Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation is the principal animation studio and label associated with Warner Bros. Entertainment, the television and film businesses of Warner Bros. Discovery. Re-established on March 15, 1980, it succeeded the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, which had closed in 1969 after decades of producing theatrical Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. The revived operation initially concentrated on new Looney Tunes-related compilation films, television specials, and theatrical shorts, preserving a direct connection with characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, and the Road Runner. The studio expanded decisively into television in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its first major original television success was Tiny Toon Adventures, produced with Amblin Entertainment. Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Freakazoid! followed, establishing a house style that combined fast-paced comedy, musical writing, and references aimed at both children and adults. Warner Bros. Animation also became a major producer of animated programming based on DC Comics properties. Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited gave the studio a central role in building what became known as the DC animated universe and helped demonstrate that superhero animation could attract a broad audience. During the 1990s, Warner Bros. developed a separate feature-animation operation. Its projects included Space Jam, Quest for Camelot, The Iron Giant, Osmosis Jones, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The Iron Giant was critically acclaimed but initially underperformed commercially, while Space Jam became a substantial popular success. Feature production was ultimately consolidated into Warner Bros. Animation after the commercial disappointment of Looney Tunes: Back in Action in 2003. The studio subsequently focused primarily on television, short-form work, and direct-to-video features, while continuing to support Warner's larger animation and franchise strategy. Warner Bros.' 1996 merger with Turner Broadcasting System brought important libraries and characters into the corporate portfolio. Hanna-Barbera's production operations were absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001, and the merger also returned the pre-1948 Warner cartoon library and brought access to properties associated with Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, and the pre-May 1986 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon library, including Tom and Jerry and other characters. These assets broadened the studio's production base and licensing possibilities, although Cartoon Network Studios handled many series developed for Cartoon Network. In the 2000s and 2010s, Warner Bros. Animation supplied programs for Kids' WB, The CW's Saturday-morning block, Cartoon Network, and other outlets. Its work included The Batman, Legion of Super Heroes, Krypto the Superdog, Loonatics Unleashed, Tom and Jerry Tales, Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Scooby-Doo projects. It also created DC Showcase, a line of short subjects distributed alongside DC direct-to-video films. The studio later returned to prominent theatrical and streaming projects, including The LEGO Movie series through Warner-associated production arrangements, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and renewed Looney Tunes projects. Its present scope spans animated television, streaming series, theatrical and hybrid features, shorts, specials, and home-entertainment releases built around Warner, DC, Hanna-Barbera, and related library properties.

The original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio operated from 1933 until 1969 and created the core Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical catalogue. Warner later relied on outside companies and former employees for occasional television specials and new material. The success of Looney Tunes compilation and retrospective projects in the 1970s, particularly The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, encouraged the company to restore an internal animation capability. Warner Bros. Animation opened on March 15, 1980. Under Hal Geer and executive producer Friz Freleng, it produced new wraparound material for compilation films including The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, and Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island. The studio also commissioned new theatrical shorts, including The Duxorcist, Night of the Living Duck, Box-Office Bunny, and Carrotblanca. These projects kept the classic characters commercially active while a new television operation was being assembled. The television expansion began in the mid-1980s under Jean MacCurdy, with Tom Ruegger and other personnel associated with Hanna-Barbera joining the effort. Tiny Toon Adventures, made with Amblin Entertainment, premiered in 1990 and was followed by Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Freakazoid!. The shows modernized the Warner comedy tradition and supplied the studio with a durable television-production platform. At the same time, Warner developed animated adaptations of DC Comics properties. Batman: The Animated Series premiered in 1992, followed by Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, and the Justice League programs. The DC productions became central to the studio's reputation for sophisticated, serialized action animation. Warner also pursued feature animation during the 1990s animation boom. Space Jam combined live action with animation and became a major popular success. Quest for Camelot received a mixed response, while The Iron Giant won broad critical admiration despite weak initial theatrical results. Osmosis Jones used a hybrid format, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action attempted to revive the classic-cartoon brand in a live-action and animated feature. After that film underperformed, Warner closed the separate feature-animation structure and consolidated its staff and operations into Warner Bros. Animation. The 1996 Time Warner–Turner merger materially expanded the studio's available intellectual property. Turner brought back rights to important Warner cartoon material and contributed Hanna-Barbera and MGM-related animation libraries. Hanna-Barbera production operations were absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. The studio subsequently produced or supported numerous Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, DC, Looney Tunes, and other library-based projects, including direct-to-video films and programming for Kids' WB, The CW, Cartoon Network, and home entertainment. The late 2000s brought organizational contraction. Warner closed the Sherman Oaks facility in 2007, relocated the studio to Burbank, and reduced its staffing after the end of the Kids' WB programming block. Warner Bros. Animation remained active through projects such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and DC Showcase shorts. In the following decade it continued to produce franchise animation for television, digital distribution, home entertainment, and theatrical release. The studio's later output has included renewed Looney Tunes work, DC animated films and series, and the Space Jam sequel, while its corporate home became Warner Bros. Discovery after the 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery.

