Once Upon Us
Your relationship timeline, as a film
Your relationship, year by year. Once Upon Us reads the dates on your photos, lays them out as a timeline and redraws it as a short animated film. You pay once by length: $24.99 for 1 minute, $49.99 for 3 or $69.99 for 5, and you see your first scene free before you pay. Your scenes are usually drawn within 30 minutes of ordering.
Example frames in three of the six styles. Your film is drawn from your own photos.
Dated automatically
The date each photo was taken sets its place on the timeline. Old prints without a date can be photographed and placed where they belong.
Every milestone, in order
The first trip, the first flat, the proposal: each photo takes its place on the timeline, and you can describe up to two moments you never photographed.
From the first photo to today
The film opens with your names and the date you got together, and closes on today.
How it works
Add your photos
Add 3 to 60 photos of the two of you, from the first date to today. Once Upon Us reads the date each photo was taken and puts your memories in order.
Pick a style and your characters
3D animated, hand-drawn, anime, cartoon, claymation or comic book. We draw the two of you in that style three ways; you pick the pair that looks most like you, and we draw your first scene with them free, before you pay. They star in every scene of your film.
Make it yours
Your names open the film in the look you pick. Add words on screen, choose one of four songs and write your closing line. Then look over your storyboard, pick your film's length and pay once.
Pay once, by length
One-time payment, no subscription. Every scene can be redrawn 3 times.
Made with you, scene by scene. Add your photos, pick your characters and see your first scene free before you pay, then check each scene before it comes to life.
Start our filmQuestions
What is a relationship timeline?
Your story laid out in order: when you met, the trips, the moves, the milestones. As a film, each photo becomes an animated scene.
How do I put old printed photos in?
Photograph them in daylight, straight on, then add them like any other photo.
Can I get it today?
Yes. Drawing starts the moment you pay. Your scenes are usually drawn within 30 minutes, and once you've looked them over, bringing them to life takes about 10 more minutes. Nothing ships, so it works as a last-minute gift.
How is this different from a slideshow in Canva or CapCut?
Editors like Canva and CapCut give you the tools and you build the video yourself. Once Upon Us makes the finished film for you: every photo redrawn in one style, in order, with your names, words and music. If you want your photos to stay photos or you enjoy editing every cut, an editor is the better choice.
How does Once Upon Us work?
Add 3 to 60 photos of the two of you and pick a style. We draw the two of you as characters in that style, redraw each photo with them and bring it to life as a 5-second moving scene, put in order by date, with an opening that carries your names, words on screen where you want them, the music you pick and your closing line.
What styles can I pick?
3D animated, hand-drawn, anime, cartoon, claymation and comic book. The whole film is drawn in the style you pick.
Will it look like us?
After you pick a style, we draw the two of you as characters three ways and you choose the one that looks most like you. That pair stars in every scene, so you look the same from start to finish. You check every scene before it comes to life, and if one misses, you redraw it for free.
More ideas
Gift guides
Styles
Updated November 6, 2026