Warner Bros. Animation

This article is about the studio founded in 1980. For the studio that existed from 1933 to 1963 and 1967 to 1969, see Warner Bros. Cartoons.
Warner Bros. Animation
Subsidiary of Time Warner
Industry Television
Theatrical movies
Direct-to-video movies
Online shorts
Predecessor Warner Bros. Cartoons
Founded 1980 (1980)[1]
Founder Hal Geer
Headquarters Burbank, California, USA
Key people
 Sam Register, President
Products Animated television programs
Online shorts
Animation theatrical
Direct-to-video motion pictures
Owner Time Warner
Parent Warner Bros.
Website Official website

Warner Bros. Animation (also known as Warner Animation Group for theatrical films) is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons (formerly Leon Schlesinger Productions), the studio which produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon shorts from 1933 to 1963, and from 1967 to 1969. Warner reestablished its own animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes related works.[1]

Since 1990, Warner Bros. Animation has primarily focused upon the production of television and feature animation of other properties, notably including those related to Time Warner's DC Comics publications.

History

1970–1986: Restarting the studio

The original Warner Bros. Cartoon studio, as well as all of Warner Bros.' short subject production divisions, closed in 1969 due to the rising costs and declining returns of short subject production. Outside animation companies were hired to produce new Looney Tunes-related animation for TV specials and commercials at irregular intervals. In 1976, Warner Bros. Cartoon alumnus Chuck Jones began producing a series of Looney Tunes specials at his Chuck Jones Productions animation studio, the first of which was Carnival of the Animals. These specials, and a 1975 Looney Tunes retrospective feature film titled Bugs Bunny: Superstar, led Jones to produce The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie for Warner Bros. in 1979. This film blended classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts with newly produced wraparounds of Bugs Bunny introducing each cartoon. Warner Bros. responded to the success of this film by reestablishing its own cartoon studio.

Warner Bros. Animation reopened its doors in 1980 to produce compilation films and television specials starring the Looney Tunes characters. The studio's initial head was Hal Geer, who had been the original studio's sound effects editor during its final days, and he was soon joined by Friz Freleng, who left DePatie-Freleng (which became Marvel Productions after being sold to Marvel Entertainment), and returned to Warner as executive producer. Before leaving DFE, Freleng produced new animation for The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981). The new wraparounds for Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) and Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983) featured footage by a new Warner Bros. Animation staff, composed mainly of veterans from the golden age of WB cartoons, including writers John Dunn and Dave Detiege.

By 1986, Freleng had departed, and Hal Geer also stepped down the following year. Geer was briefly replaced by Steven S. Greene, who in turn was replaced by Freleng's former secretary Kathleen Helppie-Shipley, who would spearhead a major revival of the Looney Tunes brand in the years that followed. The studio continued production on special projects starring the Looney Tunes characters, sporadically producing new Looney Tunes shorts for theaters such as The Duxorcist (1987), Night of the Living Duck (1988), Box-Office Bunny (1990), and Carrotblanca (1995). Many of these shorts, as well as the new footage in the compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (which includes The Duxorcist), were directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, as well as Darrell Van Citters.

1986–1998: Moving into television animation

Beginning in 1986, Warner Bros. moved into regular television animation production. Warners' television division was established by WB Animation President Jean MacCurdy, who brought in producer Tom Ruegger and much of his staff from Hanna-Barbera Productions' A Pup Named Scooby-Doo series. A studio for the television unit was set up in the office tower of the Imperial Bank Building adjacent to the Sherman Oaks Galleria northwest of Los Angeles. Darrell Van Citters, who used to work at Disney, would work on the newer Bugs Bunny shorts, before leaving to form Renegade Animation in 1992. The first Warner Bros. original animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995) was produced in conjunction with Amblin Entertainment, and featured young cartoon characters based upon specific Looney Tunes stars, and was a success. Later Amblin/Warner Bros. television shows, including Animaniacs (1993–1998), its spin-off Pinky and the Brain (1995–1998), and Freakazoid! (1995–1997) followed in continuing the Looney Tunes tradition of cartoon humor.

Warner Bros. Animation also began developing shows based upon comic book characters owned by sister company DC Comics. These programs, including Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Batman Beyond (1999–2001), and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (2001–2006) proved popular among both children and adults. These shows were part of the DC animated universe. A Batman spin-off feature, Mask of the Phantasm, was produced in 1993 and bumped up to theatrical release. The film was near universally-well received by critics but performed poorly at the box-office, though it eventually became a commercial success through its subsequent home video releases.

