Screenwriting : New Voices in Animation contest -- who submitted? by Pat Alexander

Hi everyone!

I submitted my animated pilot Bright Blue to the New Voices in Animation contest. It’s a family-friendly, Pixar-style series about an imaginative 8-year-old girl and her best friend-a talking rat-as they navigate the weird, wonderful world of suburban childhood. The show balances humor, heart, and magic with themes kids and families can connect to.

The pilot script won Best Kids & Family Script at Catalyst in 2024, and was a Quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Animation Competition in 2023. I’ve also written the full first season, so it’s a world I’ve really been able to develop and I’m excited to see how it resonates here at Stage 32!

I’d love to hear about what you all submitted too-what kinds of worlds and characters are you bringing to life?

-Mary McGloin

Good luck, Mary! I submitted Koo Koo Soup! It's a story built around legendary creatures of the Bahamas. Anna must find magic fish that can transform her brother back into a human before their dad returns from the mainland.

Hello. I submitted "That Special Day" to the New Voices Animation contest. The story is based on my childhood experiences of playing with second hand used toys and toys made from common household items. It's a homage to the days when children used their own creativity to entertain themselves and others. In "That Special Day" the story centers around a twin brother and sister dealing with their home made and second hand toys coming to life. Interspersed with music, it's a story to be shared by multi generational families with memorable characters.

Big news to share!

My animated feature script "The Viking Way" just won Best Screenplay at the 2025 San Diego Kids International Film Festival — and now it’s charging full-speed into the Stage 32 New Voices in Animation Contest!

At its heart, "The Viking Way" is a myth-meets-modern adventure about Jimmy Svensson, a teen hockey player hurled back to the Viking Age, where he must rescue his brother and uncover the true meaning of courage. Think: modern-day hockey meets Norse mythology — brotherhood, grief, gods, and a mythic slap-shot that just might save the world.

What excites me most is that this isn’t just spectacle (though yes, there are flying War Cats and a mythic hockey match for the ages). It’s a story that challenges what it means to be brave today:

"The Viking Way" is about redefining heroism as focus, not fists. Brotherhood, forgiveness, and unlikely alliances. A fresh, family-ready IP with cross-media potential. I'm excited beyond measure to bring this story forward.

Winning at San Diego was a huge honor, and it feels like the perfect launchpad for this next step. The contest is about finding new voices in animation, and I’m proud that "The Viking Way" carries both mythic roots and a modern heart.

Thanks to everyone cheering along this journey — and to the Stage 32 community, where stories like this find their champions.

Skål, (that means "Cheers" in Viking-speak!)

James Tuverson

Best of luck to all entrants. I have submitted two scripts. Either way this is a win for me. I get to show my work and best of all these are stories made up with my children. If they don't place, they are preserved... them maturing into teenage years can't blur their once small imaginations! 'ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT' and 'BOOTS!'... I loved listening to my boys think of these stories at bedtime when they were small. :) GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Major opportunities with this contest. Can't for you all to meet with the judges and mentors.

I entered JIMMY AND THE STAR ANGEL - It’s a Christmas fantasy-musical about two siblings who discover a secret world inside their tree and must work with a cast of misfit ornaments to stop a forgotten villain before sunrise. It's a story about memory, grief, and what it means to find joy again — designed for family audiences with strong visual and musical elements.

Jimmy and the Star Angel was a Quarterfinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship a couple of years back, and I’m excited to be putting it out there as part of this contest.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has submitted.

I also entered my second animated script, SHOWGHOSTS. At its heart, Showghosts is an animated musical-comedy about a shy 14-year-old boy who discovers that the crumbling theater he and his grandfather are protecting is haunted… by a troupe of eccentric ghosts who refuse to be forgotten. Together, they must put on the performance of a lifetime to save their home from demolition.

It’s a story about family (both the ones we’re born with and the ones we find), about stepping into the spotlight even when you’re terrified, and about the magic of performance that never really dies.

I'm happy to have Showghosts in the mix — and grateful to be part of this creative community. Wishing everyone the best of luck!

This is my first ever contest and the reason I signed up in the first place!

I submitted my 278 page big boy of doom which is being reformatted into proper script currently, but it's called Age of Eden (Mythohuman Shonen).

In a world where ancient kings and forgotten gods still shape destiny, a boy who wields lightning discovers that he's a divine anomaly and is thrust into battles far larger than himself—testing the bonds of found-family, the weight of hidden legacy, and still finding the strength to laugh through his burdens which follow him everywhere he goes.

If my submission makes it far enough, I'm hoping for Jason Stiff's attention. Of anyone on the panel, he's my guy to impress.

Hello fellow writers!

