AutoShort

Pet and animal comedy shorts through MCP

One animal, one deadpan narrator, one small joke per scene. Animals need no faces of real people and they read well at phone size, so this is a good fit for a character you can bring back every episode.

Who it is for

  • People starting a character-led comedy channel with an animal, a toy or an object as the star.
  • Creators who want to keep every person off screen.
  • Writers who think in beats and punchlines more than in visuals.

What AutoShort does for this

  • You write the beats with the assistant. autoshort_draft_video stores the narration word for word with a picture description per scene, for free.
  • You paste the character description into every scene's picture, so the animal is described the same way each time.
  • autoshort_estimate_cost prices the render first; autoshort_render_draft charges once after your yes.
  • For episodes on a schedule, autoshort_create_series is free to create and charges each video when it is made.
  • FUNNY_STORIES is the matching niche for series; the art styles are in autoshort_list_niches.

Not connected yet? Follow the steps for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Gemini CLI on the MCP page.

Worked example

Worked example

Not run: costs credits

A goose whose only job today is to guard one park bench

Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Gemini CLI once AutoShort is connected. It is the library prompt Deadpan animal roll-call with the bracketed parts filled in.

Use the AutoShort tools to make a short animal comedy about an original character: a round white goose with an orange beak whose only job today is to guard one park bench.
Write 5 scenes yourself, about 25 seconds. Scene 1 narration is "This is a goose. Its job today: to guard one park bench." (at most 9 words). Scene 1 visual: the animal already doing the odd thing, one animal in frame.
Scenes 2 to 4: one small misadventure each, one animal per picture, deadpan narration. Last scene: a calm reaction, no moral.
Describe the animal with the same sentence in every scene visual (colour, size, one marking) so the pictures stay close to each other.
Call autoshort_draft_video with scenes[] (free), show me the draft, then autoshort_estimate_cost. Show me the price first and wait for my yes before any paid step.
After my yes: autoshort_render_draft once, then autoshort_get_video until COMPLETED or FAILED.
Tools it triggers
  • autoshort_draft_video
  • autoshort_estimate_cost
  • autoshort_render_draft
  • autoshort_get_video
Estimated cost
40 credits (about $0.63 on the Starter plan, $0.80 at the $0.02-per-credit list rate). Ask for the price first: autoshort_estimate_cost quotes it for free.
What you get
  • A five-scene draft and a rendered short of about 25 seconds with a deadpan narrator.
  • The animal is described by the same sentence in every scene to keep it as consistent as a standard short allows. Small details can still drift.
Test status
Draft + price quote run on 2026-10-29 (QA account, free tools only): 5-scene draft, 30.2 s estimated, no warnings, estimate_cost 40 credits, balance stayed 0. Render not run: costs credits.

What the output looks like

  • Dumpling Does Nothing, episode 3 "Victory Over Physics" (capybara comedy), Instagram Reel

    Instagram, @autoshortorg (AI label on), 2026-10-27. AI-generated.

    How it was made: Our own series, made with the series tools using animated clips, a more expensive route than the standard short in the worked example.

    Result: The reel showed 143 views in the grid at the 2026-10-28 read. Our own views are not excluded.

  • Dumpling Does Nothing, episode 3, YouTube Short

    YouTube Shorts, @dumplingdoesnothing, 2026-10-26. AI-generated.

    How it was made: The same episode as above. Marked altered content: yes, not made for kids.

    Result: It had 4 views on YouTube at the 2026-10-28 read. The channel median that day was 5 views for its first three posts, so this is not a win.

These episodes were made with the series route and animated clips, not with the prompt above, and an episode cost more than a standard short (see Costs). The prompt above has not been run for this page; its status is shown on the card.

What it costs

40 credits (about $0.63 on the Starter plan, $0.80 at the $0.02-per-credit list rate). Ask for the price first: autoshort_estimate_cost quotes it for free.

One standard short is 40 credits. Our Dumpling episode 3 used animated clips and was charged 304 credits (growth-ops/research/animal-comedy-series-2026-10-23/qa-dumpling-ep3.md), so a clip-animated comedy series costs several times a standard short.

See what things cost, pricing and the refund policy. Want to see a script first? The free script preview needs no account.

Limits, stated plainly

  • Animals are easier than people, but a recurring animal still drifts between scenes. Describe it identically every time and keep one animal per scene.
  • Comedy timing comes from the script, not from the renderer. Standard shorts are still pictures with motion, narration and captions; they are not full character animation.
  • Animated-clip episodes (like Dumpling) use a different, much more expensive route than the 40-credit standard short. Price it with autoshort_estimate_cost before you say yes.
  • Image models draw text badly: ask for pictures with no writing.
  • Do not use copyrighted characters or brands; the content checks refuse them. Invent your own animal.

Frequently asked questions

Do real pets work? Can I use photos of my own pet?

Yes, for your own pictures. A scene can carry image_url (a public https link): that scene shows your picture instead of a generated image, with a slow zoom, and the picture is never animated into a clip. Up to six pictures can go in one draft. Only upload pictures you have the right to use.

Why is the character different in scene 4?

Each scene picture is generated from its own description, and generation is not perfectly consistent. Starting every scene with the same character sentence reduces the drift but does not remove it.

How much does one comedy short cost?

A standard short of up to 90 seconds is 40 credits with the default voice. Drafting the script is free, and autoshort_estimate_cost quotes the exact price before anything is charged. The credits are taken when you approve the render, and refunded automatically if the render fails for good.

How many views will a comedy short get?

We cannot promise any number. Our own capybara comedy posted 4 views on YouTube for one episode and 143 on Instagram for the same episode in the same week, with our own views included. Treat results as unknown until you have posted several.

Should I label the video as AI-generated?

Yes. YouTube's altered or synthetic content disclosure is always set by autoshort_publish_video, and autoshort_list_social_accounts reports how each connected platform handles the AI label. We turn on each platform's AI label for our own posts where it has one.

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