1991–2004: The rise and fall of Warner Bros. Feature Animation

In 1991, Warner Bros. distributed its first animated film, Rover Dangerfield. Its main protagonist is a dog named Rover Dangerfield, who is based on his voice actor Rodney Dangerfield. The film got a mixed review score but performed poorly at the box office, due to lack of promotion. Three years later, Warner distributed Don Bluth's Thumbelina, which also received mixed reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office.

That same year, Warner Bros., as well as several other Hollywood studios, moved into feature animation following the success of Disney's The Lion King. Max Howard, a Disney alumnus, was brought in to head the new division, which was set up in Sherman Oaks near the television studio in nearby Glendale.[2] Turner Feature Animation, later merged and named Warner Bros. Feature Animation, like all of the in-house feature animation studios proved an unsuccessful venture, as six of the seven films it produced failed to earn money during their original theatrical releases (due to lack of promotion).

The first of Warners' animated features was Space Jam (1996), a live-action/animation mix which starred NBA star Michael Jordan opposite Bugs Bunny (Jordan had previously appeared with the Looney Tunes in a number of Nike commercials). It was directed by Joe Pytka (live-action) and Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone (animation). Space Jam received mixed to negative reviews from film critics but proved to be a success at the box office. Animation production for Space Jam was primarily done at the new Sherman Oaks studio, although much of the work was outsourced to animation studios around the world.

Before the success of Space Jam, a Turner Entertainment-run studio that spun off from Hanna-Barbera were already producing animated features following the success of the Disney features. The first was The Pagemaster, a fantasy adventure featuring the performances of Macaulay Culkin and Christopher Lloyd with live-action segments serving as bookends for the film's story. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film was a financial and critical disappointment during its holiday release of 1994. After the merger with Turner and Warner Bros. in 1996, Turner Feature Animation completed its second and last feature, Cats Don't Dance (1997), which was met with warm critical and audience reception but under-performed due to little marketing and fanfare. By the time of Cats' release however, Turner Feature Animation had merged with Warner Feature Animation and transferred a majority of its staff from said studio.

The following year, the next film, Quest for Camelot (1998), underwent severe production difficulties and received negative reviews from critics, however its soundtrack (such as one of the songs, "The Prayer") received some accolades.

The third animated feature from Warner Feature Animation, Brad Bird's The Iron Giant (1999), performed greatly with test audiences but the studio decided to rush its release to the end of the summer with a rushed marketing push.

The studio's next film, Osmosis Jones (2001), was another animated/live action mix that suffered through another troubled production. This time, the animation segments, directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon, were completed long before the live-action segments were filmed, eventually directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly and starring Bill Murray. The resulting film had mixed reviews and under-performed, although it was successful on home video for Warner's Television Animation department to produce a related Saturday morning cartoon, Ozzy & Drix (2002-2004) for its WB broadcast network.

Following the releases of The Iron Giant and Osmosis Jones, the feature animation staff was scaled back, and the entire animation staff - feature and television - were moved to the larger Sherman Oaks facility.

The final live-action/animation mix produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, was released in 2003. It was meant to be the starting point for a reestablishment of the classic cartoons brands, including a planned series of new Looney Tunes theatrical shorts, produced by Back in Action writer and producer Larry Doyle. After Back in Action, directed by Joe Dante (live action) and Eric Goldberg (animation), received mixed reviews from critics and under-performed the box office, production was shut down on the new shorts. However, several TV series based loosely upon the Looney Tunes property, Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005), Loonatics Unleashed (2005–2007), The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2014), and Wabbit (2015) have assumed the place of the original shorts on television.

1996–present: Acquisitions and Warner Bros. Animation today

Warners' parent company Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting System in 1996, not only reacquiring the rights to the pre-August 1948[3] color Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies (plus all the B&W Merrie Melodies except Lady, Play Your Mandolin! and the post-Harman/Ising B&W entries, which WB had held on to since 1967 after merging with Seven Arts Productions, which had owned that cartoon and the B&W Looney Tunes) but also taking on two more animation studios: Turner Feature Animation and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. Turner Feature was immediately folded into Warner Bros. Feature Animation, while Hanna-Barbera merged with Warner Bros. Animation itself. Until 1998 Hanna-Barbera operated on its original lot at 3400 Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood, CA, one of the last "big name" studios with an actual Hollywood zip code. Studio operations, archives, and its extensive animation art collection were then moved northwest to Sherman Oaks. Hanna-Barbera occupied space in the office tower adjacent to the Sherman Oaks Galleria along with Warner Bros. Animation.

