Net Worth →
Video Games

3D Movie Maker: Game Guide, Developer and Facts

3D Movie Maker — video game guide with key facts, developer and background.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team3 min read✓ Fact-checked
3D Movie Maker
Microsoft Corporation via Wikimedia Commons · MIT

3D Movie Maker (commonly shortened to 3DMM) is a discontinued children's computer program developed by Microsoft Home's Microsoft Kids subsidiary released in 1995. Using the program, users can make films by placing 3D characters and props into pre-rendered environments, as well as adding actions, sound effects, music, text, speech and special effects. Movies are then saved in the .3mm file format. The program features two helper characters to guide users through the various features of the program: The character McZee (voiced by Michael Shapiro), shared from other Microsoft Kids products like Creative Writer, provides help throughout the studio while his assistant Melanie provides other various tutorials. In Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker, the user is instead guided by Stick Stickly. Developed in accordance with Microsoft's broader ambitions towards multimedia software in conjunction with the release of its then-new Windows 95 home computer operating system, 3D Movie Maker is built on BRender, a software rasterized 3D graphics engine created by Argonaut Software. The models and backgrounds were made by Illumin8 Digital Pictures (a now-defunct graphics studio) using Softimage modeling software, while the cinematic introduction and help sequences were made by Productions Jarnigoine, a now-inactive production company founded by Jean-Jacques Tremblay. In 1998, a user named Space Goat created the website 3dmm.com that allows users to upload movies and mods for 3DMM. 3dmm.com is still used as of 2025 by many 3DMM enthusiasts. Following the open-sourcing of the licensed BRender engine prior in similar fashion, Microsoft released the source code of the program under the MIT License in May 2022, following a request by Foone Turing on Twitter a month earlier.

Quick facts about 3D Movie Maker

  • Title: 3D Movie Maker
  • Developer: Microsoft Home
  • Type: Video game
  • Wikidata ID: Q1604644

Compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

What is 3D Movie Maker?

3D Movie Maker (commonly shortened to 3DMM) is a discontinued children's computer program developed by Microsoft Home's Microsoft Kids subsidiary released in 1995.

Who made 3D Movie Maker?

3D Movie Maker is by Microsoft Home.

Where can I learn more about 3D Movie Maker?

See the Wikipedia and Wikidata sources below.

Sources

More in Gaming & Internet