In today's world, we've all realized that AI will change our lives — the question is, how much? In this essay, I want to ask myself a question: “Can one creator produce movies like Toy Story? What will happen if the answer is yes? How will all these creators make money if anyone can just type a prompt like ‘create my own Toy Story’?” Let's dive in.

In all my essays, I like to start with history — because if we want to predict the future, we need to learn from the past.

So why did Pixar come into being? Why did it happen in the 1980s?

Because of a technological shift.

In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh with a graphical interface. (Yes, Xerox invented the graphical interface first, but I won’t dive into that — it's not the topic of this essay.)

The graphical interface allowed people with a designer’s eye to finally create software. Before that, computers could only be used by nerds. The Apple II interface literally looked like The Matrix.

The idea of clicking on folders and icons came to life with the Macintosh in 1984.

At the same time, computing power started to allow people to create 3D graphics.
But it was very hard. Very slow. Very expensive.

That’s why 3D graphics in movies felt like magic. In Star Wars, it was used as a mix with real footage. And this is exactly where Pixar was born — as the graphics department inside Lucasfilm (the studio behind Star Wars).

In 1986, Steve Jobs became the major investor and stakeholder in Pixar. At the time, their main product was RenderMan — a rendering tool for 3D graphics. (Basically, you’d build a 3D model, click “render,” wait for hours, and finally a beautiful image would appear.)

Selling software in those days was tough — the market just didn’t exist yet. Steve Jobs understood this and made a genius move: he pivoted Pixar from a software company into a content creation company.

He made a deal with Disney to create three animated films. One of them was Toy Story, featuring Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

That was a revolution that changed the world forever.

Pixar created a fully 3D movie — no actors, no real footage, only animation. And the quality was so good, we can still watch it today and not feel like it’s from 1995.

To create Toy Story cost $30 million.
Hundreds of 3D rendering and modeling specialists.
Unique, custom software.
Hundreds of computers for rendering.
Thousands of hours spent creating final images.

And Disney’s distribution and marketing machines behind it.
But it was worth it.

The true Pixar revolution was the shift from handmade drawings to 3D rendering. Computer graphics made it possible to create things that were impossible to replicate in the real world.

After Toy Story, it became obvious to every studio in Hollywood: 3D graphics would play a massive role in the future of entertainment. And today, we see 3D in nearly every movie — it’s no longer unique.

But here’s the catch.

Computer graphics became common for professional movie creators — but they were still unavailable to everyday people.

In 2021, my mom couldn’t type: “Create a picture of a horse running in a grassy field.”

But in 2022, she could — thanks to AI.

Why is that important?

Because before the AI era, creating 3D content was a privilege reserved for super-professionals making big money. A film like Toy Story could only be made by people from a “closed club” called Hollywood.

But today? My mom can compete with Steven Spielberg.

Yeah, you might laugh — but it’s real.

By the late 2000s, computer graphics had become nearly 100% realistic. Transformers, Avatar, and Marvel films are iconic examples of this era.

As I wrote in my essay “The End of Following,” the early 2010s saw the rise of photo and video-based social networks. And here's the important point:

Social media and computer graphics lived in two completely different worlds.

On social media, people could create simple photos and videos using their smartphone cameras.

Meanwhile, in cinema, we watched $200 million blockbusters created by thousands of industry professionals. It was a world of professionals vs a world of amateurs — and the gap between them was massive.

You could easily shoot a video for YouTube.

But you couldn’t make Avatar.

I built my creative career as a 3D rendering specialist, and I know how this industry works. To produce just one minute of footage in a film like Avengers, you need dozens of people, deep technical knowledge, and enormous computing power.

That high barrier to entry acted like a wall — protecting Hollywood from amateurs.
That’s exactly why they never saw YouTubers as real competition.

With the rise of the AI era, everything has turned upside down.

This new wave of technology opens massive opportunities for creators who have taste — but don’t have resources.

As I mentioned in my essay “The End of Following,” new technology always makes content creation easier, faster, cheaper, and more accessible. The barrier to entry becomes very low. You can ask Runway to generate a video, and boom — you’re a creator.

Of course, the quality might be low at first. There will be a lot of crappy content.
But at the same time, it gives talented people a new way to express themselves.
Let’s compare past and present.

In 1995, to create Woody, you needed to master 3D software like RenderMan or 3ds Max. Today, AI tools simplify everything. Interfaces are becoming more user-friendly. You don’t need to model — you just prompt.

AI can render an image in minutes.

In 1995, rendering one minute of Toy Story could take months.

I remember when I made my first 3D animation of the university garden — the rendering took a full week.

Back then, developing a character like Woody could cost millions in work hours.
Today, you can pay Midjourney or Runway a few hundred bucks and generate dozens of characters.