With the death of William Hanna in 2001, Warner fully took over production of H-B related properties such as Scooby-Doo, producing a steady stream of Scooby direct-to-video films and two new series, What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2006) and Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! (2006–2008). The Turner merger also gave WB access to the pre-May 1986 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library, which included its classic cartoon library (including such characters as Tom and Jerry (curiously created by the H-B duo), Droopy, Barney Bear, and Screwy Squirrel). WBA has since co-produced a few direct-to-video films with Turner which starred Tom and Jerry. Besides producing content for the daytime market, Warner Bros. Animation also produced Baby Blues with sister company Warner Bros. Television and 3 South with MTV Animation for primetime.

The series which Hanna-Barbera had been producing for Turner's Cartoon Network before and during the Time Warner/Turner merger were shifted to production at Cartoon Network Studios, a sister company to Warner Bros. Animation. WBA is today exclusively involved in the production of animated television programming and direct-to-video features. It produced many of the shows airing on the Kids' WB Saturday morning programming block of The CW until May 24, 2008. These programs included Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, Krypto the Superdog, Xiaolin Showdown, The Batman, and the aforementioned Loonatics Unleashed and Tom and Jerry Tales. By 2007, the studio had downsized significantly from its size during the late 1990s. Warner Bros. downsized the studio further in June, shut down the Sherman Oaks studio, and had Warner Bros. Animation moved to the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, California. In early 2008 after the demise of Kids' WB!, Warner Bros. Animation became almost dormant with only Batman: The Brave and the Bold in production at the time.

To expand the company's online content presence, Warner Bros. Animation launched the new KidsWB.com (announced as T-Works) on April 28, 2008. The website gathers its core animation properties in a single online environment that is interactive and customizable for site visitors. The Kids WB offers both originally produced content along with classic animated episodes, games, and exploration of virtual worlds. Some of the characters to be used in the project from the Warner libraries include those of Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, pre-1986 MGM animated characters and DC Comics.

In 2009, sister network Cartoon Network announced Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated in the Fall 2009-2010 season by Warner Bros. Animation. Warner Bros. Animation recently announced several new projects, such as The Looney Tunes Show (formerly called Laff Riot); a reboot of ThunderCats, and several series based on DC Comics properties such as MAD, Green Lantern, and Young Justice.

Warner Bros. Animation is also producing DC Showcase, a series of short subjects featuring lesser known comic book superheroes, to be released in tandem with direct-to-video films based on DC Comics properties.

On July 30, 2010 Coyote Falls, a 3D cartoon featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner was released, being the first time WB Animation produced theatrically released content since The Karate Guard (the last Tom & Jerry short) in 2005, and the first time the animation studio used full CGI and stereoscopic 3D. Two more theatrical Road Runner cartoons have followed during the year (Fur of Flying and Rabid Rider). On June 8, 2011, three more shorts were announced: I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat with Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny, which was released with Happy Feet Two; Daffy's Rhapsody with Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, which was released with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island; and an untitled Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short.

On October 27, 2014, Warner Bros. Animation produced their first show for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim, entitled Mike Tyson Mysteries, as it follows retired boxer Mike Tyson, the ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry, Tyson's adopted daughter, and a pigeon as they solve mysteries. The style of the show borrows heavily from '70s cartoons, most notably Hanna-Barbera productions such as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and The Funky Phantom - However, it also contains adult language and concepts, in the manner of Family Guy, or South Park. While each episode involves a mystery as a framing device, often these are ignored altogether as the plot takes another direction, and episodes sometimes end on cliffhangers which are never resolved.

On December 16, 2014, Warner Bros. Animation produced and premiered their stop-motion Christmas special on NBC, entitled Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, based on the 2003 film, Elf, and its broadway musical Elf: The Musical. The special was animated in stop-motion in the style of Rankin/Bass Productions Christmas specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. In Buddy's Musical Christmas, Santa narrates the story of Buddy's travels to New York City to meet his father. Along the way, his unrelenting cheer transforms the lives of everyone he meets and opens his father's eyes to the magic of the holiday.

2013–present: Warner Animation Group

The official Warner Animation Group logo.

