‘A Fear Of Being Replaced’: Uli Meyer Turns AI Anxiety Into ’90s Cartoon Horror With ‘Tricky & The Cereal Killers’ Concept Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

Veteran animator and filmmaker Uli Meyer has given us exclusive access to the proof-of-concept teaser for his darkly comic live-action/animation hybrid Tricky & The Cereal Killers, a project that reimagines the bright mascots of 1990s cereal commercials as AI-powered corruptions of their former selves.

The teaser, shot on 35mm film and animated entirely by hand, serves as both a proof of concept and a statement of intent from Meyer, whose credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and Genndy Tartakovsky’s Fixed.

“There’s a real unease in the animation world right now — a fear of being replaced or left behind,” Meyer tells us. “My approach has been to turn that feeling into something imaginative and craft-led rather than reactionary.”

Starting in 1990s London, Tricky follows a husband-and-wife animation team whose careers collapse overnight when new laws ban ads featuring unhealthy products aimed at children. Their most beloved creation, Tricky the Leprechaun, is shelved along with their dreams. Decades later, their teenage granddaughter Charli discovers Tricky’s old animation art and uploads it using AI tools — accidentally opening a digital portal that unleashes the once-cute cereal mascots, now monstrous and self-aware, into the real world.

The teaser captures this collision of eras with meticulous, analog detail that fans of Meyer’s work have come to expect. The filmmaker used his original commercial-era camera gear and practical effects to achieve a Roger Rabbit-style blend of live action and animation.

“Every element of the teaser reflects that instinct,” he explains. “It channels the atmosphere of 1990s animation while exploring what those characters might mean in today’s landscape. It’s less about nostalgia for the past and more about finding a creative way through the present moment.”

The small, hands-on crew includes Meyer’s longtime collaborators Michael Schlingmann, Dean Roberts, Gary Dunn, Boris Hiestand, and Panagiotis Rappas, joined by newer talents Ryan Fairbanks, Ole C. Cloken, and Sandro Cleuzo. Composer Lindsay Wright (The Crown) provides the score, and Vanessa Wheeler produces. Meyer’s wife, Lisa, handled make-up, and his son even makes a cameo, underscoring the family-driven spirit of the project.

Now in early development, Meyer and his team are pitching Tricky to partners and distributors who share their taste for “bold ideas that mix nostalgia, dark humour, and supernatural wonder.”