Black Friday: 20% off every film. Order by Nov 30, 2026 · every film delivered by Dec 20. Message us to start a film
Forebear

Your ancestors' story, animated. Researched from the records, made in the style you choose.

See the 25 styles ↓ Watch the first film

Forebear

Animated family history films · Utah
Their names. Their choices. Their story. On screen.
Forebear Films

We turn your family history into a short animated film. We research it from the records, write it with your family, and make it in the style you choose, so the people in your tree become people you can watch.

One moment · 25 ways · featured eight

James and Elizabeth, 1849.

01 / 08
Clay stop-motion
Best for full stories with dialogue

The look of handmade miniatures in warm, practical light, made with AI tools. Our signature look, and the style of our first film.

The style library

25 ways to tell it.

The same moment in every style we offer. Tap one to see it full size. Your family chooses one style for the whole film.

The first Forebear film · Feature · 20 min 46 s

Of Their Own Choosing

James Munns, 1820–1906 · Elizabeth Collis Munns, 1825–1918
Orwell, England to Lehi, Utah

A gardener and his wife, a faith that cost them work and their children's schooling, twenty years of saving, and a crossing that brought their family to Utah. Made for the Munns family.

Title image for Of Their Own Choosing: James and Elizabeth at the lamplit table ▶  Watch on YouTube
Scenes from the film
James and Elizabeth at their table by lamplight
1849 · OrwellA room in a brick stable.
James baptized in a brook by his friend
26 May 1850Baptized in the brook by his friend.
A father and daughter at the rail of a ship in a rough sea
October 1877Thirteen days on the Atlantic.
A wagon of trunks outside a brick house in the snow
7 November 1877A friend's house for the winter.
The family bowing their heads around a lamplit dinner table
Salt Lake CityGrace before dinner.
An old man at a garden gate beside an adobe cottage
Lehi, UtahGardens and grandchildren.
How it works

From the records to the screen.

Three approvals before anything moves, so the film is right before it is animated.

  1. 1

    Tell us who

    Names and dates, FamilySearch IDs if you have them, photos, and the stories your family still tells.

  2. 2

    We research and write

    A fact sheet with sources, then a script that keeps to what the records show.

    You approve
  3. 3

    You approve the look

    Each person, and every scene, as still images in your chosen style.

    You approve
  4. 4

    We animate

    Movement, voices, an original score, and your real family photos where they fit.

    You review
  5. 5

    Premiere

    A private link the whole family can open, a 1080p file to keep, and a cover image.

James and Elizabeth Munns

More than 700 descendants.

It began with one decision.

Packages

Three lengths. One standard.

50% to start, 50% on delivery. Prices are starting points; we quote each family after the first conversation.

Black Friday · order by Nov 30 About 5 minutes

Keepsake

Black Friday$599 $750

  • One ancestor or couple
  • 3–4 scenes, mostly narrated
  • 1 round of changes
  • Delivered by Dec 20
About 10 minutes

Chapter

Black Friday$1,599 $2,000

  • 6–8 scenes with dialogue
  • Real family photos woven in
  • 2 rounds of changes
  • Delivered by Dec 20
About 20 minutes

Feature

Black Friday$3,999 $5,000

  • A full life story, like Of Their Own Choosing
  • 12–20 scenes, full cast
  • 3 rounds of changes
  • Delivered by Dec 20

Every film includes records research with sources, a written script, an original score, a private share link, a 1080p download, and a cover image. Add-ons: extra minutes, extra rounds of changes, deeper research, rush delivery, a second language, printed keepsake cards.

Questions

What families ask first.

Is it accurate?

Every film starts from the records. You get a fact sheet with sources, and you approve the script before anything is animated.

Is the dialogue what they really said?

The events come from the records. The words people speak are written by us and approved by you, and the film says on screen where dialogue is dramatized.

Do you use AI?

Yes. We use AI tools for animation, voices and music, directed and checked by people at every step. Nothing is animated until your family approves the storyboard.

What do we need to send?

Names and dates, FamilySearch IDs if you have them, a few photos, and any stories the family tells. We do the record research.

Can a family member's real voice be used?

We use designed voices by default. A living person's real voice can be used only with their written consent.

How do we share it?

You get a private YouTube link anyone with it can open, a 1080p file to keep, and a smaller copy for phones.