In January 2013, Jeff Robinov (then the head of the studio's motion picture division) founded a "think tank" for developing theatrical animated films, known as the Warner Animation Group.[4] It is the successor to the dissolved Warner Bros. Feature Animation. The group includes John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Phil Lord and Chris Miller and Jared Stern.[4] Warner Bros. created the group with the hope that the box office reception of their films will be competitive with other animation studios' releases.[4] The group is reportedly somewhat similar to Pixar's famous "brain trust" in terms of how its members consult with one another and give feedback on each other's projects.[5]

On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film The Lego Movie, a film animated by Animal Logic using the Lego Digital Designer, Toon Boom Harmony, and Autodesk Maya as the animation software, Houdini Effects as the effects software, Autodesk Softimage as the animation, compositing, rendering, and lighting software and Pixar's RenderMan as the rendering and lighting software. This film also has a segment shot in live-action using Steadicam. It met with positive reviews and proved to be a box office success.

On January 7, 2013, Warner Animation Group announced their second film, Storks, which was originally going to release in 2015, but was pushed to September 23, 2016.[6] On the same day, they announced their third film, Smallfoot, which was originally going to release in 2016, but now, its official release date is unknown.[6] Another WAG film originally going to release in 2016 is based on the Lego Ninjago theme of Lego toys. Its release was pushed to September 22, 2017.[7]

On February 7, 2014, the same day The Lego Movie was released, it was reported that Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan were hired to write Warner Animation Group's first sequel, The Lego Movie 2.[8] The sequel was announced to be released on May 26, 2017,[9] but later that year, it was reported that a spin-off film featuring Batman from The Lego Movie might take the sequel's release date, pushing the sequel to 2018.[10] Phil Lord and Christopher Miller returned to script the sequel. Rob Schrab will direct it.

On March 27, 2015, It was reported that Jason Segel and Drew Pearce are going to co-direct and write a script to a new "Lego Movie" spin-off named "Billion Brick Race". Other WAG films announced in 2015 are based on Adventure Time, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo and Speedy Gonzales.

Filmography

Feature-length films

Compilation films

Release Date Title
September 28, 1979 The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
November 20, 1981 The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
November 19, 1982 Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales
August 5, 1983 Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island
September 24, 1988 Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Original films

Release Date Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Budget Gross
December 25, 1993 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 81%[11] N/A $6 million $5.6 million
November 15, 1996 Space Jam 35%[12] N/A $90 million $230.4 million
May 15, 1998 Quest for Camelot 36%[13] N/A $40 million $22.5 million
August 6, 1999 The Iron Giant 97%[14] 85[15] $70 million $31.3 million
August 10, 2001 Osmosis Jones 55%[16] 57[17] $70 million $13.6 million
November 14, 2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action 57%[18] 64[19] $80 million $68.5 million
July 28, 2006 The Ant Bully 63%[20] 59[21] $50 million $55,181,129
Warner Animation Group
February 7, 2014 The Lego Movie 96%[22] 82[23] $60 million $468.0 million
September 23, 2016 Storks[24][25] N/A N/A N/A N/A
February 10, 2017 Lego Batman[26][27] N/A N/A N/A N/A
September 22, 2017 Lego Ninjago[27] N/A N/A N/A N/A
February 9, 2018 TBA[26] N/A N/A N/A N/A
May 18, 2018 The Lego Movie Sequel[27][28] N/A N/A N/A N/A
September 21, 2018 Scooby-Doo[29][30] N/A N/A N/A N/A
May 24, 2019 TBA[31] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA The Flintstones[32] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA The Jetsons[33] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA Adventure Time[34] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA Smallfoot[24] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA Billion Brick Race[35] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA Speedy Gonzales[36] N/A N/A N/A N/A
TBA Bone[37] N/A N/A N/A N/A

Theatrical shorts

Release Date Title Release
November 20, 1987 The Duxorcist with Nuts
September 24, 1988 The Night of the Living Duck with Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
January 3, 1990 Box-Office Bunny with The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
March 30, 1994 I'm Mad with Major League II and Thumbelina
December 21, 1994 Chariots of Fur with Richie Rich
August 25, 1995 Carrotblanca with The Amazing Panda Adventure (in North America) and The Pebble and the Penguin (outside North America)
October 6, 1995 Another Froggy Evening limited release only
March 1996 From Hare to Eternity limited release only
August 23, 1996 Superior Duck released with Carpool
January 14, 1997 Father of the Bird
March 26, 1997 Pullet Surprise with Cats Don't Dance
December 30, 2000 Little Go Beep
September 27, 2005 The Karate Guard
July 30, 2010 Coyote Falls with Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
September 24, 2010 Fur of Flying with Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
December 17, 2010 Rabid Rider with Yogi Bear
November 18, 2011 I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat with Happy Feet Two
February 10, 2012 Daffy's Rhapsody with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
June 10, 2014 Flash in the Pain [38][39][40] at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Television series

