DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Animation
Predecessor	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Founded	May 1963; 62 years ago (1963-05)
Founders	David H. DePatie Friz Freleng
Defunct	1980; 45 years ago (1980)
Fate	Acquired and renamed byMarvel toMarvel Productions
Successors	Studio: Marvel Productions (laterNew World Animation) Library: The Walt Disney Company Warner Bros. Animation Amazon MGM Studios (viaUnited Artists)
Headquarters	Burbank, California , United States
Products	Television shows Theatrical shorts Television specials Title sequences Television commercials
Owners	David H. DePatie Friz Freleng

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Inc.^[a] (also known asMirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions when involved with theMirisch brothers and Geoffrey Productions, andDFE Films) was an Americananimation studio founded by formerWarner Bros. Cartoons employees in May 1963, before being acquired by Marvel in 1980^[1] and renamed Marvel Productions. Based inBurbank, California, DFE produced animation for film and television.

Notable among the productions that the studio produced are the opening titles forThe Pink Panther (1963), itsfirst,second, andfifthsequels, and an associated series of animated theatrical shorts featuring thePink Panther character, as well as entries in theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies series from 1964 to 1967, theDr. Seuss television specials from 1971 to 1982, thelightsaber effects in the originalStar Wars (1977), and theBod Squad andTime for Timer series of public service announcements forABC in the mid 1970s.

DFE was formed by two former employees atWarner Bros. Cartoons, director/composer/producerFriz Freleng and executiveDavid H. DePatie, afterWarner Bros. closed its animation studio in May 1963.^[2][3] Although Freleng and DePatie were no longer working for Warner Bros., a generous gesture from a Warner executive allowed Freleng and DePatie to lease the former Warner cartoons studio on California Street in Burbank, complete with equipment and supplies for a low rent each year. Although DFE's initial business was in commercials and industrial films, several lucky breaks put the new studio into the theatrical cartoon business.

DirectorBlake Edwards contacted DFE and asked them to design a panther character for Edwards's new film,The Pink Panther. Pleased withHawley Pratt’s design for the character, Edwards contracted with DFE to produce the animatedtitles for the film. Upon the film's release, the titles garnered a tremendous amount of attention, so much that a large amount of the picture's gross is believed to have been generated by the success of DFE's title sequence.^[4]

DFE then signed withUnited Artists to produce a series of animated short subjects featuring thePink Panther, which included over 100 shorts for both theatrical and television audiences through 1980. Also in 1964, DePatie and Freleng's longtime employer, Warner Bros., contracted with DFE to produce additional newLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoon shorts for theatrical release.^[5]

DePatie and Freleng soon found themselves overflowing with work. Many of the animators who had worked at Warner Bros. during the 1950s and 1960s returned to the old Warner cartoon studio to work for DFE. The first entry in thePink Panther series,The Pink Phink, was directed by Freleng and won the studio its onlyAcademy Award in 1964. In 1966, DFE would receive an Academy Award nomination forThe Pink Blueprint.

The Pink Panther theatricalanimatedshorts became the basis of aSaturday-morning cartoon,The Pink Panther Show, on September 6, 1969; the show also included theatrical animated shorts ofThe Inspector (introduced in 1966)^[6] and eventuallyThe Ant and the Aardvark,Roland and Rattfink (introduced in 1968),^[7] andThe Texas Toads (Tijuana Toads). Like most animated television cartoons at the time,The Pink Panther Show contained a laugh track with narration. The cartoons were edited and in some cases re-dubbed to meet televisionstandards and practices for content.^[8]

The Pink Panther Show had several incarnations during the 1970s. The show was popular onNBC's Saturday morning line-up, starting as a half-hour program and expanding a few years later to 90 minutes each week. The studio provided the animated sequences for the 1969–1970 television seriesMy World and Welcome to It, based on the drawings ofJames Thurber. DFE was one of the subcontractors for the 1964–1967 Warner Bros. cartoons, along withFormat Productions.

TheLooney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts made by the studio can be easily identified by their modernized "Abstract WB" opening and closing sequences (although the "Abstract WB" opening and closing sequences were first used in three cartoons made by Warner Bros. Cartoons). However, select 1964–1967 DePatie–Freleng Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were panned by fans and critics alike, with some of the harshest judgements made against cartoons directed byRudy Larriva.^[9] The contract would eventually expire in May 1966 afterwards to set up a new version of the cartoon studio for Warner Bros. byWilliam L. Hendricks.^[10][11] After early 1967, DFE did not continue doing Warner cartoon work until the late 1970s/early 1980s, with the television specialsBugs Bunny's Easter Special (1977),Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979), andDaffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement (1980).

DFE also producedReturn to the Planet of the Apes, which ran on NBC from September 6 to November 29, 1975, andThe Oddball Couple, which ran on Saturday mornings on ABC from September 6 to December 20, 1975. One of the studio's television specials wasThe Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973), withTommy Smothers voicing the little bear who goes out to find Christmas (in the human world) while his fellow bears head for hibernation. DFE was also responsible for a number ofDr. Seuss specials, includingThe Cat in the Hat and different incarnations of theGrinch.

