South Korean internet entertainment company Kakao unveiled an AI-generated animated short on November 10 featuring Ryan, the beloved mascot from the Kakao Friends character franchise [1]. Built through a joint venture with OpenAI, the five-minute film pairs machine image generation with hands-on revisions from human artists [2]. The work adapts an existing web comic [1].
Kakao Friends Backs Ryan’s Journey
The film adapts Ryan Begins. That webtoon debuted last year as the first narrative-driven comic set in the character’s universe, breaking away from the brief gag panels that previously defined Kakao Friends merchandise [1]. Before that comic arrived, Ryan functioned mainly as a silent sticker icon in mobile chat rooms rather than as the emotional protagonist of a serialized visual story [2]. Kakao chose this comic to give Ryan greater depth on screen, though fans outside South Korea cannot read an English version [1].
Ryan has served as the recognizable face of the Kakao Friends brand for a decade, and Kakao timed the animated release to celebrate his tenth anniversary [3]. Kakao designated 2026 as the Year of Ryan, rolling out special videos, events, and merchandise in Seoul [7].
In this animated story, Ryan sets out on a quiet voyage across the open sea to confront his personal worries and search for his own path [5]. The storyline moves away from the cheerful humor of earlier clips to present a quiet journey about finding one’s purpose [4]. Director Han Ji-won said that the plot started from the simple idea that even a famous mascot carries hidden doubts [3]. Animators faced a tough challenge. They had to convey Ryan’s inner feelings clearly without giving him spoken words or sudden changes in facial expression. The team relied on subtle body posture, gentle head tilts, and shifting ocean light [1].
The 1,500 Prompts per Scene
Animators used ChatGPT to generate base images from layout sketches, but the computer did not work unassisted [1]. For some individual scenes, the production crew tested approximately 1,500 prompts in ChatGPT before finding a digital image that properly matched the desired emotional tone [3]. Human illustrators then repainted the rough digital frames by hand [1].
Creating consistent frames for an animated story required far more control than standard text prompt generation. OpenAI had previously expanded its consumer tools when OpenAI added animated GIF generation to ChatGPT, but producing a coherent narrative film demanded far stricter scene management. The crew drew storyboards by hand in Seoul, entered detailed prompt parameters into ChatGPT for each camera angle, and repeatedly tested new generations to match the mood of the script [4]. When an AI result lacked the proper emotional resonance, the creators tossed it out and rewrote the text description. Artists then used digital pens to clean line work and fix lighting errors [1].
AI supervisor Kim Young-jun said that raw generative speed could not replace human taste. “No matter how excellent the images generated by AI were, if they didn’t align with the emotions the work intended to convey, we had to rework them,” Kim said [3].
Conflicting Title Reports
News reports gave conflicting titles and runtimes [2]. While English coverage from Anime News Network and NQ Brief called the animation Ryan Begins and listed it at seven minutes, Korean publications including Edaily, DigitalToday, and Maeil Business Newspaper identified it as Still, Ryan running for five minutes [3]. Kakao Corp did not clarify the discrepancy. Industry writer Christian Enoc at AnimeNagi suggested that the difference might stem from separate press releases, translation habits, or different edits prepared for international and domestic audiences [2].
The official YouTube video upload from Kakao Friends displays both titles on its thumbnail, writing Still, Ryan in Korean alongside Ryan Begins in English. The dual branding shows that Kakao wanted to reach overseas viewers while honoring its local Korean fanbase [2].
Regardless of whether the film runs five or seven minutes, the premiere represents a notable shift for character animation. Most previous experiments with AI video involved short fan clips or uncredited tech demos. In contrast, Kakao placed its flagship mascot into a joint venture with OpenAI and credited professional animators as leads. Kakao framed the short as an ongoing exploration rather than an isolated test. That framing suggests that major Asian entertainment companies plan to test generative video workflows while keeping experienced artists firmly in charge of final production quality [2].
Creative Direction for Kakao Friends
Kakao recruited experienced anime talent to guide the computer tools. Director Jiwon Han, who directed the Netflix animated movie Lost in Starlight, oversaw visual tone and pacing. Han guided the animators to ensure that Ryan’s gentle personality translated smoothly to the screen [1].
“The story began with the idea that even Ryan—a familiar and lovable character—has his own worries and dreams,” Han said [3]. Viewers were meant to discover their own personal stories in his quiet search [4]. Because the film includes no spoken dialogue or theatrical facial shifts, director Han had to rely on subtle head angles, soft lighting shifts, and ocean backgrounds to communicate Ryan’s changing mood. Animators tested dozens of poses for every scene. They wanted Ryan to feel authentic to longtime Kakao Friends fans [1].
AI supervisor Kim Young-jun said that human hands shaped the final cut [5]. “We repeated the process of selecting and modifying the results until we reached the desired scene, and it was the creators’ judgment and touch embedded in that process that determined the quality of the final work,” Kim said [3].
Advance Seoul Screening
Before releasing the animation to the general public, Kakao hosted a special advance screening on November 8 at Movieland in the Seongsu-dong neighborhood of Seoul [1]. The event included a private showing of the film, a live question-and-answer session with director Han, and an exhibition displaying production materials [5]. Interest from local animation enthusiasts was exceptionally high. Tickets for the director talk vanished within twenty-four hours of bookings opening [3]. The exhibition showed how prompts transformed into finished drawings, giving attendees a detailed look at the hybrid human-AI pipeline [4].
Gallery visitors inspected storyboard drawings displayed directly beside the raw ChatGPT generations and hand-painted adjustments. Animators had corrected proportions, cleaned Ryan’s rounded ears, and painted custom lighting onto the AI output to fix computer rendering flaws [7].
The full short animation debuted online on November 11. Audiences can watch the full film on Ryan’s official Instagram and the Kakao Friends YouTube channel, as well as on OpenAI’s official YouTube and Instagram feeds [6]. Kakao has not announced future animated episodes under this partnership, but the work provides a practical model for commercial studios testing generative software [2]. By pairing experienced film directors with careful manual revisions, the team showed that human artistry remains the defining element of AI-assisted filmmaking [3].
- ONLINE NEWS Anime News Network. (2026, November 14). Kakao, OpenAI Collaborate on AI-Generated Short Animation Based on Ryan Begins Webtoon. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Enoc, C. (2026, November 14). Kakao Makes First AI Short Animation Starring Ryan With OpenAI, Adapting Ryan Begins Webtoon. AnimeNagi. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Lee, S.-H. (2026, November 10). A Lion Drawn by AI… Kakao Unveils First Short Animation Created Using ChatGPT. Edaily. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Lee, H.-J. (2026, November 10). Kakao to Produce Ryan AI Short Animation with OpenAI. DigitalToday. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Kang, Y.-W. (2026, November 10). Kakao’s Ryan ‘Reborn’ as an Animation with OpenAI. Maeil Business Newspaper. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Koreabw AI Desk. (2026, November 11). Kakao and OpenAI Collaborate on Ryan Animation. Koreabw. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Ko, J.-A. (2026, November 10). Kakao and OpenAI Unveil Ryan’s First AI Short Animation. Jaekyung Ilbo. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS NQ Brief. (2026, November 14). Kakao, OpenAI Produce 7-Minute AI Short ‘Ryan Begins’. [Article Link]
