01
DirectionItay Shay
FormatBroadcast TV Commercial
PipelineAI Generation Stack
/05 // About
Behind the frames.
I'm Itay Shay, an AI filmmaker and commercial director, and I've been telling stories through a lens since I was fourteen. Today I run a one-person, fully AI-native studio, directing cinematic commercials for some of the biggest brands in the world.
It started with photography. My photographs went on to win international competitions, and I wrote a cover story about my journey across Africa for a leading nature magazine. At seventeen I turned to video editing, drawn to the fast, instinctive language of social media, and spent nearly five years as a social media manager, graphic designer and video editor - learning, cut by cut, what makes people stop scrolling.
From there I moved into 3D animation, where one of my videos passed 19 million views. When the first AI image models arrived in 2022, I knew something fundamental was changing. I studied each new model as it appeared and built a hybrid workflow around it, until the results met my own standard for client work - and I began creating commercials for businesses.
Four years of steady creating led to the series that changed everything. In December 2025, my nostalgic AI shorts - beloved childhood characters, rediscovered asleep and forgotten in abandoned places - became a global trend: one film reached 112 million views in three days, and the series passed 200 million within three weeks. Creators around the world made their own versions, and one follower even recreated the trend with my face. People wrote that the films took them back to their childhood, and many posted videos of themselves in tears. News channels covered the story, and the love from audiences around the world continues to this day.
The breakthrough opened the door to the work I had been building toward. Since then I've created commercials for some of the biggest brands in the world, for broadcast television and for social media, collaborated with highly regarded studios internationally, and produced films for real estate developments around the world, major jewelry companies and technology brands.
Today I keep pushing the newest generative tools, taking every project from concept and frame design through motion, sound and the final grade myself. My videos have reached more than 450 million views, with close to a million followers across platforms.
"My goal is to show that the advertising world is going to change. It's happening. It's already here." On Channel 13 News
- Age 14PhotographyAward-winning images and a magazine cover story
- From age 17Video & socialFive years of video editing, design and social media management
- 2022First AI modelsA hybrid workflow, then commercials for businesses
- Dec 2025The breakthroughOne film, 112M views in three days
- TodayCommercial directionDirecting commercials for major global brands
In the news.
Read the transcript
AnchorPuss in Boots, Shrek and Donkey, and the beloved Kung Fu Panda characters in a frozen, almost mummified version - all of it made with artificial intelligence. These videos you're seeing on screen, which swept TikTok and Instagram and earned hundreds of millions of views, are the work of Israeli content creator Itay Shay, who joins us now. Hello, Itay.
Itay ShayHello to you, Itay. How are you?
AnchorI'm good. Tell me, what's it like to go this viral? Is it life-changing for you?
Itay ShayI wouldn't call it life-changing. I do think it's a lot of fun to suddenly get so much support, both from around the world and from here at home. But look, I was uploading videos and creating content back when I had 10 likes, 12 likes. The goal was never to go viral. The goal was to show my work. I'm definitely happy it reached such a wide audience, but I don't want to say life-changing. That feels a bit too big.
AnchorWell, I like your modesty. Tell me about the work behind this project. What drives you to create these characters?
Itay ShayWell, look, I'm 24. I think I had an amazing childhood, thanks to so many games and movies like these, that back then were truly life-changing. The games we used to play, the movies we used to watch - there wasn't that much to choose from back then. And every one of them touched us and changed something in all of us. In my work, I'm simply trying to bring that back. To bring back that emotion, that memory, that feeling of living in that world again, for just a second. And at the same time, I'm showing that they've been a little forgotten. That's why they're presented the way they are.
AnchorBy training, you're a video editor and a graphic designer. How much has AI changed your work over the last three years, and how much has it added to your creativity?
Itay ShayLook, it's definitely growing stronger. In the end, AI today cuts down so many processes that used to need a human hand, but those were never the processes anyone wanted to do. Today I can dream much bigger. I can create far better work thanks to AI. There's no doubt it still needs a human hand, and it still needs a human eye, but I think it significantly shortens the workflow, and the budget of every project too.
