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Smalltown Boy Cats: Put Your Two Pets in the Viral AI Dance

Your first pet grabs its head and screams into a wide lens while your second pet dances behind it. Then both dance side by side and rush the camera, in the viral reel itself, with its song. Pick Human to do it with a friend.

The original Smalltown Boy reel by @zefosikOriginal reel
  • 2 photos you add
  • 14 s clip with sound
  • 9:16 for TikTok, Reels, Shorts
  • No watermark

No prompt to write: Add your photos and tap once

Create your own

Ready in a few minutes · 168 credits

The Smalltown Boy cats trend is a viral AI reel from October 2026. Two cats stand upright: one grabs its head and screams into a wide lens, then both dance side by side to the 1984 song "Smalltown Boy" and lunge at the camera. You need two photos of pets or of people, and MakeViral puts them into the reel.

Example

What the Smalltown Boy video looks like

This is the original reel. Your photos replace its characters, so your video follows the same shots with your faces. No two runs come out the same.

Original reel by @zefosik, 14 s

The original reel by @zefosik: a grey cat grabs its head and screams while a spotted cat dances behind it. Then both dance on a marble floor and rush the camera.

Use this reference
Original reel by @fluffyfishlover, 14 s

The original reel by @fluffyfishlover: a tuxedo cat grabs its head and screams into the lens while a ginger cat dances behind it. Then both dance at the red fence and rush the camera. The Human version puts your two people in place of the cats.

Use this reference
Step by step

How to make the Smalltown Boy video on MakeViral

Everything runs in the browser. No editing app, no prompt to write, no watermark.

  1. Add the two photos

    Press "Create your own" and add pet who screams, then pet who dances. Add them in this order, because the order decides who is who in the scene. Take them with the camera or pick them from your library.

  2. Press Generate

    The button shows the price. H3 Max Recast puts your photos into the Smalltown Boy trend clip and copies it shot by shot for 14 seconds, with the reel's original song. You write no prompt.

  3. Download or share

    The video is ready in a few minutes as a 9:16 MP4. Download it, share it from your phone, or find it later in your Library.

Which photo works best?

You need two photos, the screamer first. Photo 1 grabs its head and screams into the lens. Photo 2 dances behind it, then beside it.

  • Pet: one pet per photo, with the whole body in view, from ears to paws. Fur colors and markings come from your photo, so skip strong filters. Two cats look closest to the reel; a dog or another pet stands upright on its hind legs for the same moves.
  • Human: one person per photo, waist up or full body, face clear and turned to the camera. The outfit comes from your photo.
  • A sharp photo in daylight. The scream is a close shot, so the face matters most.
  • Any background works: the reel sets the scene.
  • Use your own pets, or people and pets whose owners said yes.

Where did the Smalltown Boy trend start?

"Smalltown Boy" is a synth-pop single by Bronski Beat, released in May 1984. It reached number three on the UK singles chart. In 2024 it had a TikTok moment, when people filmed their Gen X parents dancing to it like it was the 1980s.

The 2026 trend is a different format. It copies a short duo clip shot with a wide lens in front of a red wooden fence: one man grabs his head and screams into the lens while the other dances behind him, then they swap, dance side by side and rush the camera together. Reposts of the clip spread on TikTok in early October; one posted on 6 October had 484,000 plays four days later.

AI creators recast the duo as cats. On 2 October @fluffyfishlover posted a ginger cat and a tuxedo cat at the red fence. On 8 October @zefosik posted two cats in a white living room, which passed 597,000 plays and 23,800 shares within two days. Tutorials for one-click template apps followed. The Pet version on this page copies the living room reel, and the Human version puts two people into the red fence reel.

  1. Bronski Beat release "Smalltown Boy" in the UK. It reaches number three on the UK singles chart. Wikipedia

  2. The song soundtracks a TikTok challenge in which people film their Gen X parents dancing like it is the 1980s. The Advocate

  3. @fluffyfishlover posts an AI version with a ginger cat and a tuxedo cat at the red wooden fence. It has 363,200 plays and 24,600 likes by 10 October. TikTok

  4. Tutorials for one-click pet dance templates of the trend appear on TikTok.

  5. A repost of the original duo clip at the red fence goes up on TikTok and reaches 484,000 plays by 10 October.

  6. @zefosik posts two AI-made cats dancing in a white living room. By 10 October it has 597,400 plays, 43,400 likes and 23,800 shares. TikTok

Copy and paste

The Smalltown Boy prompts

You do not need these: the one-tap flow runs them for you, together with the trend clip. [Image 1] and [Image 2] are your two photos, and [Video 1] is the trend clip the video copies.

