Crafting Animated Stories with Purpose. The Global Journey of Pietro Schito and the Vision Behind ‘Write for Animation’.

In the world of animation, where storytelling meets structure and visuals spark emotion, Pietro Schito has carved out a distinct path, merging his experience across continents with a deep commitment to education and creative community building. As the founder of Write for Animation, Pietro has created a space where aspiring screenwriters and animators can access industry knowledge and practical insights, drawing from his own collaborations across the international animation scene.

At FilmmakersWorld, we’ve known Pietro Schito for some time. We’ve exchanged ideas, aligned on values, and, like we often do with people we admire in our community, we finally took the chance to meet in person during a film festival. That meeting gave further meaning to a connection that was already growing, and from there, the idea of a new editorial partnership was born.

🙌 Introducing a new editorial partnership 🙌

Today, we’re excited to officially kick off this collaboration: a recurring series that will spotlight screenwriting for animation, open up new conversations within our community, and explore the craft from a slightly different lens. 

But first, we wanted to take a step back and get to know the person behind the platform, his story, his perspective, and what’s next.

1. Let’s start from a more personal place.

Hey Pietro, can you tell us what first drew you to animated storytelling? Was there a film, a moment, or something that clicked early on?

Three moments shaped everything.
The first was in kindergarten, watching The Little Mermaid. I was mesmerized. Ariel became my first celebrity crush.

The second was seeing Toy Story. As soon as it ended, I turned to my dad and asked, “Can we watch it again?” and we did. Twice in a row.

The third moment was pure magic. I met Disney artists on a train while they were working on Tarzan. They pulled out some charcoal and sketched the character for me. That was when animation stopped being just a dream and started feeling possible.

2. A mindset shaped by movement.

You’ve lived and worked in Italy, Mexico, and now the U.S., three places with very different creative rhythms. How have these environments shaped the way you think about story and collaboration?

Traveling is a gift for any storyteller. In Italy, there’s a deep reverence for beauty and tradition. Studying there gave me a strong foundation in classical literature and structure. Then I was selected, alongside filmmakers from around the world, for an international initiative that brought us to Mexico to develop our first films.

I set my feature film project in Guadalajara, and the research phase became a full-blown adventure. I found stories in crowded cantinas, taco stands, lucha libre matches, and late-night cab rides. In Mexico, I discovered a different kind of storytelling. Less structured, but emotionally raw and vibrant.

That experience led to a scholarship at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. And honestly, I’m glad I arrived in Hollywood after exploring other cultures first. It gave me perspective and made me appreciate the American spirit of resilience and reinvention.

3. Building Write for Animation.

What made you feel there was a need for something like Write for Animation? Was there a specific gap you noticed, or did the idea grow out of your own learning process?

After LA, I returned to Mexico to work with two directors selected by Guillermo del Toro at Taller del Chucho, the stop-motion studio behind some sequences of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. I had received a full-tuition scholarship and felt a strong urge to give back.

I began looking for resources that could help aspiring animation writers, and realized most of what was available online was either disconnected from the real studio process or too theoretical. So I started sharing what I had learned. That led to conversations with artists working at Pixar, Netflix, Disney, and DreamWorks.

What began as personal teaching evolved into a broader mission to amplify the voices of top animation professionals. We also partnered with festivals like Animation is Film and LightBox Expo, creating spaces for live events and deeper community engagement.

4. The craft of animation screenwriting.

From your perspective, what makes writing for animation different, not just technically, but in the mindset it requires?

It is the collaborative nature of the process. In live-action, writers often work in isolation, then hand off the script and move on. You might visit the set briefly, but your role usually ends early. In animation, you stay involved. You are in the studio, surrounded by art, story artists, and editors, constantly shaping and refining the story as it evolves.

Some of the most iconic moments in animated films were not written in the script. They came from that collaborative environment. As a writer, it’s so rewarding because you are building something together with a team, and that makes all the difference.

Do you think animation allows writers to explore themes or ideas in ways that live-action sometimes can’t?

Yes, absolutely. Animation gives writers creative tools that live-action does not always offer. You can externalize emotion through visuals, use metaphor in a more fluid way, and design entire worlds that reflect a character’s internal journey.

Because the medium is stylized, audiences are often more open to bold artistic choices. That might mean surreal transitions, symbolic imagery, or non-literal storytelling.

