Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
The animated feature-film label of Warner Bros. Pictures, developing and releasing theatrical animated films based on original ideas, licensed properties and Warner-owned characters.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is the animated feature-film label within Warner Bros. Pictures, the theatrical production and distribution division of Warner Bros. It was established in January 2013 as Warner Animation Group, several years after Warner Bros. Feature Animation had been dissolved. The new unit was created to develop a stronger and more consistent theatrical animation pipeline and to compete more directly with the large animation divisions operated by other Hollywood studios. The group began as a screenplay-development and creative-consultation department sometimes described as a think tank. Its early creative participants included filmmakers and writers such as John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Jared Stern, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Rather than operating principally as a large in-house animation factory, the label generally commissions production from specialist animation vendors while Warner Bros. manages development, financing, production oversight, marketing and distribution. Partners have included Animal Logic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Reel FX Creative Studios, Framestore and Industrial Light & Magic. The label's first release was The Lego Movie in 2014. The film became a critical and commercial breakthrough and established a broader Lego-based film series, including The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Other releases expanded the studio's range beyond Lego, including Storks, Smallfoot, Scoob!, Tom & Jerry, Space Jam: A New Legacy and DC League of Super-Pets. The slate has combined computer animation with hybrid live-action and animation, traditional hand-drawn techniques and characters drawn from Warner's extensive intellectual-property library. The studio's performance has been mixed. Several productions, especially The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, Smallfoot and DC League of Super-Pets, received favorable critical responses, while The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2 did not recover their production costs according to the cited reference material. The COVID-19 pandemic also changed release strategies: Scoob! moved from a planned theatrical release to video on demand, while Tom & Jerry received a simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max release in the United States. The label's projects have also been affected by corporate strategy, most visibly when the completed Scoob! Holiday Haunt was cancelled and treated as a tax write-off after the WarnerMedia–Discovery merger. In 2023, Warner Animation Group was renamed Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. The rebrand placed the division more explicitly within the Warner Bros. Pictures identity and accompanied a renewed focus on developing a theatrical slate. Bill Damaschke, formerly associated with DreamWorks Animation, was appointed to lead the studio and worked with Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chief executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. The post-rebrand development slate includes projects connected to Dr. Seuss, Locksmith Animation, DC, Sanrio, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and other properties, alongside original projects and adaptations. The label therefore functions as both a conventional animation studio brand and a theatrical platform for Warner's broader character and franchise portfolio.
History
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation emerged from Warner Bros.' effort to rebuild a theatrical animation operation after the closure of Warner Bros. Feature Animation in 2004. On January 7, 2013, motion-picture executive Jeff Robinov established a development group called Warner Animation Group. The initial concept emphasized screenplay development, collective feedback and the creation of a commercially competitive slate rather than the immediate construction of a fully integrated animation production campus. The unit's first film, The Lego Movie, opened in February 2014. Animated by Animal Logic, it combined a recognizable toy property with an original comic adventure and became the foundation for the studio's early identity. Its success led to several connected projects: The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie in 2017, followed by The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. The Lego Batman Movie performed strongly, while The Lego Ninjago Movie and the sequel were less successful financially. Warner expanded the label's portfolio with Storks in 2016 and Smallfoot in 2018. Smallfoot received a generally positive critical response and performed well commercially. In 2019, Warner entered a multi-year production and distribution arrangement with Locksmith Animation, broadening its access to external creative development. The pandemic disrupted the release model. Scoob!, produced with Reel FX, was moved from theaters to video on demand in 2020. Tom & Jerry reached international theaters in 2021 and opened in the United States simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Space Jam: A New Legacy, released the same year, incorporated traditional animation as part of a hybrid production and attracted unfavorable reviews. DC League of Super-Pets followed in 2022 and was received more positively. Corporate restructuring had a major effect on the division. After WarnerMedia and Discovery combined to create Warner Bros. Discovery, Scoob! Holiday Haunt was cancelled in August 2022 despite being completed later that year. The decision was associated with cost-cutting and a shift away from certain streaming-oriented projects. Allison Abbate subsequently left the studio. Bill Damaschke was reported to be under consideration to lead the unit in February 2023 and his appointment was confirmed in May. In June, the company announced the rebrand to Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. The renamed studio's strategy centered on a new theatrical slate developed with Warner Bros. Pictures Group leadership. Its announced projects include adaptations and franchise films involving Dr. Seuss, Looney Tunes, DC, Hanna-Barbera, Sanrio and Locksmith Animation, along with original and independently co-produced features. The studio continues to rely substantially on outside animation companies while serving as Warner Bros.' principal brand for animated theatrical features.
