- THE ART OF WRITING ANIMATION -
Is animation written with words or pictures?
How do writers and animators turn ideas into animated films or series? What’s the animation development process? Are animated stories only for kids? What makes animation characters iconic? Can animated short films and web series launch your animation writing career? Writer and script consultant Alizée Musson steps behind the scenes to find answers.
From Hollywood and independent cinema to TV, meet the creators of Pixar and Walt Disney’s Ratatouille, Inside Out and Brave, Peppa Pig, Wolfwalkers, Chicken for Linda!, Netflix’s Supa Team 4, Mars Express, American Dad! and many more. In over 25 case studies and interviews with writers, animators and producers – including an exclusive interview with the producer of Studio Ghibli’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya – discover all the storytelling tricks of the trade to write your own animated film or series and start your animation writing career.
Exploring short and feature films alongside web and TV series, The Art of Writing Animation dives deep into the creative processes that shape animated stories. It’s the perfect book for live-action screenwriters and animators who would rather learn from fellow creatives than be told how to write.
COMING OUT ON FEBRUARY 24th, 2026
- THE JOURNEY -
Back in 2012, while studying film production at the Arts University Bournemouth, my uncle living in the French Alps called me: “Why don’t you come down to Annecy this summer? There’s this animation festival in town!” Little did I know then that “this animation festival” was the biggest in the world. Nor did I know I was about to step on a life-changing creative journey. I’ve always loved animation ever since watching my first movie on the big screen — Pocahontas. But as I walked around Annecy’s Lake that summer, discovering the behind-the-scenes of animation production while making paper aeroplanes out of the program during screenings (if you know, you know), one thing became clear: the animated world was where I wanted to be!
Although I started working in live-action productions, I always found a way back into animation. Producing animated shorts as a graduation project. Working in development for an animation studio. Writing hundreds of episodes for various animated web series, including for Peppa Pig. Working with writers as a script consultant on animated films and TV series. And today, combining all these experiences to write this very book. But was this lived experience enough to cover all the ins and outs of writing for animation? No, definitely not. If working in development has taught me anything, it’s that there is always something to learn from fellow writers and creatives. It’s with this in mind that I embarked on an exciting research journey, taking me (physically and virtually) from Annecy to London, Kilkenny, Prague, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Lusaka, and even a remote monastery in Fontevraud, France.
Rather than giving you a formula on how to write for animation, my aim with this book is to take you behind the scenes — to show you how animation filmmakers approach development for animated films and series across different styles and cultures. There are no hard rules that can’t be broken in this book. In fact, most of the advice shared can apply to different contexts. You may not find all the answers and may even encounter contradictions among these pages, but I hope this variety of approaches will inform your creative process and inspire your animated journeys.