Make a monster movie

What your kid actually makes

A 45-second animated monster movie in three scenes. The monster is the one your kid drew on paper, and it's the star of every scene. The film ends with a poster your kid names, their first name in the credits, and a premiere.

Made in the Animation Studio. See how the Animation Studio works.

How a sitting goes

One sitting, about an hour.

1. Draw the monster on paper, snap it in the app, and give it a name.
2. Tell Tek the story, by typing or by talking. Tek sets up a storyboard, and your kid fixes any panel that's wrong or swaps in their own drawing.
3. Choose the sound. Your kid picks who talks in each scene and gives them one line, typed or said out loud, or lets the film play with music only.
4. Shoot the three scenes. Keep the ones that work and shoot the others again.
5. Name the film, make the poster, and press play for the premiere.

What AI does — and what your kid does

Your kid draws the monster, tells the story, fixes the storyboard, gives each scene its one line, and names the film. Tek, the studio's assistant producer, sets up the storyboard from your kid's story and brings the drawing to life in the season's cartoon look. The AI shoots each scene and adds the title, music, and credits. It never picks the story: every scene starts from something your kid drew or said.

What they're really learning

A monster movie has a rule: show the monster's shadow first, then one part of it, then the whole monster in the last scene. Tek plans the storyboard by that rule, and your kid decides what each reveal looks like. They learn that suspense comes from what you hold back. That's how a director thinks about a reveal.

Good to know

• About an hour, in one sitting. You need paper, something to draw with, and a device with a camera. It runs in the browser.
• Ages 6 to 13. Your kid can talk to Tek instead of typing.
• The Monster Movie is the season's first film. A short comes before the 2-minute movies, the Ghost Story and the Halloween Mystery.
• When the film premieres, you get an email. Other Kubrio kids can watch it, and your kid sees who watched.
• Nothing goes on the open web unless you approve a public link. Only your kid's first name appears in the credits.
• When your kid talks to Tek, the app writes down what they say and doesn't keep the recording.