Anthology series

Original series

Title Years Network Notes
Tiny Toon Adventures 1990–1995 CBS/Syndication/Fox Kids co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Taz-Mania 1991–1995 Fox Kids
Batman: The Animated Series 1992–1995 Fox Kids co-production with DC Entertainment
The Plucky Duck Show 1992 Fox Kids co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Animaniacs 1993–1998 Fox Kids/Kids' WB co-production with Amblin Entertainment
The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 1995–2002 Kids' WB
Pinky and the Brain 1995–1998 Kids' WB co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Freakazoid! 1995–1997 Kids' WB co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Road Rovers 1996–1997 Kids' WB
Superman: The Animated Series 1996–2000 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Waynehead 1996–1997 Kids' WB co-production with Nelvana
The New Batman Adventures 1997–1999 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Histeria! 1998–2000 Kids' WB
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain 1998–1999 Kids' WB co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Batman Beyond 1999–2001 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Detention 1999–2000 Kids' WB
Baby Blues 2000–2002 The WB (episodes 1-8)/Adult Swim (episodes 9-13) First adult-oriented television series from Warner Bros. Animation.
co-production with Split the Difference Productions, King Features Entertainment, and Rough Draft Studios.
Static Shock 2000–2004 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
The Zeta Project 2001–2002 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Justice League 2001–2004 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Baby Looney Tunes 2002–2005 Kids' WB
¡Mucha Lucha! 2002–2005 Kids' WB co-production with Fwak!
Ozzy & Drix 2002–2004 Kids' WB co-production with Conundrum Entertainment
What's New, Scooby-Doo? 2002–2006 Kids' WB copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera
3 South 2002–2003 MTV Second adult-oriented television series from Warner Bros. Animation.
The only animated series produced for MTV by Warner Bros. Animation to-date.
co-production with MTV Animation
Duck Dodgers 2003–2005 Cartoon Network
Teen Titans 2003–2006 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Xiaolin Showdown 2003–2006 Kids' WB
Justice League Unlimited 2004–2006 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
The Batman 2004–2008 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Krypto the Superdog 2005–2006 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Firehouse Tales 2005–2006 Cartoon Network Aired as a part of Cartoon Network's Tickle-U block.
Johnny Test 2005–2006 Kids' WB/Cartoon Network Seasons 2-5 were produced by Cookie Jar Group, DHX Media is currently producing the series from season 6 onward; still trademarked to WB
Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island 2005–2006 Kids' WB
Loonatics Unleashed 2005–2007 Kids' WB
Tom and Jerry Tales 2006–2008 Kids' WB co-production with Turner Entertainment
Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! 2006–2008 Kids' WB copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera
Legion of Super Heroes 2006–2008 Kids' WB co-production with DC Entertainment
Batman: The Brave and the Bold 2008–2011 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 2010–2013 Cartoon Network copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera
Mad 2010–2013 Cartoon Network co-production with Mexopolis
Young Justice 2010–2013 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
The Looney Tunes Show 2011–2014 Cartoon Network
ThunderCats 2011–2012 Cartoon Network co-production with Studio 4°C
Green Lantern: The Animated Series 2011–2013 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Teen Titans Go! 2013–present Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment[41]
Beware the Batman 2013–2014 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
The Tom and Jerry Show 2014-present Cartoon Network co-production with Turner Entertainment and Renegade Animation
Mike Tyson Mysteries 2014–present Adult Swim Third adult-oriented television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
First Adult Swim series to be produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
co-production with Williams Street[42]
Wabbit 2015–present[43] Boomerang[44]
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! 2015–present Cartoon Network[45] copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera[43]
Bunnicula[46] 2016–present Boomerang
Airline Launch[47] TBA Disney XD[47]
Justice League: Action 2016 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Untitled Wacky Races Reboot[48] 2016 Boomerang copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera
Green Eggs and Ham[49] 2018 Netflix co-production with A Very Good Production, A Stern Talking To, Random House Children's Entertainment and Gulfstream Television

