Founded: 1930
WARNER BROS. ANIMATION is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, with an innovative and talent-rich roster boasting some of the most accomplished writers, producers and artists working today. WBA is home to the iconic animated characters from the DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries.
The studio is on the cutting edge of animation technology, and has both CG and traditionally animated projects in current production and development.
For television, WBA currently produces “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” “The Looney Tunes Show,” “MAD,” “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated,” “ThunderCats” and “Young Justice,” as well as the forthcoming “Green Lantern: The Animated Series,” all for Cartoon Network. WBA will also produce series and additional content for DC Nation, a new multiplatform programming block debuting on Cartoon Network in 2012 featuring original programming based upon DC Entertainment properties.
WBA also creates the highly successful series of DC Universe Original Animated Movies for DVD, including “Batman: Year One,” “Batman: Under the Red Hood,” “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” “Superman/Batman Apocalypse,” “Green Lantern: First Flight” and more.
In 2010, WBA unveiled three new CG cartoon shorts that feature iconic Looney Tunes characters Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, rendered in stereoscopic 3D. The films were released theatrically, attached to Warner Bros. Pictures releases. Three new Looney Tunes shorts will debut in 2011 and 2012, including “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat” and “Daffy’s Rhapsody,” both of which feature the voice of animation legend Mel Blanc.
Producing for multiple platforms including TV, digital and home entertainment both domestically and internationally, WBA is highly respected for its creative and technical excellence, as well as for maintaining the Studio’s rich cartoon heritage. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has been honored with six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).
WBA’s classic/contemporary library currently boasts 14,000 animated episodes and shorts (including some 1,500 classic shorts), which air on broadcast networks, cable networks and direct-to-video in 175 countries around the world. In 1996, more than 6,000 episodes from Hanna-Barbera (the legendary cartoon house founded in 1957 by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera), 422 titles from Ruby-Spears, 320 animated shorts from the MGM library (including 200 “Tom and Jerry” cartoons) and 224 “Popeye” cartoons joined Warner Bros. Animation’s classic (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies) and contemporary animation family. Beloved characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Road Runner, Sylvester & Tweety, Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam, Taz, Marvin the Martian, Batman, Superman, the Animaniacs, Pinky & The Brain, Tom and Jerry, Popeye, Droopy, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Jonny Quest and Scooby-Doo all reside under one roof.
Since the release of its first theatrical short, “Sinking in the Bathtub,” in 1930, Warner Bros. Animation and its family of now-classic characters have evolved into a cherished part of our culture, emerging as true entertainment legends enjoyed by children and adults alike around the world. Setting the standard for irreverent, satirical humor and inventive quality animation, the Studio has created a veritable galaxy of stars from its universe of characters.