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Animation and cartoon dubbing

Animation dubbing for the cartoons you make. Same characters, new language.

Upload a finished episode of your cartoon or animated series and pick one of 28 languages. DubSync translates the dialogue, gives each speaker a voice created from the original performance, keeps your music and effects, and returns a dubbed MP4. It is for studios, indie animators and kids channels dubbing their own work.

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Pro: 7 days free for eligible new subscribers, with 60 minutes. Card required. Then $29.90/month; cancel before the trial ends to pay nothing. Trial minutes expire after 7 days.

Upload an MP4, MOV or M4V. You see the minutes and the cost before anything starts.

EnglishOriginal

What is said: Hi, I'm Pip the Fox. My stories began in one language. Now, children can hear them in their own.

What is said: Hola, soy Pip el Zorro. Mis historias comenzaron en un idioma. Ahora los niños pueden escucharlas en el suyo.

Demo clip: an AI-generated scene with a fictional character. Dubbed with VDub v2, the model DubSync runs; lip-synced tracks use VSync v2.

Animation dubbing in plain words

What changes in a dubbed cartoon, and what stays.

Animation dubbing replaces the dialogue of a cartoon with the same lines in another language. The picture, the music and the effects stay where they are. A studio does this with a new cast and an adapted script. AI dubbing works from the performances already in your finished episode.

  • A voice for each speaker

    Speakers are told apart automatically, and each one gets a voice in the new language created from the original performance. A hero and a sidekick who sound different should still sound like two characters. Expect similar, not identical.

  • Score and effects stay

    Background audio such as the score, effects and ambience is kept under the new lines. You upload the final mix, not separate stems.

  • Only the audio changes

    Cuts, timing and animation stay as you made them. Signs, title cards and credits on screen are not translated.

  • Songs are out of scope

    Speech dubbing isn't made for singing. Treat theme tunes and sung numbers as a separate job. The steps below say how.

Lip-sync

Stylized characters rarely need lip-sync.

A drawn mouth forgives a new language

A cartoon mouth usually moves through a handful of open and closed shapes. When the line changes language, those shapes still read as talking. Play this 2D clip in its original Spanish, then switch to a dubbed track. The dubbed tracks are plain dubs, with no lip-sync.

  • For 2D, cut-out and most stylized 3D characters, a plain dub is the normal choice.
  • Lip-sync is an optional paid add-on for a finished dub of up to 5 minutes per run, so a longer episode is too long for it. It is priced per minute, the whole video is charged, and you see the quote before it starts.
  • It works best with a clearly visible, naturally speaking face, so we don't recommend paying for it on stylized characters. For realistic 3D with long close-ups, try one short scene first.

How the lip-sync add-on works

SpanishOriginal

What is said: Hola, soy Lía. Mis aventuras nacieron en español y ahora también se escuchan en inglés.

What is said: Hello, I'm Lía. My adventures were born in Spanish and now they are also heard in English.

What is said: Olá, sou a Lia. Minhas aventuras nasceram em espanhol e agora também são ouvidas em inglês.

Demo clip: an AI-generated scene with a fictional character. Dubbed with VDub v2, the model DubSync runs; lip-synced tracks use VSync v2.

Fit check

Where AI cartoon dubbing works well, and where to take care.

Works well

  • Dialogue recorded cleanly, with the music sitting under the voices.
  • A narrator, or a small cast whose characters take turns.
  • Story episodes, animated explainers, shorts and trailers.

Take care

  • Songs, nursery rhymes and rap: sung lyrics need a lyricist and a singer in the new language.
  • Characters shouting over each other and crowd scenes: voices can get mixed up.
  • One actor voicing several characters: speakers are detected automatically, so check that each character kept a voice of its own.
  • Voices built on heavy effects, such as a robot filter, and sounds that aren't words, such as laughs and growls: the new voice may not carry them.
  • Puns, rhymes and catchphrases: the translation is automatic, so ask a native speaker how they landed.

How to dub a cartoon

From a finished episode to a dubbed one in five steps.

  1. Take the songs out

    In your editor, cut the sung sections and keep them for later. Minutes are counted for the whole file, so the cut saves minutes too.

  2. Export the episode

    One video file (MP4, MOV or M4V) with the final mix, up to 150 minutes and 1 GB. Split a longer film into parts.

  3. Upload and choose a language

    The spoken language is detected for you. Pick one of 28 target languages. A second language is a second project and uses the episode's minutes again.

  4. Check the minutes and confirm

    You see the input minutes and the cost first. Nothing starts until you confirm that the animation is yours to dub and that everyone whose voice is in it agreed.

  5. Watch it before it goes out

    Listen for character names, catchphrases and jokes, ideally with a native speaker. There is no script editing, so judge the finished episode as it is. Then put the songs back, or commission sung versions, and publish it yourself.

Kids' animation on YouTube

Made for kids: what the setting means for a dubbed episode.

A cartoon is not automatically children's content. YouTube and the US Federal Trade Commission both say animation can appeal to everyone. Both look at the subject matter, the use of animated characters and who the audience is, among other factors.23

A dub doesn't change who the episode is for

The sample scene here is for small children, whichever track you play. If your original is set as made for kids, set each dubbed upload the same way. On a made-for-kids video YouTube switches off a list of features.4 The ones a channel feels most:

  • Personalized ads. YouTube says this may lower revenue for some creators.4
  • Comments, the notification bell and saving to a playlist.4
  • Channel memberships, Super Chat, merchandise, cards and end screens.4
PortugueseOriginal

What is said: Oi amiguinhos, eu sou a Nina. Hoje a nossa história também vai ser contada em inglês.

