Animation : Stage 32 8-Part Screenwriting Lab: Write your Animation Feature or TV Script (March 2026) with Evan Anglin by James Lagrimas

This sounds like such a solid opportunity! With animation growing so fast, learning how to craft strong characters, build immersive worlds, and pitch scripts confidently is huge. Definitely bookmarking this lab. Thanks for sharing James Lagrimas.

Same here Cyrus Sales It's an excellent opportunity. Animation has been killing these past few years at the box office and the Emmy's.

Hi everyone, this is one of my favorite classes I teach on Stage 32, and one that is especially close to my heart.

In this class, we dive into animation writing across both feature films and television. We focus on developing your characters from the ground up, as well as building the worlds they live in.

What makes this class different from most is that it is heavy class discussion based. Alongside the writing process, we explore case studies from a range of films and series, breaking down key topics and techniques that go into crafting a strong script.

I am especially passionate about these conversations, digging into what works, why it works, and how you can apply it to your own storytelling.

As sneak preview of a case study that we are going to be discussing is #animatedmusicals with Pocahontas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn2yNGu2huk

Hello all. I'm Tui in Aotearoa (New Zealand) The first session will be at 4am Sunday in NZ time which is tomorrow morning. I might be a bit bleary! Just saw that Pocahontas clip. A questionnaire was mentioned in one of the emails. Can't seem to find it. I think we're supposed to fill it in.

Hello, I believe this is the place to post questions for the class? This will help me decide what project to work on. I have an animation/live action pilot that I am passionate about, but it involves a one-off character from a preexisting show (that, according to what I've read, isn't planned to be used again). I realize that gets into IP legality issues...is it worth working on that? Is it the kind of thing I could pitch directly to the studio that owns the character, or would I need to see about acquiring the rights? Should I just avoid it and pick a different project where I create all the IP?

Thanks so much to Evan and everyone. really enjoyed the first session except when struggling to view the clips. Eeeek!

But I'm a bit fuzzy on what is required for this assignment. Did I hear Evan say, "It can be either/or?

So those two files you provided, "Drawn to Life" and "Flamingo", am I correct to think we are asked to produce something just like that, but for our own story? And that we can choose just one of them or both? I ask because right now, I'm currently thinking "feature film" and so producing something like "Drawn to Life" is more appealing for me. Producing a pilot for a series, would difficult because right now I'm not thinking "series"

Have to say I loved the idea of the Flamingos posing as garden ornaments to cross the park unseen. Priceless!

Hi Everyone! Very nice to meet you all today! I enjoy animation of all types, from He-man, She-ra and the Thundercats, to My Little Pony and the barbie movies to Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, Looneytoons to Batman the Animated Series, X-men, Static Shock to Danny Phantom anime of MANY different genres and types to Chinese Dongua Like Throne of Seal, Soul Land Heaven Offical's Blessing, and Master of Diabolism (aka Master of Demonic Cultivation). Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir to Avatar the Last Airbender. My favourite genre blends mix fantasy/ supernatural with action, adventure and romance, possibly with a historical aspect (think Brendan Fraser's The Mummy, Inuyasha, Yona of the Dawn, Gargoyles, One Piece).

Really enjoyed today's session with everyone, looking forward to this journey!

Alison Cook that sounds messy, and I have also heard that it is not good to use any IP you don't have full rights to (for pitches, etc). So if you want to use anything you make in this class for future projects it might be worthwhile to start fresh with something new or drop the character from the pre-existing show.

Until I read the conversation here between Alison and Sarah, I had no idea you could "own" characters. Chewing that one over now, not from the point of view of the one re-using the character, but from the angle of being the one who created the character. Intriguing.

Really happy to be in this class with you all. I just got a really nice review of my Desert Rat animated action adventure feature script, with the main note that I should add more comedy. I agree. Maybe sometime we can have a discussion about how to add more comedy into the sorts of stories that regularly put our heros into dangerous and challenging situations. Just a thought. - JT

I loved the Pocahantas musical clip. I grew up with Disney musicals and love them, but for a while, it seems, animated features steered clear of that sort of musical. As a result I shyed away from explicitly including musical elements in my features, except for Desert Rat, which has one key song. Is there more interest now in doing animated features as musicals?

Tui, Stage 32 has a webinar specifically on how to adapt your book into a movie or series, take a look for it in the education section. You might find it helpful.

Thanks Sarah. Will check that out.

I did check it out and there were a lot of webinars there that were very expensive. We are retired so income limited. Also its far more expensive again in our dollars. There are a lot of courses and opportunities offered on Stage 32 but most are out of my price range. This screenwriting lab was a huge stretch for me so it'll be a while before I stretch any further. I'm hoping to get what I need right here.

I definitely feel that Tui. Especially with the exchange rate factored in for those of us outside the USA! Just wanted to let you know it was there as an FYI.

Thanks so much to Evan and everyone. really enjoyed the first session except when struggling to view the clips. Eeeek!

But I'm a bit fuzzy on what is required for this assignment. Did I hear Evan say, "It can be either/or?

So those two files you provided, "Drawn to Life" and "Flamingo", am I correct to think we are asked to produce something just like that, but for our own story?

(YES EXACTLY :))

And that we can choose just one of them or both? I ask because right now, I'm currently thinking "feature film" and so producing something like "Drawn to Life" is more appealing for me. Producing a pilot for a series, would difficult because right now I'm not thinking "series"

-- if you are feeling going with a feature then let's run with it! Excited to see your one sheet! advise strongly to choose one

Have to say I loved the idea of the Flamingos posing as garden ornaments to cross the park unseen. Priceless!

