Video to cartoon: turn any video into an animated cartoon

Two ways to turn a video into a cartoon

Tools that promise "video to cartoon" do one of two quite different things, and it helps to know which one you want before you start.

A filter is fine for a quick effect, but it rarely reads as a real cartoon: the camera still wobbles like a phone, and faces flicker between frames. Re-animating gives you the thing people actually picture when they say "make this a cartoon" — and it is what our cartoon video creator does.

How to turn your video into a cartoon, step by step

1. Pick the moment. Play your video and pause on the frame where the action begins — faces visible, subject large in the frame, nothing blurred.
2. Save that frame. A screenshot is enough. On a phone, pause and take a screenshot; on a computer, most players can save the current frame. Crop it to the shape you want the cartoon to be — vertical for TikTok and Reels, wide for YouTube.
3. Open the studio and choose Image. Upload the frame. It becomes the opening shot, so the people, the room and the colours carry into the cartoon.
4. Describe the style and what happens. The picture already shows what things look like, so the text should say how it should be drawn and what happens next — the action from your video.
5. Choose a length and generate. A few seconds for a reaction, thirty for a scene, or several minutes for a whole story. Leave sound on and the cartoon arrives with voices, effects and music.

Prompts that work

Lead with the style, then the action, then the sound. Some examples you can adapt:

Bright 2D cartoon, bold outlines, flat colours. The golden retriever leaps for the ball, misses completely, and slides across the kitchen floor into a pile of laundry. Its ears flop over its eyes. Playful cartoon sound effects.

Soft 3D animated film style, warm lighting. The little girl blows out the candles on her birthday cake and the whole family cheers; confetti falls in slow motion. Happy party music.

Hand-drawn watercolour storybook style. The man walks his bicycle up the hill at sunrise, stops at the top and looks out over the town. Gentle narration: "Every morning, Sam climbed the same hill."

For more wording ideas, see our cartoon video prompts and the guide to cartoon art styles.

Keeping people and pets recognisable

• Use a clear frame. The cartoon starts from your picture, so a sharp, well-lit frame with faces towards the camera keeps likeness best.
• Mention the details that matter. "Curly red hair and round glasses", "a black dog with one white ear". Details you name are details that stay.
• Fix the ending too. With first and last frame, you give two frames from your video — where it starts and where it ends — and the cartoon animates the journey between them. This is the most faithful way to follow what really happened.
• Only use footage of people who are happy to be cartooned. Especially children.

Turning a longer video into a cartoon story

A thirty-second clip becomes a thirty-second cartoon. For something longer — a holiday, a wedding, a day at the zoo — pick a longer length in the studio (1, 2, 3 or 5 minutes, or up to 20 minutes on the Pro plan) and describe the whole sequence of events. The story is planned from beginning to end, the characters stay the same throughout, and we email you as soon as it is ready.

What people make with it

• Family moments as gifts: a first birthday or a grandparent's visit, retold as a cartoon short.
• Pet videos: the funniest thing your dog ever did, with cartoon physics and sound effects.
• Vlogs and channel intros: a recurring cartoon version of yourself for YouTube.
• Product demos: a real product shot, animated into a short explainer or ad.

If you only have photos rather than video, the same method works from a still — see photo to cartoon video, or our guide on how to animate a picture.