Warner Bros. Pictures Animation

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This article is about the animation division of Warner Bros. Pictures. For the animation division of the Warner Bros. Television Studios, see Warner Bros. Animation.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
Websitewarnerbros.com

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation

Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which shut down in 2004, and is also a sister to the regular Warner Bros. Animation
studio.

Its first film,

Toto
on unspecified release dates. Films produced by WBPA have grossed a total of $2 billion at the box office.

History

On January 7, 2013, Jeff Robinov (then head of the studio's motion picture division) founded a screenplay development department, nicknamed a "think tank" for developing theatrical animated films, known as the Warner Animation Group.[1] The group includes John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Jared Stern, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.[1] Warner Bros. created the group with the hope that the box office reception of their films will be competitive with other animation studios' releases.[1]

On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film, The Lego Movie, a film animated by Animal Logic, which also provided the animation for both spinoffs. It was met with critical praise and proved to be a box-office success. Due to the movie's success, a media franchise was created, with two spinoffs, The Lego Batman Movie[2] and The Lego Ninjago Movie (both 2017),[3] and a sequel, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). While The Lego Batman Movie proved to be successful at the box office, The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part were both unable to recoup its budget, with Ninjago being the first film from the Warner Animation Group to be a box-office flop.[4]

WAG's second film, Storks, was released September 23, 2016.[5] It received mixed reviews from critics. On December 14, 2017, Warner Bros. announced Allison Abbate had been named Executive Vice President, and Chris Leahy has been named Senior Vice President.[6]

The WAG shield used as the print logo from 2014 to 2021; extensively used in trailers

Smallfoot, released September 28, 2018, received mostly positive reviews from critics and became a box office success. In October 2019, Locksmith Animation formed a multi-year production deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, which will distribute Locksmith's films.[7]

An animated reboot of the Scooby-Doo film series titled Scoob! was initially set for a theatrical release on May 15, 2020,[8] but then it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] On April 21, 2020, it was announced that it would instead go to video on demand in response to the pandemic.[10] It received mixed reviews from critics.

Former logo as Warner Animation Group used from 2021 to 2023.

A live-action/animated film based on

HBO Max simultaneously and also debuted the company's new logo to match with the design of the new shield logo that Warner Bros. debuted back in November 2019, and like the main WB logo, which was debuted that year with Locked Down, it is made by Devastudios, using Terragen for the sky and clouds, along with the studio's blueprints from the Warner Bros. Studio Facilities and the available photography and videography from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and Google Maps, all in order to reconstruct it in CGI.[11]
It received generally negative reviews from critics, and is the first film from the company to have met so.

intellectual properties
.

An animated film based on the Legion of Super-Pets titled DC League of Super-Pets was released on July 29, 2022.[12] It received generally positive reviews from critics.

A Christmas-themed spin-off prequel titled

Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022 by CEO David Zaslav on August 2, 2022, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming.[13][14][15]
Following the merger, it was announced in August that Allison Abbate would be leaving the studio.

Unused logo for the then-renamed animation studio in 2023.

On February 9, 2023, it was reported that former DreamWorks Animation chief creative officer Bill Damaschke was in talks to lead the studio.[16] On May 5, 2023, it was confirmed in a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call by Zaslav that Damaschke had been hired, and was hard at work with Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy on developing a new slate of films.[17] On June 9, 2023, Damaschke announced the rebranding of the division into Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and stated that they planned to follow the creative lead of Abdy and De Luca.[18]

Upcoming releases

The studio was developing a live-action/animation hybrid film titled

Chris DeFaria and James Gunn, which was due to be released on July 21, 2023.[19] However, that release date was taken by Barbie, with Coyote vs. Acme remaining undated.[20] However, the film was cancelled on November 9, 2023, the studio citing a tax write-off;[21] a similar fate befell the Scoob! prequel Scoob! Holiday Haunt the previous year. This decision, which was not known to the crew until it was completed,[22] was met with backlash, citing that the film had received positive test screenings and interested buyers.[23][24] However, following extensive backlash, the company reversed their decisions, allowing the filmmakers to shop the film to interested distributors.[25] However, in February 2024, due to being unable to find a distributor, Warner Bros. Discovery was reportedly considering canceling and deleting the film for good, though discussions to release it were reportedly still ongoing.[26][27]

A

musical feature adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's children's book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story Of The Wizard Of Oz began animation production in February 2021. It is being directed by Alex Timbers, from a screenplay by John August, and produced by Derek Frey.[28] It was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 2, 2024. On April 5, 2023, it was taken off the release schedule with Alto Knights taking over its original release date.[29]

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is also collaborating with

Bad Robot Productions.[30]

There are also plans to develop a DC League of Super-Pets franchise following the film's critical and commercial success.[31]

The second Hanna-Barbera based film titled Meet the Flintstones, an origin movie based on The Flintstones is in early development. It will be written by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who both previously directed Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[18]

A photorealistic animated feature film adaptation of the Animal Planet series Meerkat Manor was announced to be in development in April 2024, with Seth Green and Tracy Falco set to produce the film, and series creator Caroline Hawkins and Clare Birks from Oxford Scientific Films to serve as executive producers.[32]

Production

Similar to

Reel FX Creative Studios (Scoob!), Framestore (Tom & Jerry) and Industrial Light & Magic (Space Jam: A New Legacy). However, Space Jam: A New Legacy did also include hand-drawn animation, which is done in-house and also outsourced from Company 3 Animation,[33] and Tonic DNA.[34][35][36][37][38][39]

The budgets for their films tend to range from $60–80 million. Their most expensive films to date are The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part ($99 million), Scoob! ($90 million), Space Jam: A New Legacy ($150 million), and DC League of Super-Pets ($90 million).