(thank you)

For ALISON:

Hello, I believe this is the place to post questions for the class?

Yes this is the place!

This will help me decide what project to work on. I have an animation/live action pilot that I am passionate about, but it involves a one-off character from a preexisting show (that, according to what I've read, isn't planned to be used again). I realize that gets into IP legality issues...is it worth working on that?

----- I would focus on original idea rather than an actual existing up, unless it is the public domain.

Is it the kind of thing I could pitch directly to the studio that owns the character, or would I need to see about acquiring the rights? Should I just avoid it and pick a different project where I create all the IP?

-- we can discuss this during class to talk about existing IP.!

As we dive into CLASS 2 for THE ART OF CHARACTER - want you start thinking about these discussion points.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS FOR NEXT CLASS:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMATED CHARACTER AND WHY?

EITHER TELEVISION or MOTION PICTURE

WHAT MAKES A CHARACTER A STRONG CHARACTER AND IMPACTFUL TO THE FILM OR STORYLINE?

Thanks Evan for answering my questions.

I am looking forward to those discussions about character, and have some thoughts to share on the topic.

BTW, since my Stage 32 profile photo is years out-of-date and I have no camera set-up on my computer, I'll post a more recent photo here. This is me at home with the ocean (Hinemoana) I have in my back yard. The ocean is always one of the main characters in my stories. In fact, she narrates my most recent one.

And Sarah, I want you to know I do appreciate your suggestion about the webinars and may well follow it up at some stage.

It's only 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon in the western US but it's already Friday morning here. Evan said he needed our assignments by Friday morning so mine has been sent. I may not be ahead of this class with anything else, but at least I'm ahead in time. LOL!

This may be the only advantage to having to wake up at 3.45 am to meet you in session. :(

Can the links to the video clips that were used in class

be posted in this chat?

Mo Dao Zu Shi aka The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation aka The Master of Diabolism, currently on Crunchyroll. Live action adaptation The Untamed, currently on Netflix. Mulit-genre wuxia donghua, featuring many characters you would typically categorize as villains but different kinds of villains. Some with clear, understandable reasons for their villainous actions, others with more nebulous ideas and some just evil for greed, evil, etc. types of reasons. A lot of commentary on difference between your true self and how society perceives and reacts to you, especially if you fall outside of typically social roles (someone who ins't gentry who is smarter and more capable than the gentry class). One of the only times I have ever seen a villain mastermind who is manipulating society behind the scenes verses another villain mastermind manipulating society behind the scenes subplot.

Yona of the Dawn aka Akatsuki no Yona is an anime with fantastic character growth of the main cast. One season of anime made, 2nd season in production, based on a manga finishing up this year.

Haikyuu is a sports anime on Crunchyroll, featuring players from a specific Japanese high school and it has some amazing character development and world building and sports specific information building without feeling like info dumping. One piece that particularly struck me with character interactions is the way characters are introduced to each other often colours impressions and expectations of them. E.g. in this series there is a character who is introduced before we meet him by a senior teammate referring to him as the team's "Guardian God". He plays a defensive only position called the Libero.

With the Ruby movie, I think I had a different reaction to the trailer than the writer may have intended. I have not seen the movie so everything here is just based on that trailer. Instead of finding that trailer appealing, or in the least bit romantic, I was actively turned off by the concept of a teenage girl created from the male writer in his twenties imagination as a love interest, particularly with the manipulative element of the writer being able to shape and mold her as he wished to his will. Especially when stacked with the affair with the teacher intro to her character, since that is not romantic, that is statutory rape and violation of the teacher code of conduct and ethics. The trailer gave me the impression that the movie was a particularly egregious example of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope crossed with the "Manic Pixie Girl" trope combined with men's fantasy can be women/ girl's traumatic experiences (even if they don't perceive them to be that at the time) elements. (Lots of adult women now actively warn teenage girls not to date adult men because of their own learned experiences.) So with character sketches and concept development, I think its worth keeping in mind broad audience reactions to the characters you develop. Your "good guy" might very well come across as very much not a good guy to someone with a different point of view, life experiences, etc. To be clear I think its fine to do it, so long as you are doing it intentionally, and you understand why some people are going to be very turned off by such characters and concepts. Especially in pitches and trailers, where you don't necessary have the time or space to convey your full story. I wanted to see more evidence in the trailer that if this was the set up the male writer was going to grow and change and learn better than to think of teenage girls and treat teenage girls that way story, not that this was going to be framed as any type of "love story". Just for context I also do not find the story of Galatea (sculpture carved by Pygmalion and brought to life by Aphrodite) romantic from Galatea's point of view.

Tui Allen if you'd like some help troubleshooting your chat, feel free to connect with me.

Great session today, really enjoying learning through the clips and discussions Evan and all. Ironically realising how much I either haven’t seen in terms of animation, need to catch up on or have forgotten in what I have seen! So glad to have signed up and go on this adventure. And SO very impressed by everyone’s awesome creativity, food for thought, and take aways from these sessions. Looking forward to the next.

Some craft books I have come across that I wanted to share in case anyone would find them helpful. The Emotional Wound Thesaurus A Writers Guide to Psychological Trauma by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, The Negative Trait Thesaurus A Writers Guide to Character Flaws (same authors) and The Conflict Thesaurus A Writers Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles volume 1 (same authors). Also The Ultimate RPG character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition by James D'Amato

Thanks, Sarah for the "North of North" reference. I checked out some of the trailers and it looks about like I imagined for both my settings and for Sedy, my main character. Now i'll have to atch the series. - John