Short series

Title Years Network Notes
DC Nation Shorts 2011–2014 Cartoon Network co-production with DC Entertainment
Batman Unlimited[50] 2015–present YouTube co-production with DC Entertainment
Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles[51] 2015–present Machinima co-production with DC Entertainment
Vixen[52] 2015 CW Seed co-production with DC Entertainment
DC Super Hero Girls 2015–present DCSuperHeroGirls.com co-production with DC Entertainment and Mattel Playground Productions[53]

TV specials

Release Date Title Network
December 23, 1993 A Cool Like That Christmas FOX
December 13, 2008 A Miser Brothers' Christmas ABC Family
July 17, 2012 Scooby-Doo! Spooky Games Direct-to-video
September 9, 2012 Robot Chicken DC Comics Special Adult Swim
October 16, 2012 Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays Direct-to-video
September 10, 2013 Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Scarecrow Direct-to-video
September 24, 2013 Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace Direct-to-video
April 6, 2014 Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise[42] Adult Swim
May 13, 2014 Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals Direct-to-video
October 7, 2014 Tom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers Direct-to-video
October 27, 2014 Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered Cartoon Network
December 16, 2014 Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas[54] NBC
May 5, 2015 Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie Direct-to-video
October 18, 2015[55] Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship[56] Adult Swim
November 25, 2015 LEGO Scooby-Doo: Knight Time Terror Cartoon Network

Direct-to-video features

Release Date Title Notes
March 11, 1992 Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation with Amblin Entertainment
March 17, 1998 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
September 22, 1998 Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
October 5, 1999 Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost
December 21, 1999 Wakko's Wish with Amblin Entertainment
September 12, 2000 Tweety's High-Flying Adventure
October 3, 2000 Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders
December 12, 2000 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
October 9, 2001 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase
March 12, 2002 Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
February 11, 2003 Baby Looney Tunes' Eggs-traordinary Adventure
March 4, 2003 Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire
September 30, 2003 Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico
October 21, 2003 Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
June 22, 2004 Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster
November 16, 2004 Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!
January 4, 2005 ¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico
January 18, 2005 Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars
February 8, 2005 Aloha, Scooby-Doo!
October 11, 2005 Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry released theatrically in select cities by Kidtoon Films
October 18, 2005 The Batman vs. Dracula
December 13, 2005 Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? released theatrically in select cities by Kidtoon Films
February 24, 2006 Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!
June 20, 2006 Superman: Brainiac Attacks
August 22, 2006 Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers
September 15, 2006 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
November 14, 2006 Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
September 4, 2007 Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!
September 18, 2007 Superman: Doomsday
October 2, 2007 Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
February 26, 2008 Justice League: The New Frontier
July 8, 2008 Batman: Gotham Knight
September 23, 2008 Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King
March 3, 2009 Wonder Woman
April 7, 2009 Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword
July 28, 2009 Green Lantern: First Flight
September 29, 2009 Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
February 16, 2010 Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo
February 23, 2010 Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
July 27, 2010 Batman: Under the Red Hood
August 24, 2010 Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes
September 14, 2010 Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare
September 28, 2010 Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
February 22, 2011 All-Star Superman
June 8, 2011 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
August 23, 2011 Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz
September 6, 2011 Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur
October 18, 2011 Batman: Year One
February 28, 2012 Justice League: Doom
March 13, 2012 Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire
June 12, 2012 Superman vs. The Elite
September 25, 2012 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1
October 2, 2012 Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse
October 9, 2012 Big Top Scooby-Doo!
January 29, 2013 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2
February 26, 2013 Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon
May 7, 2013 Superman: Unbound
July 23, 2013 Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map[57] Puppet-live-action
July 30, 2013 Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
August 6, 2013 Tom and Jerry's Giant Adventure
August 20, 2013 Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright
January 21, 2014 JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time
February 4, 2014 Justice League: War
March 25, 2014 Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery with WWE Studios[58]
May 6, 2014 Son of Batman
August 12, 2014 Batman: Assault on Arkham
August 19, 2014 Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy
September 2, 2014 Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon
January 27, 2015 Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
February 10, 2015 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League
February 17, 2015 Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness[59]
March 10, 2015 The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! with WWE Studios[60][61]
April 14, 2015 Batman vs. Robin
May 12, 2015 Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts
June 23, 2015 Tom and Jerry: Spy Quest[62]
July 21, 2015 Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery[63]
July 28, 2015 Justice League: Gods and Monsters[64]
August 4, 2015 Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run[65]
August 18, 2015 Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem
August 25, 2015 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom[66]
February 2, 2016 Batman: Bad Blood[67]
March 1, 2016 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash[68]
April 12, 2016 Justice League vs. Teen Titans[67]
August 8, 2016[69] Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery 2 with WWE Studios[61]
2016 Batman: The Killing Joke[67]
Lego Justice League: Gotham Unleashed[70]
Batman Unlimited: Mech vs. Mutants[71]
Tom and Jerry: Return to Oz[72]
2017 Scooby-Doo! Wild West[73]
Untitled Jetsons & WWE film[74] with WWE Studios
Tom and Jerry: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory[75]

