Pixar Director Behind ‘Onward’ Launches Emotional New Family Project

As the world continues to debate the dangers of screens and AI for kids, one new platform is rewriting the story, literally. Launching November 11, With Love is an interactive storytelling experience designed to bring families closer through creativity, empathy, and imagination. The project, which debuts with an original short film written and storyboarded by Pixar’s Dan Scanlon, the director behind "Onward" and "Monsters University," invites parents and children to co-create story worlds by writing letters to animated characters, influencing what happens next, and discovering new “minisodes” every Sunday night. Part storybook, part pen-pal exchange, and part emotional growth tool, With Love is turning “screen time” into connection time. And The Blast has the exclusive scoop from founder Mick Brege and creative advisor Dan Scanlon on how the platform came to life, and why it may just change how the next generation communicates.

For founder Mick Brege, the idea for With Love began with a simple observation: kids today aren’t disengaged. Instead, they’re just desperate for genuine connection. “I kept seeing a pattern,” Brege told The Blast. “Fourth graders who could barely focus or write a sentence, and who felt more comfortable with screens than conversations. Everyone was saying ‘limit screen time,’ but I realized we were looking at the problem backwards.”

Instead of taking technology away, Brege wanted to reimagine how it could teach kids empathy and emotional expression. “Gen Beta is growing up with AI that mimics human behavior perfectly. If we just tell kids to avoid it, we lose,” he said. “The real answer is using technology to teach what matters most: empathy, expression, and genuine connection.”

At the heart of With Love is a pen-pal system that lets kids and parents write letters to animated characters. The characters write back, remembering details, acknowledging emotions, and sparking deeper communication.

“Our characters send weekly stories, or ‘minisodes,’ that explore friendship, change, and managing difficult emotions,” Brege explained. “Kids can respond however they want, short, long, silly, serious, and the characters always respond with care.”

The results have been powerful. “We’ve watched kids evolve from writing TikTok-style one-liners to multi-paragraph reflections,” he shared. “One user went from saying, ‘I love to spend half my day grinding on Rocket League,’ to writing 500 words about why gaming gives them a sense of purpose. That’s the point. To help them become more confident communicating in real life.”

Known for directing Pixar’s "Onward" and serving as an executive producer on "Soul" and "Turning Red," Dan Scanlon joined With Love as a creative advisor and wrote the debut short film that introduces the platform’s world. “I was drawn to Mick and his team’s passion,” Scanlon told The Blast. “They want to help people learn to communicate more empathetically. That’s what storytelling should do.”

The "Onward" filmmaker helped shape the characters’ emotional depth, ensuring every interaction felt meaningful. “We wanted to create empathy for characters like GoodGood and his crew,” he said. “They’re isolated and just want to connect with others. That longing is universal.”

Scanlon says the project carries the same “heart first” DNA as Pixar storytelling: “Mick and his team are starting from a place of sincerity. They’re not using AI as a shortcut, but they’re using it thoughtfully, alongside real artists, writers, and animators. That’s where the magic happens.”

For all its cutting-edge interactivity, With Love also taps into something timeless. The act of letter writing. “Funnily enough, kids tell us the app feels nostalgic, even if it’s their first time writing a letter,” Brege said with a laugh. “Letters have always been about connection, but we wanted to make them modern and magical. Waiting for a reply and crafting a message takes patience and care, and that’s something worth protecting.”

Even amid a generation raised on instant gratification, families are embracing the slower rhythm of With Love. “We’ve seen parents turn it into a Sunday night ritual, everyone sits down, reads their letters, and reflects together,” Brege said. “It’s connection, not contention. That’s the point.”

When asked what’s next, Brege hinted that With Love’s story is just beginning. “We have so much coming. New story worlds, collaborations, maybe even some celebrity voices,” he teased. “But our mission will never change: to raise emotional intelligence through storytelling.”

For Dan Scanlon, the project’s potential goes far beyond the app. “If a kid writes to one of these characters, and that inspires them to tell their own stories someday. That’s everything,” he said. “That means it worked.”

With Pixar-level storytelling, heartfelt technology, and a mission to make “good screen time” truly good, With Love isn’t just an app. It’s a new way to raise a more empathetic generation.