face animation is a very hot topic in digital entermaint and human-machine interaction.
the method of face animation generation from single still portrait image is widely discussed in literature.
some apps. as:
lectures:
berkeley animation course from 2004-2010.http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs294-7/archives.html
facial expression animation introduction: http://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs294-7/sp04/sp_04_presentations/Facial_Expressions.pdf
recent publication:
Ira Kemelmacher http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~kemelmi/