I entered three of my animated TV scripts into the New Voices in Animation Screenplay Contest, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be able to write with an awesome partner on some of these.

My pilots are all kids/co-family shows and include:

Harmony Heroes (TV-Y): A series following three magical kids with elemental powers who explore and learn about their world through sound and music.

Pigsford Hollow (TV-Y): This series for younger kids follows the adventures of Emmie Dell, a spirited 5-year-old girl who can talk to the animal "kids" on her family's farm (her family thinks she just has a big imagination!).

Sosha Across the Universe (TV-Y7): A soft sci-fi series following Sosha Nyx, a neurodivergent teen girl whose life gets an extraordinary twist when two crash-landed aliens bring cosmic chaos to her planet.

Hope you're all having a great week: I'm cheering for everyone and wish you the best of luck!

Hello Everyone,

I entered The Christmas Tree - a fresh take on a Christmas story that focuses on something other than appealing to Santa.

TITLE: The Christmas Tree GENRE: Animation Feature

LOGLINE:

On Christmas Eve, a Christmas tree ornament struggles against a villainous pine cone, hazardous conditions, and a mutiny when she organizes a wilderness exploration in search of a Christmas Tree.

Should someone working in the animation space be interested in reading, let me know.

Amazing idea for a script Fred! That sounds super interesting!!!!

I entered an animated family feature called Loose Change. Think ~ Toy Story meets The Rescuers.

In a world where money talks, two pennies, Peter and Penelope, must race against time to rescue a rare coin worth a million dollars from a ruthless thief. As they face life’s obstacles and battle bad pennies, Peter learns that it’s not money that makes the world go round—it’s love.

Loose Change has already won two first-place awards and, in August, I attended Hollywood Pitch Fest, where I received two requests for my script. Additionally, the script recently earned an honorable mention in a contest, and I’ve been given the chance to compete against 20 other scripts in a pitch contest, with a $10,000 grand prize.

I’m beyond excited to share my story, which I believe will be loved by audiences of all ages.

Congratulations to all the other quarter finalists! My pilot, "Chicken Cop," is about CHARLES POULET, a rooster with a desire to join the Crescent City Animal Police Department but is making quite an impression for all the wrong reasons. Charles' father, HENRI POULET also known as, "The Hero of Treme Lafayette" was a legend in the CCAPD. Big, strong, brave and ready for a fight; all things that Charles is not. Charles is smallish, skinny, diagnosed as OCD and a germaphobe. He is as likely to trip over his own feet as to apprehend a perp. But, he is also very smart and sees helping others as his life mission.

Charles is determined to follow in Henri's very large footsteps. No matter the odds nor the skepticism of his fellow officers, Charles is smart enough to solve any crime and that is where his greatness lies.

In the pilot, Charles must conquer the obstacle course at the Crescent City Animal Police Academy if he is ever to become a cop. It looks like an impossible task until Sergeant Jimmy Diamond, a mentor and friend of Henri's, notices Charles goes crazy when someone calls him a chicken. With that information and the help of all his cadet friends, Charles is pushed into breaking the course record previously held by Henri.

Attention: New Voices ~ Here My Voice "A penny may seem to you a very insignificant thing, but it is the small seed from which fortunes spring,”: said Orison Swett Marden.

My wonderful award winning story “Loose Change” sits trapped in my computer, like millions of pennies are trapped inside change jars never to be spent. Today it is offical no more pennies will be minted.

In a world where we tap our cards, send money through Zelle or Venmo, and invest in cryptocurrency, it might seem like the penny has lost its place. But we haven’t truly left it behind. The penny still lives in our hearts.

There’s something timeless about that small copper coin. Soldiers once carried lucky pennies in their pockets, praying they’d bring them home safely from war. We toss pennies into fountains and wishing wells, trusting that tiny coin to carry our hopes and dreams. Even the simple act of scratching a lottery ticket often begins with a penny — a little symbol of luck and possibility.

The penny isn’t just spare change. It’s a reminder of faith, hope, and connection — the small things that still matter in a fast, digital world. And while technology has changed how we exchange money, our love for coins endures. Apps like “Coin Snap” have turned collecting into a modern treasure hunt, where people chase the thrill of finding that rare, million-dollar coin.

The penny may be small, but it holds big dreams — proof that even the tiniest things can still mean everything. Pennies are truly from heaven ~ Please re-read and re-think the potential of my wonderful story :) Susan Fontaine ~

Hi Fred Skupenski I have done animation and would like to read your script. Your logline is adorable and catchy. It's a genuinely fun premise for an animated Christmas film. As you answered this post 2 months ago, have you already made it?

Charles is a superstar. Bravo.

Thank you!