Pet

2 photos: pet who screams + pet who dancesH3 Max Recast14 s · 720p · 9:16168 credits
Video prompt

Image 1 replaces the grey cat with folded ears who grabs its head with both paws and screams in front, in every shot. Image 2 replaces the spotted brown cat who dances on its hind legs behind it and then beside it, in every shot. Keep the face, ears, fur colors and markings of each pet from its own image, not the folded ears or the spots of the cats in the video. If an image shows a dog or another animal, that animal takes the same place, standing upright on its hind legs and doing the same moves. Keep the white living room, the marble floor, the warm ceiling light, the motion, the cuts and the camera exactly as in the video.

633 characters
Make it in one tap

Human

2 photos: person who screams + person who dancesH3 Max Recast14 s · 720p · 9:16168 credits
Video prompt

Image 1 replaces the black-and-white cat who grabs its head with both paws and screams into the lens in front, in every shot: here it is the person from image 1, a real person with their own face, hair, skin tone, body and clothes, standing on two feet, who grabs their head with both hands and screams. Image 2 replaces the ginger cat who dances behind and then beside it, in every shot: here it is the person from image 2, with their own face, hair, skin tone, body and clothes, who dances 1980s style. No cat ears, no fur, no tails, no paws, no collar and no bell. Keep the red wooden fence, the ivy, the asphalt, the daylight, the wide lens, the motion, the cuts and the camera exactly as in the video.

706 characters
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How many credits does it cost?

You pay per video in credits, and the create page shows the exact price on the Generate button before you spend anything. The one-tap price covers the video, made in one step from your photos and the trend clip, charged once. One video is 168 credits, so the smallest one-time pack that covers it is $39.99 for 450 credits, with no subscription. The cheaper models are there if you run the prompts by hand in AI Video.

Video modelSettingsCredits
H3 Max Recast (this template)14 s, 720p, copies the trend clip, one tap168

One-time packs and plans are on the pricing page. A failed video gives its credits back.

What happens in the Smalltown Boy cats video, shot by shot?

Each version is a viral reel, and your two photos replace its two cats. The moves, the cuts, the camera and the scene come from the reel. Your clip follows this plan:

BeatPet (living room reel)Human (red fence reel)
The scream (about 7 s)Your first pet stands upright in a bright white living room, grabs its head and screams. Your second pet dances behind it.The first person stands close to the wide lens, grabs their head with both hands and screams. The second person dances behind, by a red wooden fence with ivy.
The dance (about 5 s)Both dance side by side on a marble floor and swap sides in a wide shot.Both dance side by side in front of the fence, with one low shot from the ground against the sky.
The lunge (last 2 s)Both rush the lens together.Both rush the lens together, hands reaching into the camera.

Pet or Human? Pet puts your two pets into the cat remix that went the most viral, with a glossy indoor look. Human puts two people into the red fence reel: the fence, the ivy and the daylight come from the original duo clip. Press "Create your own" and choose one, or press the button under its reel on this page.

Why 14 seconds? The dance in both reels runs about 21 seconds and opens with a first close-up. Your clip uses the 14 seconds from the second scream to the final lunge, so it keeps the scream, the whole dance and the ending at a lower price than the full reel.

How does MakeViral make it, and what does it cost?

Both versions use MiniMax H3 Max Recast. It takes the reel itself and puts the pets or the people from your two photos in place of its two cats, shot by shot. You write no prompt.

PetHuman
Reel@zefosik, 8 October 2026@fluffyfishlover, 2 October 2026
Length14 s14 s
FrameVertical 9:16, 768pVertical 9:16, 768p
SoundThe reel's original song, which you can turn offThe same
TimeAbout 5 to 10 minutesThe same

Both versions cost the same. The exact price shows on the Generate button before you spend anything, and the video waits in your Library when it is ready.

