Guide · Updated October 15, 2026

How to run 3D Movie Maker on Windows 11, Mac and Chromebook

The 1995 CD was made for Windows 95 and 256-colour screens. On a Windows 11 PC it's a fight, and on a Mac or a Chromebook it won't install at all. Here are the three ways to use it today, starting with the easiest.

Short answer: open lowpolypictures.com/studio in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari and press Start. It's the original 1995 program with its actors, sets, sounds and music, running in your browser. It works the same on Windows 10 and 11, macOS, ChromeOS and Linux, with nothing to install and no compatibility settings. It's free and needs no account.

Option 1: in your browser (easiest)

Low Poly Pictures runs the original program, compiled for the web from the code Microsoft released as open source in 2022. It's built on the community 3DMMEx project, so movies look and play the way they did in 1995.

What you need: a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) and a mouse or trackpad. The first visit downloads about 30 MB; later visits start quickly.
No install, no admin rights: it's a web page, so it also works on computers where you can't install software. (Some school and work networks block new sites; ask whoever runs the network to allow lowpolypictures.com.)
Your old movies: .3mm files from the 90s open and play. See moving your old movies below.
Extras the CD never had: export your movie as a video or an animated GIF, sharper 3D on modern screens, and a picture that scales to any window size. You can switch the HD look off in Settings for the exact 1995 picture.
Where movies are saved: in your browser, on your computer. Use Download movie to keep a .3mm copy.

Open the studio

Option 2: a desktop app (3DMMEx)

If you'd rather have a program on your computer, 3DMMEx is a free, open-source version by Ben Stone and contributors that runs natively on modern systems and keeps movies compatible with the original. As of version 0.7.0 (August 2026):

Windows: ready-made builds for 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM PCs (about 170 MB each). They include the program's actors, sets and sounds, so no CD is needed.
Mac: a build for Apple Silicon Macs. It isn't code-signed yet, so macOS asks you to allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security the first time, and the intro videos don't play yet.
Linux: build it from the source code.

Download it only from the project's GitHub releases page. 3DMMEx, Low Poly Pictures and the 1995 program all use the same .3mm movie files.

Option 3: your original CD

It can still be done on Windows, but expect some tinkering. The most common problems:

The installer or the CD check fails on 64-bit Windows or on PCs without a CD drive.
"Oops, we can't get information from a file" on startup. On many PCs this comes from an audio codec that other software installed, not from the program itself.
Colour and display glitches: the program expects a 256-colour, 640 × 480 screen, so people resort to compatibility modes.
"Internal error 11000" when the intro videos can't be found. It's harmless; click OK.

If you just want to make or watch a movie, options 1 and 2 avoid all of this. Keep the CD as a keepsake.

By device

Device	Easiest	Also possible
Windows 11 or 10 PC	Browser	3DMMEx (Windows builds); the old CD with workarounds
Mac (Apple Silicon)	Browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)	3DMMEx (Mac build)
Mac (Intel)	Browser	Build 3DMMEx yourself (not yet tested on Intel Macs)
Chromebook	Browser (Chrome)	Nothing else needed
Linux	Browser	Build 3DMMEx from source
iPad, Android tablet, phone	Browser (opens, but made for a mouse)	Use a computer if you can

Moving your old movies

Find your movies on the old computer or backup. They end in .3mm; the 1995 program kept them in a folder called Microsoft Kids, inside Users, in a folder with your name.
Copy them to your new computer (a USB stick or cloud drive is fine).
Open the studio, open the Portfolio and choose Open, then Open from your computer… and pick the file.
Watch it, change it, and save it again. Use Download movie for a copy you can keep, or Export to turn it into a video you can send to the friends who were in it.

Movies that used add-on packs need those packs' actors and sets, which aren't part of the original program, so they may not open completely.

More help

Make your first movie · Questions and answers · The story of the 1995 program

Low Poly Pictures is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. Microsoft and 3D Movie Maker are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.