In some sense, anyone can become a “Steven Spielberg” now.

I understand that today (in 2025), it’s still impossible to create a $200 million-level blockbuster using just AI.

But what if that changes by 2030?

Writing a movie script and designing characters could cost less than $10,000. Imagine a genius like J.R.R. Tolkien sitting in a coffee shop, typing out a screenplay and sketching scenes for a future film. He'd spend a few thousand on a laptop, food, and coffee — and in three months, the project would be ready.

So, the cost of concept creation is already cheap. It’s the production and marketing that eat up the budget.

But what if Tolkien had access to ChatGPT for writing scripts, and AI tools for visualizing entire scenes?

What if he typed:

“Create the Battle of Minas Tirith using the characters I defined earlier.”

And the AI generated a 10-minute cinematic scene in Middle-earth?

The same could apply to J.K. Rowling. She wrote Harry Potter on an old typewriter.

Imagine if she had access to the AI tools we’ll see in the next 10 years.

She could have created Harry Potter movies herself — without giving revenue shares to studios, actors, or distributors.

It sounds like science fiction. But if someone told me in 2019 that we’d generate full videos from text prompts, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

At the current pace of generative AI, by 2030, a single talented person might be able to create a blockbuster-level movie.

It could be a teenager with great taste — and the right AI tools

The internet and social media now allow creators to connect directly with their audiences.

As I mentioned in my essay “The End of Following,” creators might not technically “own” their audience yet — but they no longer need studios, bosses, or cinemas to reach people.

Tom Cruise has to follow the rules to get roles in Hollywood.
MrBeast can say whatever he wants.

Tom Cruise relies on a movie studio’s marketing team.
MrBeast is his own marketing team.

At any moment, someone like Johnny Depp can be canceled and instantly lose access to Hollywood’s production power and distribution channels like cinemas and TV networks.

But it’s much harder to cancel MrBeast — because he owns his content, his audience, his production, and his distribution.

The next level of creative freedom is this: creators owning their own platforms.
Ten years ago, building your own “Netflix” was impossible.

Today, there are plenty of tools — white-label video platforms, paywalled content apps, and even decentralized hosting.

In 1995, Pixar didn’t have its own distribution — that’s why they partnered with Disney.

Tomorrow, “self-Pixar” creators will have both their own production capabilities and their own distribution channels.

Based on everything I’ve written so far, you’ve probably figured out that I’m a tech nerd.

Back in the Pixar era — and during the early days of the internet — nerds were on top. If you didn’t have coding skills, it was nearly impossible to publish content online.

But then came Instagram.

Suddenly, beautiful girls could post their beautiful bodies — and dominate attention.

Guys like me? We didn’t stand a chance in that battle for eyeballs.

I couldn’t compete with Kim Kardashian’s ass…
…but AI can.

From 2015 to 2023, we lived in a female-first social media environment.

Let’s be honest — women were better at generating engaging visual content. That’s why most of the content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok was created by women, for women.

AI is starting to shift the balance.

Just look at the most viral AI-generated content — sci-fi scenes, fantasy creatures, AI girlfriends, cyberpunk cities. I’ve been to a lot of AI meetups, and the gender ratio is usually 9 to 1 — mostly guys.

That’s why in the next 10 years, we’ll probably see more male-driven AI content flooding social platforms. It will change how platforms look, what tools are built, and what kind of stories dominate.

Finally, nerds like me have found a way to compete with dancing girls on screen — without even showing our face. 😂

Because every new wave of technology gives a voice to people who didn’t have one before.

Characters like Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man are worth billions.

Creating iconic characters like Woody and Buzz Lightyear once cost millions.

Making them famous? That took even more — zillions in marketing dollars.

But in the next few years, any artist will be able to create their own characters — and promote them directly on social media.

One of my favorite examples is Quick and Lola.

Yes, it’s still built using professional 3D modeling and rendering, but soon this kind of creation will be affordable for almost everyone.

By 2030, creators will be launching their own animated series, closing brand deals, and even selling subscriptions — just like Netflix.

My main point in this essay is simple:

AI helps achieve the same results — easier, faster, and cheaper.

There’s no need to create something better than Toy Story from the 3D graphics side.

The real goal is to make this technology affordable enough that even my mom can use it.

In 1995, only someone like Steve Jobs could afford to create a character like Woody.

By 2030, anyone with imagination and taste will be able to do it.

The AI revolution isn’t about inventing new opportunities —
it’s about making old opportunities, once accessible only to a few privileged people, available to the masses.

In the early 1900s, cars were luxury items only the rich could afford.

Then Henry Ford created the assembly line — and made cars accessible to millions.

Generative AI is the new assembly line.

It’s what will allow anyone to launch their own “Pixar.”