Walt Disney Animation Studios’ SVP of Production & Tech Nick Cannon has taken a strong stance about the company and AI. He said at Web Summit Vancouver that tech will never beat the human touch when it comes to VFX. These comments come as there’s an ongoing debate about AI’s place in creative industries.
Cannon was at a Web Summit session about how Vancouver became a VFX hot spot in the last few years. Discussing what incentives brought big studios like ILM, Sony, and Blue Ant, which all have bases in the city.
When asked about automation, the answer was clear. “Visual effects and animation have been through huge transformative changes,” said Cannon. “The way we work today, in some ways, is very different from 10 or 20 years ago, but the fundamentals are still the same,”
When asked if AI could ever replace artists, he said, “Human creativity is immense and unique, and we’re never going to automate the taste and the imagination of the amazingly talented artists that we have in our studio.”
Cannon wasn’t the only one in the room. Blue Ant’s Jennifer McCarron pointed to the studio’s education outreach. Remembering recruiters once telling students, “in the lifespan of an animator, you could make more than the average NHL player in Canada.”
Sony’s representative chimed in on future projects, too. Michelle Grady, President, Sony Pictures Imageworks, highlighted the Spider-Verse as a great idea, while also confirming another entry in that franchise, and that KPop Demon Hunters is still conversational.
Cannon teased Disney’s future a little too. He highlighted the coming-of-age saga Hexed, describing it as “a wholly original story” that the studio is super excited about. Hexed will be the 65th feature of the Disney Animated Canon, with a release set for November 25, 2026. It’s the first original film for Disney Animation since Wish in 2023. Looking further ahead, Cannon mentioned that fans can look forward to Frozen 3 next year.
The general discussion at Web Summit Vancouver was about the creative industry still figuring out the ever-changing tech. For Cannon, the answer is to take a different perspective. Tools evolve, taste doesn’t.
