Munich-based Storybook Studios is embracing AI to develop its first-ever kids series, the bridge show Space Vets. 

The animated series follows a crew of young veterinarians who travel through space helping animals. Storybook’s goal was to use AI as much as possible, and it wound up deploying the technology across all areas of production, says Franziska Hansel, the show’s production manager and the company’s AI ethics and bias officer. 

Using AI to this extent allowed the fledgling studio, which opened its doors a year ago, to produce the entire eight-minute pilot episode in just 60 days—80% faster than traditional workflows, the company estimates. Storybook (a subsidiary of film and TV studio Pantaflix) released the pilot on its website yesterday. 

All of the pilot ep’s visual elements were generated with AI (from the 3D character models to the textures, props and environments). Writer Anna Ludwig penned the script in German without any AI assistance, but AI was used to help translate it into English. Two actors recorded all of the dialogue for the pilot, and then a speech-to-speech AI tool was used to modify the pitch, tone and delivery of the performances to generate unique voices. “Essentially, the AI can make one actor sound like multiple distinct characters,” Hansel explains.  

A second episode is now in development, and Space Vets is planned as a four-season series with 26 x seven-minute episodes in each season. Storybook is now in talks to bring distribution partners and broadcasters on board. 

Some of the young studio’s other projects include an AI music video and an AI trailer for a project by Pantaflix’s Pantaleon Films.  

“Storybook Studios was founded one year ago to push the boundaries of storytelling through AI, and we’ve already done some pretty innovative stuff,” says Hansel. “Our mission has always been about using AI to make content creation faster and more creative, without compromising on quality.”