AnchorOf course. So tell me, what's next? You must be getting plenty of offers and collaboration requests.
Itay ShayWell, naturally, yes, there are lots of inquiries and collaboration requests, and that's always nice. Right now I'm focused on my own work. I don't know what the future holds, but time will tell.
AnchorWell, you're only 24, so there are many more years of work and creating ahead. Itay Shay, keep creating, we're enjoying your content. Thank you so much for this conversation.
Itay ShayThank you so much, Itay.
Read the transcript
AnchorIn recent weeks, our feeds have filled up with AI videos of our favorite characters, from Shrek, Ice Age, Cars and more. They look old, suddenly neglected. The man behind these videos is Itay Shay, a 24-year-old Israeli whose videos have racked up hundreds of millions of views and likes around the world. Good evening, Itay.
Itay ShayGood evening.
AnchorSo, 200 million views, am I right?
Itay ShayI hope so.
AnchorTell me, where do all these ideas come from? Taking characters we're used to seeing in a completely different context, very happy and bouncy, and putting them into something a little sad.
Itay ShayThat's the goal. In the end, the goal is to remind us of these characters we've kind of forgotten, who were the most colorful and the happiest in our minds, from another time in our lives. To remind us of them again, just in a slightly different way.
AnchorAnd why Aladdin, Jasmine and Shrek in particular? Is it something personal?
Itay ShayThey're the characters I remember most from my childhood, in the best way, and they gave me a sense of nostalgia.
AnchorAnd is it all AI?
Itay ShayNo, not everything is AI. I do a lot of manual editing too, in apps and in Adobe software, and in 3D.
AnchorSo after all the AI work, it's back to the edit suite, the good old way.
Itay ShayIt usually takes me, yes, almost a day and a half.
AnchorA day and a half for one video?
Itay ShayThat's not much for this kind of video.
AnchorIt used to take months, right?
Itay ShayYes, absolutely. What AI did is shorten my workflow dramatically, and it gives me a tool to dream bigger.
AnchorIn the past, a video like this took a huge budget, a big crew and a lot of time. Today you shorten this whole process dramatically. So, what are your goals? Where do you take this next?
Itay ShayWow. I think my goal right now is to show that the advertising world is going to change. It's happening. It's already here. And from here on, whoever doesn't get on the train will simply be left behind.
AnchorItay, thank you for joining us. We're waiting for the next videos. I have some character ideas for you.
Itay ShayHappy to hear them. Thanks, good night. Thank you so much.
Read the transcript
AnchorVideos by Israeli creator Itay Shay have gone especially viral in recent days, bringing nostalgic characters from the 2000s back to life, like Shrek, and Sid and Diego from Ice Age, and other beloved characters. More than 100 million views on his videos, which make you feel like you're really inside Shrek's own home.
AnchorItay, good afternoon. How are you?
Itay ShayGreat.
AnchorHow did you start making these videos?
Itay ShaySo look, I'm 24, born in 2001. I think our childhood was amazing. It was full of amazing movies and games that nothing today can replace. And part of the magic was that there wasn't that much to choose from, so I chose to bring that back. I mean, to bring back the feeling we had as kids, when watching any movie for the first time was amazing.
AnchorDid you believe it would go this viral? It passed 150 million views around the world.
Itay ShayI wanted to believe it, yes. I was posting back when I had a thousand views or ten likes, but it's definitely fun, and it's always great to get support and love for what you do.
AnchorWhy these characters in particular? Are these movies and characters you especially love?
Itay ShayYes, I think these are movies and characters my whole generation loves and remembers fondly. In the end, they stir something in us that's impossible to explain.
AnchorAbsolutely. I can say that I really love these movies and characters too, and it really looks and feels like you're actually inside Shrek's home. It looks very, very real. The reactions online are also very positive and supportive.
Itay ShayYes, there are so many comments, and I get so much support and love.
AnchorSo, what's next? Any thoughts on which characters you're going to create next?
