Credit: Disney/RavensburgerIn 2023, The Walt Disney Company took a huge leap into the collectible card game with the release of Disney Lorcana — a trading card game featuring classic Disney animated characters. The game takes place in a rich and mysterious world where magic and story collide. In this realm, select individuals known as Illumineers have the rare ability to harness enchanted ink, using it to summon powerful reflections of Disney characters called Glimmers.
These Glimmers inhabit a vast land made up of different regions known as the Inklands, all revolving around the mystical heart of the world—the Great Illuminary. This central beacon isn’t just a magical structure; it’s a living archive, preserving every story ever imagined within its sacred halls, aptly named the Halls of Lorcana.
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Suddenly, the Illumineers vanish, leaving the Great Illuminary unguarded. In response, it reaches out to new heroes—the players—inviting them to take up the mantle of Illumineer. With the help of a magical book called a lorebook and a specialized tool known as an inkcaster, these new Illumineers draw from pools of magical ink to bring Glimmers to life and continue the legacy of storytelling.
Players are called to recover fragments of story known as lore, which are shimmering echoes of tales that have been scattered and hidden. These fragments are stored safely within the Illuminary, but a mystery lingers: What dark force are these pieces of lore being protected from? And why is the balance of this world beginning to shift? The players must discover what answers lie within the ink.
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One of the things that takes Disney Lorcana to the next level is the stunning and unique artwork featured on every single card. The artists employed to create the cards work incredibly hard on each and every detail, and they can become very well-known within the Lorcana community.
One of the most popular Disney Lorcana artists is James C. Mulligan, who has created cards featuring Ariel, Rapunzel, Bambi, Dumbo, Scrooge McDuck, and so many more iconic Disney characters.
However, Mr. Mulligan’s career with Disney has come to a sudden and shocking end, following controversy that began at the popular Anime NYC convention, held in August. A fan attending the convention accused Mr. Mulligan of lying about not using artificial intelligence in creating his work and then scamming them and their mother.
Hey so…this guy at #AnimeNYC just blatantly lied to me about not using gen ai in his work, then scammed my mom off of several hundred dollars in prints.
Hey so…this guy at #AnimeNYC just blatantly lied to me about not using gen ai in his work, then scammed my mom off of several hundred dollars in prints. pic.twitter.com/2kfLfbSbbq
— Emu💭👁️🗨️ (@Toon_Emu) August 22, 2025
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Toon_Emu posted a long thread detailing their interaction with Mr. Mulligan and the lie they supposedly caught him in. According to the Twitter thread, Toon_Emu asked to see his process and how he creates the images, being particularly excited after he said he used the same program they do. They asked to see the Timelapse replay, so they could see the image creation from start to finish, but Mr. Mulligan said that he did not record one.
That comment led Toon_Emu to believe that Mr. Mulligan was being dishonest about using AI in his creations, as the software he claimed to use automatically creates a Timelapse video. Toon_Emu said that they offered to show him how to access the Timelapse videos, but Mr. Mulligan allegedly got angry and told them to leave.
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In the long thread, Toon_Emu also revealed that Mr. Mulligan’s wife had denied the accusations and also threatened them with legal action. Mr. Mulligan also refused to show the Timelapse video to another fan, saying that he is dealing with everything through his lawyer.
Mr. Mulligan’s wife was not the only person to see the viral thread. According to one comment, someone who works for Disney Lorcana was disturbed by the accusations and said they would bring the claims up to their Creative Director.
“I actually work for the company that makes Disney Lorcana, so I will be bringing this up with my Creative Directors. We have a hard policy of no AI art in our games, and they will be able to assess further. However, it’s been very common ppl [sic] jump to these conclusions a lot.”
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Well, it looks like the controversy did reach the creative directors at Disney Lorcana, and Mr. Mulligan has been fired. According to a report from MSN, Disney Lorcana has a zero-tolerance policy for the use of AI.
After public outcry prompted a behind-the-scenes investigation into the matter, Disney reportedly confirmed that Disney Lorcana artist James C Mulligan has been using their name to sell AI generated artworks – and subsequently blacklisted him for doing so.
They also showed more messages from The_Green-Nymph, the person who claimed to work for Disney Lorcana. They claimed that the use of AI was confirmed, but Mr. Mulligan hadn’t been allowed to work on Disney Lorcana for some time.
But after hearing back from their Director, Green confirmed that not only had Mulligan at least partially used AI to produce his Lorcana card art, but he had also received a blacklisting from Disney for doing so:
“So I did check in with my Director and it looks his work is indeed AI. Thankfully, he hasn’t worked with us on many sets after Disney notified us of his issue. Disney also won’t work with him anymore either and I’m sure will possibly get their legal involved.”
Not long after the news began to go viral, Mr. Mulligan made a long Facebook post, denying the allegations made against him.
Hi all… It looks like I became very famous pretty much overnight (yipee!) due to certain unfounded “your art is AI!” accusations that seemingly came out of nowhere from a young person that attended an anime show I was at. That grew legs.
I’ve been trying to lay low, but I figured it’s about time this needed to be addressed, out of respect for all of my clients and friends that have supported me through the decades. Long before AI was ever a word on the scene.
As the artist in question, I will state, definitively, that multiple statements made are patently and provably false. First and foremost, that AI was used to create my multiple Lorcana cards. Not remotely true. Nor have I been blacklisted from working with Disney. The “employee” that stated these things deleted their tweet and took their account private almost immediately after making these false statements. I’ve been awaiting communication from the team at Ravensburger to be given permission to publicly share the layered hand drawn files of my Lorcana cards, as, unfortunately, it would be in violation of certain agreements to do so without explicit written permission. So, my hands are tied. All I can say is that I have worked in some capacity with Disney for decades, and my years of work will stand up to these accusations. (Though, not strangely, an AI detector, which came back showing one of my D23 releases from 2014, was 99.9% AI, a rather humorous but absurd discovery)
I understand completely, the hatred for artists using generative AI, and passing it along as their hand painted created work. AI has its uses, but AI, in my estimation, ultimately will be an incredibly destructive force for society and humanity as a whole. I did NOT use it, nor have I received any communication from my Ravensburger/Lorcana team accusing me of such. This came from one person speaking on behalf of Lorcana, issuing a tweet (again, that was deleted very quickly) with no backup or even naming the art director that they spoke to.
To conclude, I’ve kept on the downlow to protect my family (while attempting to ignore countless threats against myself and my family) but I felt if I didn’t say something, I was going to burst. If anyone would care to reach out to me with questions, I’m happy to answer anything privately, as to do so publicly at the moment, is something I’ve been advised against.
My Instagram is open. My Facebook DMs are open. I welcome professional and thoughtful communication.
Looking forward to the moment these accusations can be easily dispelled.
Thank you, Jimmy
At the time of publication, neither Disney nor Ravensburger have commented on Mr. Mulligan or the controversy surrounding the alleged use of AI in his artwork. Mr. Mulligan still appears to have an Instagram page featuring his artwork, including videos showcasing him drawing some beloved Disney characters.
Disney Lorcana has become so popular that there is even an event currently taking place inside Disney California Adventure. Guests can participate in a Lorcana adventure that will even take them into the Beast’s Library. Guests who complete their Lorcana challenge will even receive an exclusive Belle-Mystic promo card.
Are you a fan of James Mulligan and the artwork he has created for Disney Lorcana? What do you think of the accusations being made against him? How should Disney, and other companies, handle artists who use artificial intelligence to create some of their pieces? Do you agree with Disney and Ravensburger on their zero-tolerance policy when it comes to AI? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!