Why this model? In the scream and the lunge, the cats' faces fill the frame. In our tests on other reels, cheaper reference models kept the reel's own characters in shots like these. H3 Max Recast kept our pet in every shot of a knight cat reel and swapped both performers in our Hotel Lobby clip, so both versions here use it. In Human, it puts each person in a cat's place, in the person's own clothes.

What goes wrong, and how do you fix it?

ProblemFix
The two swap rolesPhoto 1 is always the one who screams first. Run it again with the photos in the other order.
A pet keeps the folded ears or the spots of the cat in the reelUse a sharper photo where the ears and the fur are clear, then run it again.
Cat ears, fur or a collar with a bell show up (Human)The cats in the red fence reel have them. The prompt bans them; run it again.
A paw, a hand or the face blurs in the last shotThe reels blur there too: the two rush the lens. It is part of the look.
The video model refuses a photoSome photos get refused. The credits come back; try another photo.

Every run is a new take, so results differ. If a pet looks less like its photo, run it again.

Which sound, caption and hashtags should you post it with?

Your clip comes with the reel's original sound, which is the "Smalltown Boy" song, so it is ready to post as it is. You can turn the song off on the result screen and add a sound when you post instead. On TikTok, the song is in the sound library, and a post with that sound shows up on its sound page.

The song belongs to its owners, and MakeViral gives you no rights to it. Music rules differ from platform to platform, so check them before you use the clip in an ad or a paid post.

Caption ideas: "They heard Smalltown Boy and lost it" (from the @fluffyfishlover caption), "Me and my sibling when the 80s song comes on", or your pets' names. Hashtags: both reels use #smalltownboy; @zefosik adds #dancingcat, and @fluffyfishlover adds #catdance and #catsoftiktok. Keep the platform's AI label on.

Want your pets in more trends? Put them in the orange booth of the AI Hotel Lobby trend, or make one pet dance alone with the AI dancing pet video.

FAQ

Smalltown Boy trend questions

What is the Smalltown Boy cats trend?
It is a viral AI video format from October 2026. Two cats stand upright on their hind legs: one grabs its head and screams into a wide lens while the other dances behind it, then both dance side by side to "Smalltown Boy", the 1984 song by Bronski Beat, and rush the camera. It recasts a duo clip of two men at a red wooden fence.
How do I make the Smalltown Boy AI dance with my own pets?
Press "Create your own" and choose Pet or Human. Add photo 1, the one who screams first, then photo 2, the one who dances behind, and press Generate. The button shows the price first. You get a 14-second vertical video with the song, in about 5 to 10 minutes. You write no prompt.
Can I use my dog, or a cat and a dog?
Yes. Any two pets can take the parts: two cats, two dogs, or one of each. The prompt stands each pet upright on its hind legs for the same moves and keeps its own fur and markings. The reels star two cats, so two cats look closest to them.
Can I make it with people instead of pets?
Yes. Pick Human. It puts the two people from your photos in place of the two cats in the red fence reel, in their own clothes, with the same moves and camera. The reel stars cats, so if a cat detail comes back, run it again.
Which song is used in the Smalltown Boy trend?
"Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, released in May 1984. Your clip comes with the reel's original sound, the song, and you can turn it off on the result screen. The song belongs to its owners, and MakeViral gives you no rights to it.
What is the difference between Pet and Human?
Pet copies the @zefosik reel of 8 October 2026, the most viral cat version: your two pets in a bright white living room with a marble floor. Human uses the @fluffyfishlover reel of 2 October 2026, in front of a red wooden fence with ivy like the original duo clip, with two people in place of the cats. The length and the price are the same.
How long is the video and what format is it?
14 seconds, vertical 9:16, 768p, as an MP4 file with the song. It covers the second scream, the whole dance and the final lunge of the reel.
Are the cats in the reels real?
No. Both reels are AI-made, and both are labeled as AI-generated on TikTok. The cats, their moves and the scenes are generated. Your clip is AI-made too, so keep the AI label on when you post.
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Make your own Smalltown Boy video

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