List of animation studios owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment
Warner Bros. Entertainment has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on April 4, 1923, by Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, as the Warner Features Company; Warner Bros. Animation in Burbank, California is currently the company's flagship feature animation studio and claims heritage from this original studio.
Besides Warner Bros. Animation, WB also presently operates the Warner Animation Group, Cartoon Network Studios, and Williams Street (both through Cartoon Network). This article does not include other animation studios whose films were released by Warner Bros. Pictures (the company's distribution unit) and not acquired by the company.
Full list
Studio | Established | Parent unit |
---|---|---|
1980 |
||
Animation: Theatrical feature films and short films in Hand-drawn and CGI
| ||
2013 |
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Animation: Computer generated animated theatrical feature films and short films Founded in 2013. | ||
1994 |
||
Animation: animated theatrical feature films Acquired in 2019 in the restructuring of WarnerMedia.
| ||
1994 |
Cartoon Network | |
Animation: Television series and Feature films
|
Studio | Established | status |
---|---|---|
1933 |
closed in 1969 | |
Hand-drawn Theatrical feature films and short films | ||
1957 |
closed in 2001 | |
Animation: theatrical, direct to video, short and television films Began in 1957, creating some of the most well known characters of the 20th century. Exists only to hold copyrights. | ||
Warner Bros. Feature Animation |
1991 |
closed in 2004 |
Animation: Television series and Feature films
| ||
Turner Feature Animation |
1994 |
merged with Warner Bros. Feature Animation in 1997 |
Animation: Television series and Feature films
|
Warner Bros. Pictures Group
Warner Bros. Feature Animation
Warner Bros. Feature Animation, a division of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, opened in 1991 with 360 employees in Burbank, and another 100 employees in London.[2] Warner Bros. placed veteran film producer Max Howard in charge of the new division[3]
Projects
Release date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
November 15, 1996 | Space Jam | |
May 15, 1998 | Quest for Camelot | |
August 6, 1999 | The Iron Giant | |
August 10, 2001 | Osmosis Jones | |
November 14, 2003 | Looney Tunes: Back in Action |
Warner Animation Group
The Warner Animation Group (officially abbreviated to WAG) was created in 2013, by Jeff Robinov to create animated theatrical films for Warner Bros. Pictures, and to replace the shuttered Warner Bros. Feature Animation which closed in 2004.
Projects
Release date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
February 7, 2014 | The Lego Movie | |
June 17, 2014 | Enter the Ninjago | Included with the home media release of The Lego Movie. |
January 29, 2016 | The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure | An attraction at Legoland Florida |
September 23, 2016 | The Master | Short which premiered before the theatrical release of Storks |
September 23, 2016 | Storks | |
February 10, 2017 | The Lego Batman Movie | |
September 22, 2017 | The Lego Ninjago Movie | |
September 28, 2018 | Smallfoot | |
February 8, 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part |
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Cartoons alumnus Chuck Jones in the 1970s began producing new Looney Tunes shorts, and films compiled of old shorts such as The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie in 1979. Due to the success of the film Warner Bros. reestablished an animation studio, hiring original employees Hal Geer, and Friz Freleng to lead the studio. The new animation studio went on to create new animated shorts throughout the 1980s and '90s, and animated the Steven Spielberg TV shows Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain. The studio created iconic shows such as Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.
Notable projects
Release date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
September 14, 1990 | Tiny Toon Adventures | |
September 5, 1992 | Batman: The Animated Series | |
September 13, 1993 | Animaniacs | |
September 5, 1995 | Pinky and the Brain | |
September 6, 1996 | Superman: The Animated Series | |
September 13, 1997 | The New Batman Adventures |
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Established in 1933, after Harman and Ising who had been creating animated shorts for Warner Bros. since 1927, left for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Warner Bros. Cartoons began creating animated shorts for the company, going on to launch the most famous characters in history, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. The animation studio created dozens of award-winning shorts before shuttering in 1969.
Projects
Release date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
October 11, 1960 | The Bugs Bunny Show | |
March 28, 1964 | The Incredible Mr. Limpet |
Cartoon Network Studios
Founded in 1994, Cartoon Network Studios originated as a division of Hanna-Barbera, that focused on producing original programing for Cartoon Network including Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls. Following the merger of Hanna-Barbera's parent, Turner Broadcasting System with Time Warner, the Hanna-Barbera studio was folded into Warner Bros. Animation by its chief executive, Jean MacCurdy.[4] After Hanna-Barbera merged into Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios was resurrected as a separate entity.[4]
Williams Street
Created in 1994, Williams Street Productions was started by Cartoon Network to produce more adult-targeted serials for the network. Being the main production arm of Adult Swim, the division started as Ghost Planet Industries named after the home planet of its most popular show's main character, Space Ghost.
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Hanna-Barbera
Started in 1957 by Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The company went on to create numerous television shows. In 1991, the studio was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System, and began creating media exclusively for Cartoon Network. In 1998 it was moved to the same complex as Warner Bros. Animation, before the two companies were merged in 2001. Hanna-Barbera exists only as a copyright holder to their old properties.
Turner Feature Animation
Founded in 1994, Turner Feature Animation was created from the feature animation division of Hanna-Barbera. After its first film in 1994, the studio's parent company Turner Entertainment was bought by Time Warner in 1996, and the Turner Feature Animation division was folded into Warner Bros. Feature Animation before the release of their second and final film.[5]
Projects
Release date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
November 23, 1994 | The Pagemaster | |
March 28, 1997 | Cats Don't Dance |
Notes
- Original name for Williams Street, taking its name from the fictional planet of their hit character "Space Ghost".
References
- "Warner Bros. Animation VFX (Sorted by Release Date Ascending)". IMDb.
- Lippman, John (September 24, 1996). "Bugs, Michael team up in ultimate commercial movie". The Wall Street Journal. ProQuest 398551210.
- Kenyon, Heather (April 1998). "An Afternoon with Max Howard, President, Warner Bros. Feature Animation". Animation World Magazine. 3 (1). Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- Seibert, Fred (December 18, 2007). "Hanna-Barbera Studios, 1997". Frederator Blogs. Frederator Studios. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
- "'Cats' Tries to Mix Parody and Nostalgia". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1997.