An evil giant thrashes his arms as brown waves of mud swallow the angry beast, pulling him beneath the surface. At first glance, the creature from the Javanese folktale The Legend of Timun Mas appears to be a standard product of a digital animation studio.
However, a closer look reveals the telltale artifacts of generative artificial intelligence. In one frame, the giant’s eyes drift in opposite directions. in another, the battle sequence between the beast and a young girl jumps disjointedly, the frames failing to maintain a fluid human rhythm.
These scenes are from Legenda Bertuah, Indonesia’s first fully AI-animated show. Premiering in January, the series consists of 14 half-hour episodes aired on free-to-air television, each reimagining a different Indonesian folktale. Although fully AI-generated content has already appeared in markets like China, the launch of Legenda Bertuah marks a significant, if polarizing, milestone for the Indonesian media landscape.
The reception among viewers has been starkly divided. Some have praised the series as a refreshing way to engage Gen Z and Gen Alpha with national legends, while others have slammed the production as “messed up,” questioning why a country with a rich pool of animation graduates would bypass human artists in favor of an algorithm.
Legenda Bertuah tells the stories of Indonesian folktales. (Instagram: @legendabertuah.trans7)
The machine behind the myth
The production of Legenda Bertuah is not a fully autonomous process, despite the “AI-animated” label. According to Mira Khairunnisa, a spokesperson for the network TRANS7, the series is the result of a hybrid workflow involving about 10 people, with each episode taking roughly one month to complete.
The process begins with human-led storyboarding, scripting, and video editing. To bridge the gap between a script and a visual, the company employs “prompt engineers”—professionals often recruited from IT or camera operation backgrounds. These engineers apply ChatGPT to generate still images for each scene, which act as visual anchors to maintain consistency across the episode.
Those still images are then processed through Google Veo to create the final animation. Human producers then step back in to refine the sound, lighting, and color grading. Khairunnisa noted that the team also consulted folktale experts to ensure the wardrobe and backgrounds remained authentic to the stories.
Prompt engineers use AI platforms to generate the animated images for the series. (ABC News: Raffa Athallah)
When asked if the shift to AI was a cost-saving measure, Khairunnisa denied the claim, stating, “Producing [a TV program] with AI is not that cheap. We didn’t create it to be cost-effective or anything like that.” She framed the technology as a tool for development, arguing that it is not eliminating jobs but creating latest ones.
A crisis of craft and “soul”
Industry professionals are less convinced. Dermawan Syamsuddin of the Indonesian Animation Industry Association argues that the results of Legenda Bertuah shouldn’t even be classified as animation. He pointed to the “exaggerated” movements of the characters, noting that the show lacks the specific stylistic hallmarks—such as a cohesive “cartoony” look—that define global animation standards.
For many artists, the concern is not just aesthetic, but existential. Satriaddin Maharinga, a director and actor known as Arie Kriting, believes the use of AI in the series raises urgent ethical questions. While he uses AI personally for script inspiration, he warns against rushing its implementation in full-scale productions before ethical boundaries are established.
“AI has no soul, right? It has no feelings, no independent will, and no creative agency of its own,” Maharinga said. “So, the question then becomes, ‘Are the shows we enjoy still works of art, or are they simply products of an industry?'”
This sentiment is echoed by Franklin Darmadi, CEO of Wokcop Pictures. While Darmadi uses AI for mundane tasks like removing background objects, he maintains that the technology cannot capture the “micro-expressions” and spontaneity that define human performance.
Franklin Darmadi (left) says AI is not yet able to capture human “micro‑expressions”. (ABC News: Raffa Athallah)
The labor cost of innovation
Beyond the debate over “art,” there is a tangible economic impact. Irvan Satya Prana, research deputy at the Indonesian Animation Industry Association (AINAKI), reports that AI is already affecting the job market for designers and animators. He noted an increase in layoffs and a growing difficulty for graduates to find function in the sector.
This trend has placed pressure on the Indonesian government to move beyond vague guidelines. Currently, the country operates under a national AI strategy known as Stranas KA, but the document is not legally binding. This leaves artists with little protection against the rapid integration of generative tools in commercial productions.
Arif Perdana, an associate professor of digital strategy and data science at Monash University Indonesia, describes the regulation of AI as a “balancing act.” He warns that overly strict laws could stifle innovation, while lenient ones could endanger the public and the creative workforce.
In response to these concerns, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy stated that the government is working to transition from “moral” guidelines to regulations with legally binding force. The goal is to ensure fair remuneration for creators and to prevent efficiency gains from leading to mass layoffs.
The government’s stated position is clear: AI should serve as a tool, not a replacement, ensuring that key creative decisions remain in human hands.
The next critical phase for the industry will be the potential revision of national copyright legislation to specifically address AI-generated content. This legislative shift will determine whether the “prompt engineer” is viewed as a new creative professional or if the technology remains a disruptive force that threatens the traditional animation craft.
Do you consider AI can ever truly capture the “soul” of storytelling, or is it just a high-tech shortcut? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