1. 2021Space Jam: A New Legacy released

   The sequel returned the Looney Tunes and Space Jam brands to a major hybrid feature.

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2. 2008Kids' WB web portal introduced

   Warner launched an online destination for library characters, episodes, games, and original material.

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3. 2004Feature unit consolidated

   Warner Bros. Feature Animation was folded into the broader animation studio.

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4. 2001Hanna-Barbera absorbed

   Hanna-Barbera operations were integrated into Warner Bros. Animation.

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5. 1999The Iron Giant released

   The feature earned strong critical recognition despite disappointing initial theatrical performance.

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6. 1996Turner merger expands the library

   The Time Warner–Turner combination added Hanna-Barbera and MGM-associated animation assets and restored important Warner library rights.

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7. 1996Space Jam released

   The hybrid feature paired Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny and became a major Warner animation property.

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8. 1992Batman: The Animated Series premieres

   The series established Warner Bros. Animation as a leading producer of superhero animation.

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9. 1990Tiny Toon Adventures premieres

   The Amblin collaboration launched Warner's modern television-animation era.

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10. 1980Studio re-established

    Warner Bros. Animation opened on March 15 to produce new Looney Tunes-related material, compilation films, and specials.

    Source

A major American animation studio built around Warner Bros.' extensive character and story catalogues, combining legacy theatrical-cartoon brands with television, superhero, family, comedy, and franchise animation.

• Looney Tunes and Merrie MelodiesAnimated shorts, series, specials, and films1930

  Warner Bros. Animation's foundational character portfolio includes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote. The studio has used these characters in compilation films, television series, theatrical shorts, direct-to-video releases, digital projects, and hybrid features. The property remains central to Warner's animation identity and licensing business.

• Tiny Toon AdventuresAnimated television series1990

  Produced with Amblin Entertainment, Tiny Toon Adventures reimagined younger, successor-style versions of the Looney Tunes characters. Its success helped Warner establish a sustained television-animation operation and demonstrated the value of combining legacy characters with new casts and settings.

• AnimaniacsAnimated television series1993

  Animaniacs continued Warner's tradition of densely written cartoon comedy through the Warner siblings Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, along with recurring characters such as Pinky and the Brain. The series used musical numbers, parody, and topical humor to reach family and adult audiences.

• Batman: The Animated SeriesAnimated television series1992

  This DC Comics adaptation presented Batman in a stylized neo-noir setting with serialized character development and unusually mature dramatic themes for a children's television program. It became a benchmark for American superhero animation and led to a wider connected group of DC animated productions.

• Justice LeagueAnimated television series2001

  Justice League and its continuation, Justice League Unlimited, expanded Warner's animated DC continuity from individual heroes to a large ensemble. The programs adapted many DC characters and storylines while maintaining the continuity and visual language established by earlier Batman and Superman series.

• The Iron GiantAnimated feature film1999

  Brad Bird's science-fiction feature follows a boy who befriends a giant robot during the Cold War. Although its original theatrical release was commercially weak, the film's direction, hand-drawn animation, themes, and emotional storytelling earned lasting critical and audience recognition.

• Space JamHybrid feature film franchise1996

  The Space Jam films combine live-action performers with Looney Tunes characters. The first film linked Bugs Bunny and his fellow characters with basketball star Michael Jordan, while the later sequel updated the concept around LeBron James and a contemporary Warner intellectual-property framework.

