MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 20, 2026--
Utopai Studios today announced that it will develop and produce an animated feature based on Mike Bender’s bestselling children’s book The Most Serious Fart.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260720853125/en/
Bender will write the screenplay and direct the film, which is planned for theatrical release. Russell Hollander will serve as producer.
The Most Serious Fart follows Siegfried, an exceptionally serious fart who is frustrated that farts are always treated as a joke. Determined to change how the world sees him, Siegfried sets out on a journey that ultimately teaches him to embrace who he is and find friendship, fun, and a sense of belonging.
Bender and Hollander spent several years developing the project and discussing it with major studios, but the scale and economics of a traditional animated production made it difficult to move forward without compromising the integrity of the film. Utopai Studios’ commitment to artist-first, AI-assisted production provides a new path to bring the story to the screen, with Bender and the creative team retaining control of the writing, design, direction, performances, and final creative decisions.
“We were drawn to The Most Serious Fart because beneath the comedy is a universal story about wanting to be understood,” said Cecilia Shen, CEO and Co-Founder of Utopai Studios. “Mike believed in this project long before he found a studio prepared to fully support his vision. We believe Siegfried can become a major global franchise, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences in theaters around the world.”
“Mike had a vision for this movie for a long time, but it was difficult to find a studio willing to take a chance on a character and a world as unconventional as Siegfried’s. The reality is it's become more challenging to tell these kinds of original stories in traditional animation,” said Hollander.
“After speaking with Cecilia and the team at Utopai, it became clear that they were focused on an artist-driven approach, allowing us to keep the unique look and feel of the book. It was really important to me that the book's illustrator, Chuck Dillon, was involved in the development process, and Utopai Studios really embraced that. They understood the heart, humor, and importance of keeping the filmmakers at the center of the process. When I set out to write the book, I really wanted to create a sophisticated story about something people perceive as unsophisticated. Ultimately, we want this to feel like nothing anyone has ever seen before. I’m excited to bring the art to fart,” said Bender.
Bender previously co-wrote and produced the Sony Pictures comedy Not Another Teen Movie. He is also the award-winning author of the children’s books Bored Panda, The End Is Just the Beginning, The Book About Nothing, and the co-creator and No. 1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Awkward Family Photos.
Hollander’s producing credits include Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg; Adulthood starring Josh Gad; the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall; and the upcoming Honeymoon With Harry starring Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal at Amazon Studios.
Additional information, including casting, members of the creative team, and theatrical release plans, will be announced at a later date.
About Utopai Studios
Utopai Studios is building the next evolution of the global studio system for the AI era. The company combines original IP development, production expertise, talent partnerships, and proprietary AI infrastructure to create and scale stories across film, television, streaming, animation, and digital platforms. At the center of its strategy is PAI, Utopai Studios’ cinematic storytelling artificial intelligence system, which is designed for long-form entertainment workflows. Utopai Studios is building a studio pipeline designed to protect authorship, expand creative opportunity and bring ambitious projects to market faster and more efficiently. The company’s international footprint includes Utopai East Studios, its wholly owned subsidiary for Korea and Japan IPs, and Utopai GmbH in Germany, reflecting its expanding presence across key global markets. For more information, visit www.utopaistudios.com.
Utopai Studios today announced that it will develop and produce an animated feature based on Mike Bender’s bestselling children’s book "The Most Serious Fart."
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One is a tech-savvy drone innovator with no military experience who became Ukraine’s youngest defense minister six months ago and was credited with contributing to successes in defending against Russia's 4-year-old invasion.
The other is a seasoned, Soviet-trained general more at home with traditional top-down command culture who led Ukraine’s armed forces.
When their personalities and policies clashed, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided one of them had to go as part of a wider government reshuffle. He dismissed the popular young upstart, sparking protests across the country.
A look at the contrasting careers of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The 35-year-old Fedorov was credited with modernizing Ukraine’s drone program and changed military procurement rules in a crackdown on corruption. He argued that the military establishment was resisting changes demanded by the evolving war with Russia.
