User customized animated video and method for making the same

A system for generating cartoonized representations of a subject and incorporating the cartoonized representations into an animated video, the system comprising:

• a cartoonizing application configured to receive a photograph or other two-dimensional depiction of the subject as data input, the cartoonizing application further configured to identify at least one feature of the subject from the photograph or other two-dimensional depiction, to quantify one or more parameters associated with the identified feature, and to select one or more objects from a database of cartoonized objects by matching the parameters of the identified features to corresponding parameters of the objects in the database, the cartoonizing application applying algorithms to quantify the one or more parameters and to select the one or more objects from the database automatically without user intervention, the cartoonizing application thereby generating one or more customizable objects representative of the subject;
• a content management application configured to receive the one or more customizable objects from the cartoonizing application and to receive data input defining one or more pre-selected animation settings, the content management application configured to generate data files being an assembly of one or more objects, the assembly of one or more objects including the one or more customizable objects generated by the cartoonizing application or one or more customizable objects selected from the database of cartoonized objects based on the pre-selected animation settings;
• and
• an animation application configured to receive the data files from the content management application and operative to render an animated video using the data files and a selected animated story, wherein the animated video thus rendered includes the assembly of one or more objects integrated seamlessly into the animated story to create a customized animated story incorporating the cartoonized representations of the subject and the pre-selected animated settings,
• wherein the animation application is further operative to provide a base storyline as the selected animated story, the base storyline comprising one or more base animation segments, to receive a selection of a plurality of user-customized animation segments, a first one of the selected user-customized animation segments incorporating a first plurality of customizable objects and a second one of the selected user-customized animation segments incorporating a second plurality of customizable objects, the customizable objects including customizable objects representative of the subject and customizable objects selected from the database of cartoonized objects based on the pre-selected animation settings, wherein the second plurality of customizable objects is not identical to the first plurality of customizable objects, to replace one or more of the base animation segments with user-customized animation segments selected from the plurality of the user-customized animation segment, and to render a customized animated video of the base storyline incorporating the replaced user-customized animation segments.