What is said: Hi, friends. I am Nina. Today our story will also be told in English.

What is said: Hola amiguitos, yo soy Nina. Hoy nuestra historia también será contada en inglés.

Demo clip: an AI-generated scene with a fictional character. Dubbed with VDub v2, the model DubSync runs; lip-synced tracks use VSync v2.

After the download

Where a dubbed episode can go.

DubSync returns an MP4 and stops there. Publishing is yours, and there are three common routes.

  • A language track on the same video

    • One video, one view count
    • Needs advanced features

    YouTube's multi-language audio adds dubbed tracks to a video you already published. It needs access to advanced features and an audio-only file about as long as the video, which you can export from the dubbed MP4 in a video editor.6

    Multi-language audio guide

  • A channel for each language

    • Own audience
    • More work per upload

    Each language gets its own channel, titles and thumbnails. Some large series are published this way: in 2021 Masha and the Bear was reported as translated into 42 languages, and five of its language channels had earned YouTube's Diamond Play Button.7 That is a large studio's series with no link to DubSync. It shows the route, not a result to expect.

    Multi-language YouTube channel

  • Other platforms

    • Any site that takes video

    The dubbed file is a normal MP4 with no visible watermark, so it can go to TikTok, Reels, Facebook or your own site. Translate the title, the description and any text in the thumbnail yourself.

If a track on YouTube is all you need, check YouTube's automatic dubbing first: it is switched on by default for eligible creators.1

Before you upload

Dub only animation that is yours to dub.

  • Own the animation, or hold a license that covers translation and dubbing. A cartoon you made qualifies. A show you watched does not. If your episode uses licensed music, check that the license covers a new language version.
  • Have every voice actor's agreement. Each new voice is created from a performance, so check your contracts and ask the actors where a contract is silent. For a child actor, ask the parent or guardian.
  • Leave other people's cartoons alone. A translation is a derivative work, and the copyright owner controls those.8

Fan dubs do get removed. A 2023 Rest of World report describes a fan dub channel with 100,000 subscribers that was shut down through a copyright removal request before the original creator's own Spanish-language channel launched.9 For anime in particular, read what AI anime dubbing can be used for.

YouTube requires a disclosure when realistic content was made or meaningfully altered with AI. Its examples of what needs no disclosure include an AI-generated animation inside a fully animated video and cloning your own voice for a dub.10 A character voice created from a hired actor's performance is not your own voice, so read the rule with your cast in mind. Other platforms have their own rules.

Questions

Questions before you start

Can AI dub a cartoon with several characters?

Yes. Each speaker that is detected gets a voice of its own in the new language: similar to the original, not identical. You can't pick or assign voices by hand. Characters who talk over each other, and one actor playing several characters, are where voices get mixed up.

Which languages can I dub a cartoon into?

Any of the 28 target languages, among them Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Japanese, French, German and Arabic. English is on the list too, so a cartoon made in another language can go into English. You choose one language per project. See all languages.

Does an AI dub replace a studio dub?

Not for everything. A studio dub is a new performance: actors are cast and directed, and a writer adapts the script. An AI dub translates the performances you already have, and there is no script editing. It fits shorts, trailers, a back catalog or a first test of a new language. Songs and wordplay still need people.

Do I need lip-sync for animation?

Usually not. A stylized mouth reads as talking in any language, so most 2D and stylized 3D work is fine with a plain dub. Lip-sync is an optional paid add-on of up to 5 minutes per run. It works best with a clearly visible, naturally speaking face, so it is rarely worth paying for on a drawn character.

Can it dub the songs in my episode?

No. Speech dubbing isn't made for singing, and a sung translation needs a lyricist and a singer. Cut the songs out before you upload and put them back in your editor.

Can I dub a cartoon or anime I didn't make?

Only with a license that covers translation and dubbing. YouTube's copyright guide lists translations among derivative works and says the copyright owner has the legal right to control those.8 A license settles copyright, not monetization: YouTube applies its reused-content policy even when you have the original creator's permission.11 Fan dubs of shows you don't own are not allowed on DubSync.

Is a dubbed episode still made for kids?

Treat it the way you treat the original. A new language doesn't change the subject, the characters or the audience the episode was made for, and those are among the things YouTube tells you to weigh. YouTube says setting the audience accurately is your legal responsibility.2

How is a whole series priced?

By the input minute: the length of each episode, for each target language. Every episode and every language is its own project, there is no batch upload, and you see the minutes and the cost before each dub starts.

Plans from $4.90/month. You see the minutes and the cost before anything starts. See pricing

Sources

  1. YouTube Help. Use automatic dubbing (help article 15569972). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  2. YouTube Help. Determining if your content is "made for kids" (help article 9528076). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  3. US Federal Trade Commission. YouTube channel owners: Is your content directed to children?. Published Nov 22, 2019; accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  4. YouTube Help. Set your channel or video's audience (help article 9527654). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  5. YouTube Help. Best practices for kids & family content (help article 10774223). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  6. YouTube Help. Add Multi-language features to your videos (help article 13338784). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  7. AnimationXpress. Kid-favourite 'Masha and the Bear' crosses 100 billion views on YouTube. Published Sep 14, 2021; accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  8. Rest of World. YouTube has created a multimillion-dollar dubbing economy. Published Mar 6, 2023; accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  9. YouTube Help. Disclosing use of GenAI content. Accessed Oct 5, 2026.
  10. YouTube Help. YouTube channel monetization policies (help article 1311392). Accessed Oct 5, 2026.

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