Someone tweeted at Microsoft to release the 27-year-old source code to 3D Movie Maker, so they did

pcgamer.com:

Foone, a self-described «hardware/software necromancer» and chaotic keyboard maker, convinced Microsoft to release the source code for 3D Movie Maker—apparently, all we needed to do was ask. The 27-year-old animation program is now out there, neatly archived and available for anyone who wants tinker with it. 

hey @Microsoft give me the source code to 3D Movie Maker. You released it in 1995 and I want to expand and extend it. my DMs are open, I'll help you open source it.April 6, 2022

«Hey Microsoft, give me the source code to 3D Movie Maker,» Foone wrote on Twitter last month. Then, just earlier this week, Microsoft's Scott Hanselman quote retweeted it and dropped the source code, crediting the Microsoft Open Source Office for its efforts.

Now, the slightly bizarre, slightly before-its-time, and very '90s 3D Movie Maker is available, in its entirety, for everyone to have and tinker with. The program allows you to place cartoony characters and assets in 3D environments, control their movement over a timeline, and export it as a mini film. With the source code, Foone has plans to update it to run on modern PCs and to potentially add features that could make sharing its unique videos (in .3mm file format) much easier than you can by default.

«I'm expecting I'll get the basic modernized version in the next month to a few months, depending on how many issues I run into,» Foone told me.

Foone has a long-standing love for 3D Movie Maker: They started using it in 1996 and began to make addons for the software in 2001. They belong to a surprisingly active community that continues to discuss and share animations with each other on an unofficial forum. As you'd expect, the forum is ecstatic about the news. 

«Never thought I'd see