The former tech entrepreneur drove forward Ukraine’s innovative drone technology that has recently reshaped the battlefield and has earned the interest of other countries, including the United States, as well as those in Europe and the Middle East.
“We transformed Ukraine into a global tech leader and a defense powerhouse,” he said on social media after he lost his job last week in Zelenskyy's government shake-up.
Fedorov also took credit for restricting Russian military access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet services.
Before becoming defense minister in January, Fedorov headed Ukraine’s digital transformation policies and introduced successful e-government platforms.
Fedorov got that job after running the digital operations of Zelenskyy’s presidential election campaign in 2019. Before that, he ran a digital marketing company.
After his dismissal, Fedorov publicly accused Syrskyi of blocking military reforms and insisting on a traditional command culture. That criticism echoed complaints from soldiers and veterans over heavy casualties in costly front-line assaults.
Appearing at a news conference in a dark T-shirt and jeans, Fedorov accused Syrskyi of blocking reforms needed because “the war has changed completely” due to new technology.
Protesters framed Fedorov’s removal as an example of Zelenskyy siding in the feud with an entrenched military old guard over a modernizer.
Syrskyi, 60, was born when Ukraine was still part of the USSR. He attended Moscow Higher Military Command School and served in the Soviet Artillery Corps. He has long been associated with a Soviet-style, top-down command culture.
He played a key role in some of Ukraine’s biggest victories in its war, overseeing the successful defense of Kyiv in the early days of the invasion in February 2022. Seven months later, Syrskyi was credited with orchestrating the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, one of the most significant Ukrainian victories in the war.
“I’m not fighting the (defense) ministry. I’m fighting Russia,” Syrskyi said in a column published Monday in the Ukrainian military outlet Militarnyi that defended his conduct.
“The General Staff has never opposed the ministry — we have cooperated and will keep cooperating with whichever minister the state appoints. Because in the army, you don’t get to choose who you serve with. In the army, you follow orders and do your job,” he said.
Within the military, Syrskyi earned the nickname of “Butcher,” a label that gained wider currency during his command of the ill-fated defense of Bakhmut, one of the war’s longest battles that killed tens of thousands of people.
His reputation took another hit after the Ukrainian outlet Babel published an investigation last month detailing allegations of abuse within the Skelia assault regiment, a unit closely associated with Syrskyi. It reportedly has suffered higher-than-average losses. The investigation documented dozens of deaths among recruits.
The protests of Fedorov's ouster and the backlash against Syrskyi reached into the military, with the air force’s deputy commander resigning and warning it would weaken Ukraine’s air defenses. Veterans and soldiers on leave joined the protests. Many demonstrators said they wanted a new generation of generals who would prioritize preserving soldiers’ lives.
The stakes are high for Zelenskyy. The outcry appeared to leave him open to accusations that by ousting Fedorov, he was trying to get rid of a possible political rival. The episode threatened to undermine his authority.
Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko called Syrskyi “a more convenient and more comfortable” choice for Zelenskyy to keep in his government, adding that it turned out to be a “major miscalculation.”
Zelenskyy “underestimated the extent to which part of Ukrainian society had come to see Fedorov as perhaps the main driver of the positive changes in Ukraine’s war against Russia,” added Fesenko, head of the Penta Center think tank.
Russian war bloggers responded to Fedorov’s dismissal with glee, noting his role in masterminding long-range drone strikes on oil facilities that have caused a fuel crisis and midrange attacks that disrupted military logistics.
Syrskyi, some noted with grudging respect, has built a string of defenses that have stalled Russian advances.
Many Moscow commentators voiced hope that the controversy would fuel political infighting in Ukraine and weaken its military.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
People gather to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, Thursday, July 16, 2026, Kyiv, Ukraine. Placard reads "Bring back Fedorov. Do not destroy defense capability." (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Activists hold a portrait of Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi demanding his resignation during a rally to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
An activist holds slogan "My father is at the front. I am angry here on his behalf" during a rally to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, Friday, July 17, 2026, Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Nov. 19, 2024, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi speaks to parliamentarians at Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP, File)
Outgoing Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov speaks during a briefing to journalists in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)