Animation is no less real than live-action. If anything, it allows you to express emotional truth more directly and powerfully. It opens the door to explore complex themes with honesty and imagination.

5. Learning through collaboration.

You’ve worked with directors and creative teams across a variety of studios and countries, like Pixar, Disney, and Netflix.  What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned from those collaborations?

Working alongside filmmakers from studios like Pixar, Disney, and Netflix taught me lessons I could never have learned from books alone. Being in the room with people who helped shape the films I grew up with forced me to rethink everything I thought I knew.

One of the most important takeaways was the central role of character. You can have a brilliant plot or a fascinating world, but if the character doesn’t resonate, the audience won’t follow. Everything else builds from that foundation.

Was there ever a moment in a project where you thought, “This just changed how I’ll approach story forever”?

Yes, and it stuck with me ever since. I was speaking with Domee Shi, the Academy Award-winning director of Turning Red and co-director of Elio, who now serves as Vice President of Creative at Pixar. She shared a lesson from her time in the story room with Andrew Stanton. During meetings, he would bump his fists on the table and repeat, “Make me care, make me care!”

That mindset became a mantra for me. I experienced it firsthand while working with acclaimed director René Castillo. We had an incredible concept, beautiful visuals, and a strong story structure. But something wasn’t clicking with the main character. Despite everything around him working, the emotional core felt distant.

That’s when we took a step back and asked the most important question: Do we care about him? Until we answered that, nothing else would land. Once we found the emotional thread, everything else fell into place. That experience changed how I approach every story since.

6. A story called The Piano.

Your short film, The Piano, was selected for Tribeca, a beautiful recognition. Can you share how that project came together, what inspired it, and how the audience responded?

The Piano is a deeply personal father-daughter story directed by Avery Kroll. She had been helping me with some storyboards for another animated short I was developing, and one day she shared a rough version of The Piano. It was only six minutes long, but by the end, I was in tears.

The film was inspired by her own memories of playing piano with her dad, and something about it struck a chord with all of us. Our producer, Kristen Breshears, connected through her own childhood: she used to bond with her father over video games. For me, and for other team members like our composer Ryan O’Neal (aka Sleeping at Last), the story landed from the perspective of being dads ourselves. It made us reflect on our relationships with our daughters, and the quiet, fleeting moments that define them.

That emotional honesty is what made the film resonate so strongly, both within our team and with the audience at Tribeca.

The project also celebrates hand-drawn animation at a time when the industry is asking questions about automation and AI. I love technology, but there’s something magical about the handcrafted process. We were lucky to have Disney legend Tony Bancroft on board. I first met him over a decade ago as a student. Having him involved felt like coming full circle.

7. A new editorial path.

We’re kicking off this collaboration between Write for Animation and FilmmakersWorld with a lot of excitement. What do you hope this editorial partnership will bring to both communities?

There’s something Guillermo del Toro says often that has really stayed with me: “Animation is film.” And he’s right. Animation is not a genre meant only for children. It’s a medium capable of telling the most intimate, personal, and daring stories. Today, the lines between animation, visual effects, and live-action are more blurred than ever.

With this collaboration, I hope more filmmakers begin to see animation not as a technical barrier but as a creative opportunity. If we can make storytelling tools more accessible and give people a clearer picture of how professionals actually work across the pipeline, we can open the door to fresh perspectives and bold ideas. That is the kind of future I want to help build.

8. Looking ahead, one quarter at a time.

We’ve decided to connect every quarter, a chance to reflect, share, and keep evolving together. Without spoiling too much… can you give us a hint of what readers might discover in the next editions?

I’d love to take readers behind the scenes of how stop-motion animation is embracing VFX and cutting-edge tools. It’s a fascinating blend of the oldest craft and the newest technology.

We’ll also be sharing interviews with creators on upcoming films, and there is a special Disney reunion later this year that I can’t wait to talk about. The goal is to give people real access. Not just to creators, but to how the creative process really works from the inside.

Thank you, Pietro, for sharing your amazing journey! These insights are not only inspiring but also a valuable resource for the community!

And to our readers, thank you for joining us! If you wanna learn more about the work of Pietro Schito and Write for Animation, check his website!

If you missed our last feature, you can click here to catch up.

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See you soon for another deep dive,
The FilmmakersWorld Team