- 2023
Rebranded as Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
[1]The division adopted its current name and placed renewed emphasis on theatrical film development.
- 2022
Scoob! Holiday Haunt cancelled
[1]The completed project was withheld following Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate merger and cost-reduction program.
- 2019
Locksmith Animation production arrangement
[1]Warner Bros. and Warner Animation Group entered a multi-year production and distribution relationship with Locksmith Animation.
- 2017
Senior creative leadership appointed
[1]Allison Abbate became executive vice president and Chris Leahy became senior vice president.
- 2014
The Lego Movie becomes the first release
[1]The Animal Logic production launched the division and became its defining early commercial success.
- 2013
Warner Animation Group established
[1]Jeff Robinov created a screenplay-development and creative-planning group to build a competitive Warner Bros. theatrical animation slate.
Products and positioning
Mainstream theatrical animation built around accessible original stories, major licensed properties and Warner Bros. character franchises.
Animated feature franchise · 2014
The Lego Movie franchise
The studio's breakthrough franchise began with The Lego Movie in 2014 and continued through The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. The films use Lego's construction-toy imagery as the basis for comedy, action and cross-property storytelling.
Original animated feature · 2018
Smallfoot
Smallfoot is a computer-animated adventure comedy about a community of yetis whose beliefs are challenged by the discovery of a human. Released in 2018, it broadened the label beyond established Warner or Lego properties and received generally favorable reviews.
Animated franchise feature · 2020
Scoob!
Scoob! reimagines Scooby-Doo and other Hanna-Barbera characters in a feature-length adventure. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it moved from a planned theatrical release to video on demand in 2020.
Hybrid live-action and animated feature · 2021
Tom & Jerry
The 2021 Tom & Jerry film combines live-action environments with animated versions of the classic cat-and-mouse characters. It was released internationally in theaters and in the United States through a simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max strategy.
Animated superhero feature · 2022
DC League of Super-Pets
DC League of Super-Pets adapts the Legion of Super-Pets concept into a comedy adventure centered on the animal companions of DC superheroes. Released in 2022, it was among the studio's more positively reviewed later Warner Animation Group productions.
Animated literary adaptation · 2026
The Cat in the Hat
This planned musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat is being developed through Warner Bros.' partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja are attached as writer-directors, with Bill Hader attached to voice the title character.
Brand decisions
2023
Rebrand and rebuild the theatrical slateStrategyBackground
Warner Bros. Discovery sought a clearer theatrical identity for its animation operation after corporate restructuring.
Action taken
Warner Animation Group was renamed Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, with Bill Damaschke leading development alongside Warner Bros. Pictures Group executives.
Aftermath
The studio announced a broader slate spanning Warner-owned characters, licensed properties, literary adaptations and original projects.
2022
Cancel Scoob! Holiday HauntStrategyBackground
After the WarnerMedia–Discovery merger, Warner Bros. Discovery pursued cost reductions and redirected emphasis toward theatrical films.
Action taken
The company cancelled the planned HBO Max release and used the completed project as a tax write-off.
Aftermath
Industry backlash led the filmmakers to seek potential outside distribution, although Warner Bros. Discovery initially had no release plan.
2020
Move Scoob! to video on demandStrategyBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic made the film's scheduled theatrical launch impractical.
Action taken
Warner Bros. changed the release plan to a video-on-demand debut.
Aftermath
The decision made Scoob! an early example of the studio adapting an animated feature's distribution strategy during the pandemic.
Recent events
- 2023
Warner Animation Group becomes Warner Bros. Pictures Animation[1]
Leadership change
The division adopted its current name and announced a renewed theatrical development strategy under Bill Damaschke.
- 2023
Warner Bros. shelves Coyote vs. Acme[1]
Other · Campaign
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the completed Looney Tunes hybrid film would be withheld in exchange for a tax write-off, prompting industry criticism and allowing the filmmakers to seek another distributor.
- 2022
Warner Bros. cancels Scoob! Holiday Haunt[1]
Bankruptcy · Other
The completed animated project was shelved after the WarnerMedia–Discovery merger as part of cost reduction and a greater emphasis on theatrical films.
- 2020
Scoob! moves from theaters to video on demand[1]
Product launch · Other
The COVID-19 pandemic led Warner Bros. to replace the planned theatrical opening with a video-on-demand release.
- 2014
Warner Animation Group releases The Lego Movie[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The studio's first feature became a critical and commercial breakthrough and launched a Lego-centered film franchise.
Sources2 sources
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