• Scooby-Doo animated productionsAnimated television and direct-to-video productions2002

  Following the integration of Hanna-Barbera assets, Warner Bros. Animation became a major producer of Scooby-Doo series and home-entertainment films. The output has included What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and numerous direct-to-video features.

• DC ShowcaseAnimated short films2010

  DC Showcase is a line of short animated productions spotlighting lesser-known DC characters and concepts. These shorts have commonly been packaged with DC direct-to-video features, providing a lower-length format for experimentation and broader use of the comic-book catalogue.

• 2008Kids' WB online portal

  United States

  Warner introduced an interactive online environment that brought together classic episodes, original material, games, and characters from Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, DC, and other Warner libraries.

  Outcome. Expanded the brand's digital distribution and audience-engagement presence.

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• 2007Relocate and reduce the studioStrategy

  The end of the Kids' WB programming block and a broader reduction in animation activity led to organizational downsizing.

  What changed. Warner closed the Sherman Oaks facility, moved operations to Burbank, and reduced staffing.

  Aftermath. Warner Bros. Animation continued with a smaller footprint and concentrated on selected television, home-entertainment, and franchise projects.

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• 2004Consolidate feature and television animationStrategy

  After the underperformance of Looney Tunes: Back in Action and the scaling back of feature projects, Warner no longer maintained a separate feature-animation structure.

  What changed. Warner Bros. Feature Animation was folded into Warner Bros. Animation and the animation staff was consolidated.

  Aftermath. The studio focused more heavily on television, direct-to-video, shorts, and franchise-based animation.

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• 1996Integrate Turner animation assetsM&A

  The Time Warner–Turner combination added Hanna-Barbera operations and animation libraries associated with Turner Entertainment to Warner's corporate portfolio.

  What changed. Warner retained and progressively integrated the acquired properties, with Hanna-Barbera production operations ultimately absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation.

  Aftermath. The studio gained a substantially broader character and library base, including Scooby-Doo and access to MGM-associated cartoon properties.

  Source

• 2021Space Jam: A New Legacy is released

  The hybrid sequel renewed the theatrical association between the Looney Tunes characters and the Space Jam property.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2008Kids' WB online portal launches

  Warner introduced an online destination combining classic and original animated content, games, and Warner library characters.

  Product launch
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• 2007Warner Bros. Animation relocates and downsizes

  The Sherman Oaks facility was closed and the animation operation moved to the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank amid a substantial reduction in staffing.

  Other
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• 2004Warner Bros. Feature Animation is folded into the studio

  Following the underperformance of Looney Tunes: Back in Action, the feature-animation unit was consolidated into Warner Bros. Animation.

  Leadership change
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• 2001Hanna-Barbera operations are absorbed

  Warner Bros. incorporated Hanna-Barbera production operations into Warner Bros. Animation after the corporate integration of Turner assets.

  M&A
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• 1999The Iron Giant receives critical acclaim

  Warner's feature was widely praised but initially performed poorly in theaters, later developing a strong home-video and cult reputation.

  Product launch
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• 1996Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting System

  The merger returned important Warner cartoon rights and added Hanna-Barbera and MGM-associated animation assets to the corporate portfolio.

  M&A
  Source
• 1992Batman: The Animated Series premieres

  The DC-based series became one of the studio's defining productions and a foundation of the animated DC continuity.

  Product launch
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• 1990Tiny Toon Adventures launches a new television era

  The Amblin co-production became Warner Bros. Animation's first major original television series and helped establish its modern identity.

  Product launch
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• 1986Warner Bros. expands into regular television animation

  The company began building a dedicated television-animation operation, leading to original series and later DC Comics adaptations.

  Other
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• 1980Warner Bros. Animation is re-established

  Warner Bros. reopened an in-house animation operation to develop Looney Tunes-related films, specials, and shorts.

  Other
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1. Warner Bros. Animation
2. Warner Bros. official animation page
3. Time Warner
4. Batman: The Animated Series
5. The Iron Giant
6. Tiny Toon Adventures premieres
7. Space Jam released
8. Space Jam: A New Legacy released