Direct-to-video short films

Release Date Title Released with
October 21, 2003 Chase Me Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
February 23, 2010 DC Showcase: The Spectre Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
July 27, 2010 DC Showcase: Jonah Hex Batman: Under the Red Hood
September 28, 2010 DC Showcase: Green Arrow Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
November 9, 2010 Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam
October 18, 2011 DC Showcase: Catwoman Batman: Year One

Original short pilots

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Maltin, Leonard (1980, rev. 1987). Of Mice and Magic. New York: Plume/Penguin Books. Pg. 273.
  2. ↑ Kenyon, Heather (April 1998) "An Afternoon with Max Howard, President, Warner Bros. Feature Animation". Animation World Network. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  3. ↑ The latest released WB cartoon sold to a.a.p. was Haredevil Hare, released on July 24, 1948.
  4. 1 2 3 Kit, Borys (7 January 2013). "Warner Bros. Creates Animation Film Think Tank". The Hollywood Reporter (Prometheus Global Media LLC). Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Shaw, Lucas (9 February 2014). "‘The Lego Movie’ Snaps a Bright, Colorful Franchise Into Place for Warner Bros. Animation". The Wrap (The Wrap News Inc.). Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Warner Bros. Pictures Dives Into Animation Think Tank". ComingSoon.net. January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Warner Bros Dates Lego Spinoff ‘Ninjago’ For Fall 2016". Deadline. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ Shaw, Lucas (February 3, 2014). "Warner Bros. Already Working on Sequel to ‘The Lego Movie’ (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  9. ↑ McNary, Dave (February 21, 2014). "‘Lego’ Sequel Set For May 26, 2017". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  10. ↑ Kit, Borys (October 10, 2014). "'Lego Batman' Spinoff Movie in the Works at Warner Bros. (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Space Jam". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Quest for Camelot". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Iron Giant". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ "The Iron Giant". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Osmosis Jones". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Osmosis Jones". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  20. ↑ "The Ant Bully". Rotten Tomatoesaccessdate=May 26, 2014.
  21. ↑ "The Ant Bully". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  22. ↑ "The Lego Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  23. ↑ "The Lego Movie". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Warner Bros. to Produce One "High-End" Animated Film Per Year; Nicholas Stoller, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller Among Filmmakers Developing Projects". Woodall's Campground Management. January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Andy Samberg, Kelsey Grammer to Voice Animated ‘Storks’". Variety. April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  26. 1 2 McNary, Dave (May 6, 2014). "Warner Bros. Sets Two New Animation Releases for 2017 and 2018". Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  27. 1 2 3 Kit, Borys (April 20, 2015). "'The Lego Batman Movie' Gets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ "The LEGO Movie Sequel is Officially Set for May 26, 2017!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  29. ↑ McNary, Dave (August 26, 2013). "Warner Bros. Developing Animated ‘Scooby-Doo’ Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  30. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 17, 2015). "New 'Scooby-Doo' Movie in the Works from Warner Animation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  31. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (August 6, 2014). "Two More 'Lego' Movies Get Release Dates". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  32. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 7, 2014). "New 'Flintstones' Movie in the Works at Warner Bros. (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  33. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (January 23, 2015). "Warner Bros Plots ‘The Jetsons’ Animated Feature; Matt Lieberman Writing". Deadline. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  34. ↑ Busch, Anita (February 27, 2015). "Cartoon Network’s ‘Adventure Time’ Heads To Big Screen At Warner Bros.". Deadline. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  35. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana; Kit, Borys (March 25, 2015). "New 'Lego' Spinoff Movie in the Works From Jason Segel, 'Iron Man 3' Writer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  36. ↑ "(EXCLUSIVE) WARNER BROS. RUNNING WITH “SPEEDY GONZALES” ANIMATED FEATURE". The Tracking Board. December 11, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  37. ↑ "‘Bone’: Jeff Smith says early Hollywood footage was ‘mind-blowing’". latimes.com. July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Looney Tunes "Daffy’s Rhapsody"". Reel FX. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  39. ↑ Hopewell, John (June 9, 2014). "Studios, France, Emerging Industries Energize Annecy". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2014. Closing ceremony, featuring Official Selection award announcements and Warner Bros.’ 3D short "A Flash in the Pain"