The screenplay department is reportedly somewhat similar to Pixar Animation Studios' "brain trust" in terms of how its members consult with one another and give feedback on each other's projects. The group is nicknamed the "think tank".[40]

Filmography

Main article: List of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation productions

Franchises

Title Films Short films Release dates
The Lego Movie 4 11 2014–2019
DC 2 0 2017–present
Tom & Jerry 1 2021–present
Looney Tunes 2021–present

Accolades

Main article: List of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation productions § Accolades

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Pronounced "Warner Brothers Pictures Animation"

References

  1. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (January 7, 2013). "Warner Bros. Creates Animation Film Think Tank". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media LLC. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Kit, Borys (April 20, 2015). "'The Lego Batman Movie' Gets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Warner Bros Dates Lego Spinoff 'Ninjago' For Fall 2016". Deadline Hollywood. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Mendelson, Scott. "Why 'The LEGO Movie 2' Is A Franchise-Ending Box Office Failure". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-07-27. Retrieved 2019-07-27.
  5. ^ "Warner Bros. Pictures Dives Into Animation Think Tank". ComingSoon.net. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "WARNER ANIMATION GROUP NAMES SENIOR CREATIVE TEAM". December 14, 2017. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Clarke, Stewart (October 31, 2019). "Warner Signs Multi-Picture Deal With Elisabeth Murdoch's Locksmith Animation". Variety. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (August 26, 2013). "Warner Bros. Developing Animated 'Scooby-Doo' Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  9. ^ Galuppo, Mia (March 24, 2020). "Warner Bros. Delays Release of 'In the Heights,' 'Scoob!' Due to Coronavirus". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (April 21, 2020). "'Scoob' Will Skip Theaters and Debut on Digital Platforms in May". Variety. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2020-12-14). "Warner Bros. Shifts 'Mortal Kombat,' 'Tom and Jerry' Release Dates". Variety. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  12. ^ "Warner Bros' 'DC Super Pets' Animated Movie Moves To 2022". May 22, 2019. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  13. ^ Couch, Aaron (August 2, 2022). "'Batgirl' and 'Scoob!: Holiday Haunt' Scrapped at Warner Bros. Amid Cost-Savings Push". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  14. ^ "Scoob! Sequel Shelved By HBO Max". Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  15. ^ Burlingame, Russ (December 22, 2021). "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt First Look Revealed in HBO Max Teaser". comicbook.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  16. ^ Kit, Borys (January 9, 2023). "Bill Damaschke in Final Talks to Head Warner Animation Group (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Szalai, Georg (May 5, 2023). "David Zaslav: "We Have Lost a Lot of Money," But Now It's Time to Rebuild Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  18. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 9, 2023). "Newly Appointed Warner Bros. Pictures Animation Boss Bill Damaschke On Group Rebrand, New Mission, 'Flintstones' Pic & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-12-23). "Warner Bros. Dates Three Pics For 2023 Theatrical Release (Not HBO Max): 'Furiosa', 'Coyote Vs. Acme' & 'The Color Purple'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 26, 2022). "'Barbie' Heads To Summer 2023 – CinemaCon". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 9, 2023). "'Coyote Vs. Acme': Finished Live/Action Animated Pic Shelved Completely By Warner Bros As Studio Takes $30M Tax Write-off". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  22. ^ Roundtree, Cheyenne (2023-11-10). "Coyote vs. Acme Crew Were Blindsided by Warner Bros. Killing Movie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  23. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (10 November 2023). "Scrapped Coyote Vs. Acme Film Teased in BTS Videos as Creatives Say Warner Bros. Is Anti-Art". indiewire.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  24. ^ Amidi, Amid (November 9, 2023). "Warner Bros. Shelves Fully-Completed 'Coyote Vs. Acme' For Tax Write-Off". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  25. ^ Belloni, Matthew (November 13, 2023). "Warners Reverses Course in 'Coyote vs. Acme' Fight". Puck News.
  26. ^ Taylor, Drew (2024-02-09). "The Final Days of 'Coyote vs. Acme': Offers, Rejections and a Roadrunner Race Against Time | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2024-02-10). "'Coyote Vs. Acme': With Pic's Fate In Limbo At Warners, Phil Lord Observes, "How Funny It Would Be For This To End With A Congressional Hearing"". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  28. ^ Grater, Tom (February 9, 2021). "Warner's 'Toto' Animation Gears Up; Federation Adds To Doc Slate; New BASE UK Chair – Global Briefs". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  29. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2023-04-05). "'Aquaman 2' Shifts Five Days Earlier, Warner Bros Dates 'The Wise Guys', 'Minecraft'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  30. ^ "J.J. Abrams To Produce 'Oh, The Places You'll Go!' Movie In Works At Warner Bros Amid Dr. Seuss Ramp-Up". October 1, 2020. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  31. ^ Melrose, Kevin (August 1, 2022). "Dwayne Johnson Says DC League of Super-Pets Is the Start of a Universe". Comic Book Resource. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  32. ^ D'Alessandro, Alexander (April 16, 2024). "Warner Bros Pictures Animation To Adapt Animal Planet Series 'Meerkat Manor' For Big Screen". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  33. ^ "Work". www.company3animation.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  34. ^ "Space Jam : A New Legacy". Archived from the original on 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  35. ^ O'Connor, James (March 15, 2020). "Space Jam 2 Is Being Worked On By Director Of Original Mulan". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  36. ^ Dan Haskett (Podcast). The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast. July 3, 2020.
  37. ^ "Tweet by Matt Williames". Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  38. ^ "Williames at RCC". Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  39. ^ "Tweet by Ole Loken". Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  40. ^ Shaw, Lucas (February 9, 2014). "'The Lego Movie' Snaps a Bright, Colorful Franchise Into Place for Warner Bros. Animation". The Wrap. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.

External links

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