Note: I am not an expert :)
> How does this work from a technological standpoint? There have only been 27 Pixar feature films.
From the start, imaging AI's capability has been largely around style transfer. You can take an artist or define a lump group of inspiration, dump it in as a prompt and get a fairly high chance of a good-looking image.
> Why Disney-Pixar in particular? Why not Dreamworks, Illuminatiom entertainmemt...
You tell me. Visually I don't mind Illumination or Dreamworks, but technically they keep their light under a bushel. I do have a bit of background in rendering and 3D CG, and while I loathe Disney/Pixar they generally do a good job presenting technically-impressive frames with well-choreographed shots.
> Is this just an attempt to ruin the reputation of the Pixar brand?
No? Pixar exists, as a company. Same goes for Disney. They've had their content mocked, copied and even used as hate speech for decades now. A lot of people just reach for it because it's recognizable branding.
> Is there even any interpretation that would allow this to be seen as anything different than industrial style IP infringement?
Given that it's noncommercial, yes. There's a good arguement that all of these images are derivative parody works protected by Fair Use, AI-generated or not. The AI-generation legality part is yet-to-be-decided-on, but it will probably err on the side of model freedom. I wager it's too late to draft a bill that changes things this far in the game.
