How to turn yourself into Lego, Pixar, The Simpsons and more with ChatGPT AI

We’re only a few months into the year, and already we’ve got a front-runner for 2025’s biggest internet trend.

It all started with the Studio Ghibli wave. A few weeks back, social media feeds were suddenly clogged with anime-style self-portraits and group shots of your friends, family and celebs. That morphed into the Barbiecore craze, turning people into boxed dolls, complete with custom accessories and flawless, dewy skin that even a ten-step skincare regimen couldn’t provide.

Then, things took a turn for the bizarre: pet owners put on their mad scientist hats and started transforming their cats and dogs into humans. Proof, if ever you needed it, that the internet is one giant petri dish for unhinged creativity.

The secret sauce behind all these viral hits? ChatGPT’s new built-in image generator is a chameleon-like tool that transforms your photos and text prompts into any art style you can imagine.

The premise isn’t exactly new — the internet’s been obsessed with slapping cartoon filters on photos since Snapchat and Instagram’s glory days, not to mention the short-lived art-selfie boom sparked by Lensa (remember that?).

When it comes to the latest craze, AI upstarts like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion got there first, but ChatGPT has put AI images in the hands of millions — for free — and social media is doing the rest, supercharging the spread of the most eye-catching visuals.

Designers as 3D characters. 🤣

Prompt & reference photos included below so you can do it yourself in ChatGPT 4o.

So fun hahaha. pic.twitter.com/r58iGoWNye

— Brett @ Designjoy (@BrettFromDJ) April 11, 2025

While Ghibli and Barbie might have grabbed the headlines, there are plenty more viral looks waiting to be tried, from Pixar to Lego to The Simpsons. Fancy seeing yourself in animated form? Here’s how to craft an image that’s bound to blow up your feed.

What to do first

If you haven’t already, you’ll need to create a free OpenAI account to use ChatGPT.

Once you’re logged in, head to the chat window and look for the image generation tool at the bottom of the page. If you don’t see it, click the three dots icon to reveal more options.

Free users only get a limited number of image generations, so if you want more, you’ll need to fork out for a Plus or Pro membership.

How to turn yourself into Lego, Pixar, The Simpsons, and more

The key to nailing the perfect AI makeover is mastering the prompt — that’s the written description you give ChatGPT to tell it what kind of image you want. The clearer and more detailed your prompt, the better the result.

Hey ChatGPT, please turn us into Lego characters... 👀 pic.twitter.com/MeZscQu9Pw

— John Nack (@jnack) March 26, 2025

Once you’ve got your first image, you can fine-tune it by uploading more photos or tweaking your description to get the style, pose, or vibe just right. Think of it as trial and error, only faster (and a lot more fun).

Here are a few examples to help you get started:

Lego style

1. "Turn this cityscape into a bustling LEGO city with brick buildings, colourful vehicles, and minifigures going about their day."
2. "Create a LEGO-style medieval castle scene with knights, a dragon, and a brick-built forest in the background."
3. "Transform this family photo into LEGO minifigures with matching outfits and a playful blocky background."

Muppet style

1. "Make this person look like a cheerful Muppet character with felt-like textures, exaggerated eyes, and a wide, expressive mouth."
2. "Turn this group photo into a Sesame Street-style scene with each person as a unique Muppet character."
3. "Transform this dog into a Muppet-style puppet with floppy ears, big googly eyes, and a playful expression."

This is WILD!
ChatGPT-4o reimagined the same image in 4 insane styles Ghibli, Simpsons & more! Which one would you try?#GhibliStyle #AIArt #ChatGPT4o #OpenAI pic.twitter.com/I2jsQ5Irts

— Artificial Intelligence (@cloudbooklet) March 31, 2025

The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, and South Park styles

1. The Simpsons: "Reimagine this family photo as characters in Springfield with yellow skin tones, rounded features, and iconic Simpsons-style settings like the Kwik-E-Mart."
2. Rick and Morty: "Transform this person into a Rick and Morty universe character with exaggerated proportions, sci-fi gadgets, and surreal backgrounds."
3. South Park: "Turn this group into South Park characters with simple 2D shapes, bold outlines, and snowy mountain settings in the background."

Pixar style

1. "Create a whimsical Pixar-style character with large expressive eyes, soft lighting, and vibrant colours in an imaginative setting like a magical forest or futuristic city."
2. "Transform this pet into a Pixar animal sidekick with lifelike fur textures, glossy eyes full of emotion, and playful poses."
3. "Design a Pixar-inspired family portrait with exaggerated features, warm lighting, and a cosy background full of storytelling elements.”

Barbie doll style

1. "Create a realistic action figure (Barbie doll) of the person in this photo. The doll should be displayed in its original clear plastic box packaging. At the top of the box is the name of the toy “[enter name]". In the packaging, next to the figure are the toy's accessories including “[enter details]”.

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