s image-generation tool went viral for its Ghibli trend. Despite Hayao Miyazaki’s strong disapproval of AI-generated art and anime, fans have still continued to use ChatGPT to create Ghibli-like images.
AI Ghibli trend defenders need a much-needed reality check
Those who defend AI and AI-generated art are a dime a dozen. Their catchphrases are: “AI art is also art,” “Art is subjective,” and other similar dialogues. But what they forget is that AI models are trained on art styles from artists without their consent or permission. AI does not come with originality and creativity; that’s a feature only humans have.
What it does come equipped with is the ability to train on stolen images. AI’s infringement on copyright is also a huge issue at the moment. If using a few prompts is what one calls artistic process, then maybe tech bros are the biggest artists this planet has ever seen.
Ghibli’s iconic art style is the result of creators who have sacrificed half of their lives to dedicate themselves to their craft. ChatGPT’s image-generation trend is thus a gut punch to all those creators. Still, the success of the Princess Mononoke anime has given the world hope that people who appreciate real art still exist.
Princess Mononoke is currently premiering in US and Canadian theaters, and it can be streamed on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
