diff --git a/libavcodec/ansi.c b/libavcodec/ansi.c
index 3c82dcd338..f1fafab771 100644
--- a/libavcodec/ansi.c
+++ b/libavcodec/ansi.c
@@ -80,10 +80,6 @@ static av_cold int decode_init(AVCodecContext *avctx)
     AnsiContext *s = avctx->priv_data;
     avctx->pix_fmt = AV_PIX_FMT_PAL8;
 
-    s->frame = av_frame_alloc();
-    if (!s->frame)
-        return AVERROR(ENOMEM);
-
     /* defaults */
     s->font        = avpriv_vga16_font;
     s->font_height = 16;
@@ -98,6 +94,11 @@ static av_cold int decode_init(AVCodecContext *avctx)
         av_log(avctx, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Invalid dimensions %d %d\n", avctx->width, avctx->height);
         return AVERROR(EINVAL);
     }
+
+    s->frame = av_frame_alloc();
+    if (!s->frame)
+        return AVERROR(ENOMEM);
+
     return 0;
 }