  40. ↑ "Reel FX Live from Annecy!". Reel FX. June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014. Peil wrapped up the presentation with the 6th installment in the series of Looney Tunes shorts "Flash in the Pain".
  41. ↑ http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2012/06/08/teen-titans-go-joining-dc-nation/
  42. 1 2 http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/adult-swim-announces-new-series-pilots/
  43. 1 2 "Cartoon Network Unveils Upfront Slate For 2014-15". Deadline. March 10, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  44. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylVWqz7EzgE
  45. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngT4sCD06mM
  46. ↑ http://deadline.com/2015/06/turner-broadcasting-warner-bros-ink-global-multi-series-deal-boomerang-animation-1201461361/
  47. 1 2 "New Warner Bros. Animation series on Disney XD?". Toonzone. September 5, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  48. ↑ http://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/boomerang-reboots-wacky-races-for-2016.5509022/
  49. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (April 29, 2015). "Netflix Picks Up ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ Animated Series From Ellen DeGeneres". Deadline. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  50. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Za4fXsNG3I
  51. ↑ Graser, Marc. "Machinima Lands Exclusive Animated ‘Justice League’ Series". Variety (September 17, 2014). Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  52. ↑ Fowler, Matt (January 11, 2015). "DC Comics' Vixen Animated Series Coming to CW Seed". IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  53. ↑ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151001006547/en/The%C2%A0DC-Super-Hero-Girls%C2%A0Universe-Live!
  54. ↑ http://deadline.com/2014/10/jim-parsons-elf-christmas-special-nbc-859664/
  55. ↑ http://comicbook.com/2015/09/14/robot-chicken-dc-comics-special-3-magical-friendship-air-date-an/
  56. ↑ http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/robot-chicken-dc-comics-special-iii-coming-in-fall/
  57. ↑ http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/07/07/comic-con-2013-schedule-sunday/
  58. ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-15/entertainment/sns-201208151738reedbusivarietynvr1118057864-20120815_1_scooby-doo-scooby-gang-mystery-machine
  59. ↑ Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness
  60. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike. "Animated ‘Flintsones’ Pic Adds Pro Wrestlers To Its Bedrock" Deadline.com (May 29, 2013).
  61. 1 2 http://variety.com/2014/film/news/wwe-scooby-doo-sequel-1201355824/
  62. ↑ "TOM AND JERRY Team Up With JONNY QUEST in 'TOM AND JERRY: SPY QUEST'". Forces of Geek. March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  63. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (April 20, 2015). "Scooby-Doo Meets KISS in ‘Rock and Roll Mystery’". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  64. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (April 15, 2015). "Justice League: Gods & Monsters Exclusive Trailer Debut". IGN. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  65. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (April 30, 2015). "Exclusive Trailer for LOONEY TUNES: RABBITS RUN". Collider. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  66. ↑ LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes - Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! Trailer Debut - IGN
  67. 1 2 3 Burlingame, Russ (July 11, 2015). "Batman: The Killing Joke Coming As an Animated Movie". Comicbook.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  68. ↑ First "LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes - Justice League: Cosmic Clash" Trailer Debuts
  69. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scooby-Doo-Wrestlemania-Mystery-2-DVD/dp/B018U4NFCW/
  70. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lego-Justice-League-Unleashed-Blu-ray/dp/B018U4NEQ4/ref=sr_1_11?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1452352604&sr=1-11&keywords=animation
  71. ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Unlimited-Mech-Mutants-DVD/dp/B019DX8PN8/ref=sr_1_4?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1452352604&sr=1-4&keywords=animation
  72. ↑ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2069988/Tom-and-Jerry-Return-to-Oz/
  73. ↑ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2069990/Scooby-Doo-Wild-West/
  74. ↑ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2069992/Jetsons-WWE/
  75. ↑ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2069991/Tom-Jerry-Charlie---Chocolate-Factory/
  76. ↑ Andy Updates: A CIRCUS PEANUT NAMED CARL

References

External links

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