Hailuo
Hailuo is an AI video generation model by MiniMax, helping animators and creators turn text or images into high-quality short videos, especially excelling at Pixar-style animation.
Tool overview
Hailuo (often referenced as Seedance 2.0) is considered a top-tier Chinese AI video model as of mid-2026. It functions less like a full production suite and more like a rapid animation clip generator, assisting indie animators and short-form content creators in turning creative ideas into storyboard-like clips, without replacing professional pipelines.
Based on community demos, users provide text prompts or character reference images to generate 5–6 second 480p videos; some creators upscale to higher resolutions using tools like Topaz. Official pricing hasn't been disclosed, but MiniMax has distributed API keys worth thousands of dollars with no rate limits through social media campaigns—this suggests API-based billing but should not be considered stable pricing.
It suits experimental creators and social content makers who need quick anime-style shots. It is not suitable for long-duration consistent characters, complex physics, or photorealistic production, nor is it a video-to-video tool. A better analogy is a 'digital storyboard animation toy' rather than a general-purpose video model.
On social media, highly-polished anime demos earned massive engagement (e.g.