Mark Stern frames Intelligent Animation as the responsible alternative to AI 'abuse,' positioning the studio as animation's white knight — bringing traditional artists on board first, then enhancing their workflow with ethical tech.
Insiders note that six to eight AI models power this operation, but Stern admitted he's 'not very well versed' on them. The studio won't disclose funding or which specific models are being used — raising questions about transparency in an industry already skeptical of AI overreach.
The studio has 12 full-time animators plus ~18 freelancers, with two shows ('The Dragon Prince's Bride' and 'The Prince's Personal Physician') heading to aTwist later this year. SAG-AFTRA's vertical agreement covers budgets up to $300,000.
Mark Stern wants you to believe Intelligent Animation is the ethical future of animation — but when your CEO admits he's 'not very well versed' on the AI tools driving his business, that's a red flag worth watching.
Two Hollywood heavyweights with serious industry cred are betting that audiences are ready for AI-assisted animation — provided it's done the 'right way.' Mark Stern, the former head of original content for Syfy who spent years shepherding genre programming into existence, has teamed up with Lloyd Braun, the former chairman of both ABC and WME, to launch Intelligent Animation. Their pitch? A studio that fuses traditional animation craftsmanship with machine-learning AI tools to produce microseries faster and cheaper than ever before — without descending into what Stern bluntly calls 'creepy weirdness.' The genesis of this venture traces back roughly three years, when Stern was searching for ways to visually augment the podcasts native to his Echoverse studio.
The solution that emerged wasn't just about podcasting — it became a full-fledged animation production company now helmed by Stern as president and currently juggling six projects in active development. Two shows are already lined up: 'The Dragon Prince's Bride,' based on a novel by C.J. Young, and 'The Prince's Personal Physician,' both licensed from the webcomics platform Tapas.
Both will arrive later this year on Braun's microseries platform aTwist. Here's where it gets interesting — and controversial. Microseries are having an absolute moment in entertainment, with one industry report projecting the format could generate $16.2 billion by 2030 in China alone.
But AI-generated content remains radioactive in creative communities, with animators and studios deeply divided between cost-saving potential and fears about job displacement for traditional artists. Stern claims his studio is threading that needle by hiring seasoned animators first and treating AI as an enhancement tool rather than a replacement — limited to functions like lip-syncing voice performances, enhancing specific scenes, or filling in background details. The company has instituted what it calls an 'AI Code of Conduct' governing its team of 12 full-time animators plus approximately 18 contracted freelancers.
The rules explicitly prohibit using generative AI to produce scripts, clone actor voices or likenesses without consent, or train on copyrighted content — aligning with agreements from both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. Stern insists this isn't about plugging one app into a production pipeline and walking away: 'It's really an iterative process, a multidisciplinary process, where you have to apply all sorts of different tools to get what you need.' But here's the uncomfortable question nobody in Hollywood is asking loudly enough: if Intelligent Animation represents responsible AI use, why won't Stern disclose which models his studio operates on?
When pressed by Variety, he admitted being 'not very well versed' on the six to eight AI technologies powering his operation. He also declined to discuss funding structure, though he noted shows are budgeted in line with typical microseries — SAG-AFTRA's recent vertical agreement covers productions up to $300,000. The goal, Stern says, is hitting a four-month turnaround from script to release, roughly half the time traditional animation requires. Whether that speed comes at the cost of quality or creative integrity remains to be seen — but given this industry's track record with AI 'slop,' forgive us for wanting receipts before we buy what Intelligent Animation is selling.