Itay ShayI'll keep that to myself for now, and you're welcome to follow along and see.
AnchorWell, we'll let you surprise us. But what do people ask for in the comments? Is there demand?
Itay ShayPeople write me so many things, things I never even thought of, all kinds of memories, games and so on. I definitely listen to a lot of my followers. Even when it was one follower's request, I said, let's do it. So you're welcome to message me too, of course, I'll try to answer everyone. And let's see what the future holds.
AnchorHow many more views do you want to reach?
Itay ShayAs many as possible. But the views aren't the point. I'm happy I manage to pass the feeling I want to convey on to so many people.
AnchorAbsolutely. It feels very, very real, bringing these characters we all love so much back to life, so thank you for that.
Itay ShayThank you very much.
Read the transcript
HostHere's Itay Shay, whose videos bring nostalgic cartoon characters back to life with AI and move people all over the world, racking up millions of views. One video alone got 150 million views.
Itay ShayThat's right.
HostWow. Here's Itay Shay, the AI content creator. How's it going?
Itay ShayGood.
HostEverything rhymes with you. Itay Shay, the AI guy. Nice. That's not ChatGPT, that's all me.
Itay ShayI'll take it.
HostHow are you?
Itay ShayGood, how are you? An AI content creator. Recently my videos got exposure on a global scale. They reached hundreds of millions of views, like you said.
HostHow did you get started in AI as a young guy?
Itay ShayLook, I've always been a content creator. I was a photographer, then a video editor, then a 3D artist. And when I was looking for ways to speed up the 3D work, I decided to turn to AI. In 2022, an AI image model came out that I wanted to try. When I tried it, I realized something big was about to happen.
HostSo you were actually one of the first, back when most of us... Look at you there with Shrek. Oh, Olaf, why? Listen, it's sad. Let me cut into my own question, but what we're seeing here is basically... you're kind of showing where they are today? What's the message in these videos?
Itay ShayFirst of all, the message is to show the childhood we had. The characters we remember and loved so much. When we were kids, there weren't that many movies around. A movie that came out back then made a buzz around the world, and every character like that touched us and shaped our childhood. So first of all, I show where they are today and how they were forgotten.
HostAbu.
Itay ShayYes, Abu.
HostWhat, from Ali Baba?
Itay ShayIt's from Aladdin. Here, in a second you can see me as Jafar.
HostOh, nice. And that's the Genie. Very interesting. Now, it's a bit sad, isn't it? I mean, what's your message? Did we abandon them?
Itay ShayFirst of all, yes, I want to show that they've been forgotten. It's an era that's been forgotten.
HostDo you think they're forgotten? My kids still watch Shrek and Ice Age, they still watch them.
Itay ShayYes, but that feeling...
HostCome on, you didn't bring the old Disney, the old Mickey Mouse.
Itay ShayLook, the feeling I create in these videos is nostalgia and longing. And why does it hit my generation? Because you don't really get to see these movies today. They're not mainstream anymore, they're not in theaters. There's no substitute for seeing them for the first time. So I create a different experience, like watching it for the first time, only a little sadder.
HostBy the way, this scene is partly real, from the movies. Right, where he was looking for his acorn. That's from... Madagascar.
Itay ShayMadagascar, yes.
HostOh, nice. After millions of views, cumulatively probably hundreds of millions, from all over the world, obviously, what reactions do you hear and read?
Itay ShayWow, I get so many positive reactions. People crying, actually sending me videos of themselves crying.
HostReally?
Itay ShayYes, people tell me I took them back to their childhood.
HostWhat's next?
Itay ShayWow, I don't know yet. I'm exploring.
HostYou're exploring.
Itay ShayYes. I don't know yet what's ahead.
HostWhat do you do for a living?
Itay ShayThis, too. I create commercials and videos.
HostOh, nice. Great. Itay Shay, it was a pleasure having you in the studio.
Itay ShayThank you so much.
HostWe're waiting for your next video. Come visit us again. 150 million views for one video. Who knew?
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