You upload a photo and watch Meta AI morph it into a living, moving scene in seconds. The animation lasts only four seconds. I didn’t think I’d care, but something about these micro-animations just won’t let go.

What These Animations Are—and How to Use Them

Meta AI leverages its Emu engine to turn any picture into a four-second clip. Rather than introducing dramatic gestures, it focuses on subtle movements. The result resembles a fleeting moment more than a traditional video—almost as if the subject briefly comes alive, only to freeze again.

Using the tool is remarkably simple. Upload an image, click “Animate,” and within seconds, your snapshot begins to move. The AI analyzes the photo, identifies the subject and background, and applies lifelike motion. There’s no need for manual adjustments, just sit back and watch as your rendering springs to life.

Where Stillness Begins to Move

My first experiment was an AI-generated image of two children walking on a beach. Nothing too fancy, just a sunny day and an open shoreline. The children walk hand-in-hand, their arms swinging in sync. The animation captures a rhythm that feels simple, joyful, and profoundly human.

Next came a mythical galaxy floating in the darkness of space. Initially, it appears as a stale swirl of color and stars. As the animation plays, the camera subtly zooms in, creating a layered 3D effect. The result is both serene and vast, almost meditative.

The next scene features a grandfather clock in a warmly lit room. The clock’s pendulum remains still, yet the slow pan of the camera across the scene evokes a calm presence. The lighting, combined with the deliberate motion, creates a moment of quiet reflection. It feels like entering a room to listen to time pass.

Three distinct images. Three styles of motion. Yet each one draws you in, offering a brief moment into an animated reality more immersive than a simple still image.

The Age-Old Question: 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla

After animating galaxies and antique clocks, I decided to address one of the internet’s hottest topics: Could 100 men defeat a single gorilla?

Using Meta AI, I generated the scene. A dense jungle, a chaotic crowd of spear-wielding men, and a giant, imposing gorilla at the center. Even as a still image, it was cinematic. Animated, it became something else entirely. Although they didn’t move independently, the AI rendered a 3D space convincingly.

The gorilla didn’t charge, but it looked poised for confrontation. The men remained motionless, tense, spears raised. The animation had the dramatic weight of a movie trailer. Does it resolve the debate? No, not at all. The clip only lasts four seconds. In terms of intimidation, however, I’m placing my bets on the gorilla.

Giving Personality to Portraits

Curious to see how the tool would handle fictional characters, I tested several AI-generated portraits.

First, a noir-style detective with a fedora, cigarette in hand, and city lights behind him. His movement was minimal, just a slight turn of the head, as though he’d just realized something important. The curling smoke added a cinematic touch. It seemed as though he had just cracked a case, or at least made an important discovery.

Next: a cyberpunk woman in a rusted desert, decorated with neon tattoos and glowing eyes. Though her expression didn’t change, the slow camera pan gave the scene a majestic feel. Remarkably, this four-second clip conveyed more personality than many full-length videos.

Then came a wrinkled wizard in the snow, staff in hand. He blinked gently, glanced aside, and shifted his weight a bit. The falling flakes looked real, except for a brief moment when the snowfall suddenly doubled before resetting.

These weren’t just quirky animations, they were glimpses of stories. Meta’s AI was able to turn simple portraits into movie-like moments.

A New Way to See My Dogs

Of course, I had to try it with photos of my dogs.

One image showed my dog lounging upside down on the couch, staring intently at me. Animated, she turned her head slightly as the camera shifted. It was a simple gesture, but it made it feel like she was responding to me in real time. Her deep gaze may look a bit unsettling, but surprisingly, that’s her normal expression.

In another photo, my other dog sat alert, yet drowsy. His ears remained perked throughout the animation, but a slow half-blink revealed just how tired he was.

Even with real pictures, AI tools can transform your photos into artistic creations, and animating them adds a playful touch. Meta AI transformed these simple moments into soft expressions of personality and effectively captured the essence of each image.

The Unexpected Emotional Impact

Among all the experiments, one animation stood out for its emotional weight.

It was a scan of my great-grandfather in his WWII Navy uniform. I hadn’t seen the photo in years. When animated, he appeared to walk slowly toward the camera. Though walking at ease in uniform is technically inaccurate, the animation felt hauntingly real. For those few seconds, he was present again.

It didn’t feel eerie or artificial, it felt as if I was viewing an actual video taken in the 1940s. A quiet, emotional moment that momentarily erased the technology behind it. However, while the animation felt sentimentally impactful, it’s important to remember that oftentimes, AI-generated art lacks the genuine emotional depth that human-created art provides. It’s a tool for entertainment, not a replacement for human creativity.

When Things Go Hilariously Wrong

Not every animation hits the mark. Some misfires are so chaotic, they’re impossible to forget—for better or for worse.

One involved two cars racing along a mountain road. The still image looked thrilling, but once animated, the background warped uncontrollably. The cars seemed to slide sideways a bit in a way that didn’t feel natural or realistic.

In another, a man painting a wall appeared to lose control of his arm entirely. The paint roller materialized out of thin air, bent like rubber, and made the whole scene hilarious.

And then—my personal favorite—a flock of birds mid-flight. The still image was peaceful. The animation, however, had no idea how birds behave. They flew in backwards at light speed, clumped together into a glitchy mass, and vanished in the opposite direction. A beautiful disaster.

The tool is powerful, but when it goes off the rails, it really goes off the rails. Sometimes, the best thing to do is laugh and enjoy the chaos.

Where Expression Meets Function

Beyond personal amusement, Meta’s animations have potential for practical use. You could use it to create looping GIFs or stickers for messaging apps. Or use them to add subtle life to your avatars, enhance presentations, or bring product images to life with simple movement.

Ultimately, the tool is compelling not because of its utility, but because of how it feels when it works. When an image returns your gaze, even briefly, it alters your perception of it. If you’re looking to expand your creative horizons, experiment with unorthodox AI approaches to enhance your creativity.