On February 6, 1980, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises went out of business and its assets were liquidated.^[12] Later, on June 19, 1980, Freleng and DePatie sold DFE Films toMarvel Comics, and Freleng returned toWarner Bros. Animation, whichWarner Bros. had re-opened earlier that year, to produce a series of feature films featuring vintage Warner cartoons with new connecting footage.^[13] DePatie made the transition to become the head ofMarvel Productions, the newly renamed DFE.^[14] In March 1982, DePatie announced that the company had started producing animated programs.^[15] The DePatie-Freleng name was later revived in name only in 1984 forPink Panther and Sons, which was entirely produced byHanna-Barbera Productions.

Although Marvel produced mainlysuperhero cartoons and animated series based on licensedtoy lines (includingHasbro properties), it continued to produce new productions starring the Pink Panther (a special for televisionPink at First Sight and motion picture titles forTrail of the Pink Panther andCurse of the Pink Panther).Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation would later reviveThe Pink Panther TV series in 1993 as a joint venture between MGM, Mirisch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng and United Artists, a decade after DFE's merger with Marvel and Mirisch/UA's merger into MGM.

In 1993, Marvel Productions was renamed toNew World Animation; afterNews Corporation purchasedNew World Entertainment in 1996, New World Animation was absorbed intoSaban Entertainment, ending the life of the studio that once was DFE. Marvel would continue to produce animated shows through a partnership with Saban, which had recently acquired a 50% stake inFox Kids. In 2001,The Walt Disney Company acquired Saban as part of its purchase ofFox Family Worldwide.

In 2009,The Walt Disney Company purchasedMarvel Entertainment, putting DFE's original and Marvel Comics-based programs under the ownership of the same corporation; all of the associated shows are now distributed byDisney–ABC Domestic Television. The Dr. Seuss specials animated by DFE are currently distributed byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment through Dr. Seuss Enterprises andCBS Media Ventures.

While the television catalog has often changed hands over the years, the theatrical cartoons continue to be owned by their original distributors:United Artists (via its current corporate parent,Amazon MGM Studios) forThe Mirisch Company cartoon library, and Warner Bros. for theLooney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons.

In the beginning, DePatie–Freleng had virtually the same facilities, personnel and producer as the former Warner Bros. Cartoons. AlthoughChuck Jones later worked with DePatie–Freleng onThe Cat in the Hat, Jones and most of his group of artists ended up atSib Tower 12 Productions. Jones independently produced newTom and Jerry cartoons for MGM.

Although many DePatie–Freleng employees contributed greatly to the success of its product, story artist and Disney and Warner alumnusJohn W. Dunn created most of its cartoon series, both for theatrical release and for television. These series includedThe Ant and the Aardvark,Tijuana Toads,Here Comes the Grump, andRoland and Rattfink, among others.

Many of the DFE cartoons were written and storyboarded by Dunn, including the first Pink Panther cartoon,The Pink Phink. Dunn's drawing style was used in other DFE cartoons as well.

In a short time, DFE began producing television shows as well as theatricals and specials, becoming a competitor toHanna-Barbera andFilmation. The studio's various cartoons, specials and shows are listed below.

Original series

Commissioned series

• Looney Tunes andMerrie Melodies (forWarner Bros., 1964–1967)^[5]

Commissioned series

• Sesame Street ("The Pink Panther karate-chops a K") (forChildren's Television Workshop) (1970)
• Doctor Snuggles (episodes 8-13) (for Polyscope Productions, withTopcraft) (1979)

Commissioned specials

• Apple Jacks (1965)
• Mr. Wiggle (1966)
• United Artists (1968)
• Pink Panther Flakes (1972)
• The Bod Squad (1974/1977)
• Time for Timer (1975)
• Charlie the Tuna
• Little Caesars

Pink Panther series

• The Pink Panther (1963)
• A Shot in the Dark (sub-contracted toGeorge Dunning & Associates, 1964)
• Inspector Clouseau (sub-contracted to TVC London, 1968)
• Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
• Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) (production finished atMarvel Productions)
• Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) (production finished at Marvel Productions)

Other films

• The Dead Ringer (1964)
• The Best Man (1964) (Special effects)
• Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
• How to Murder Your Wife (1965) (Special effects)
• Love Has Many Faces (1965)
• The Satan Bug (1965)
• the maps used inThe Hallelujah Trail (1965)
• The Art of Love (1965)
• The Great Race (1965)
• Do Not Disturb (1965)
• The Trouble with Angels (1966)
• the animated films parodying the Bell Telephone films inThe President's Analyst (1967)
• With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)
• Star Wars (1977) (special effects)
• Capricorn One (1978) (special effects)

Other TV series

• Rawhide (TV series, 1965) (season 8)
• The Wild Wild West (TV series, 1965-1969)
• I Dream of Jeannie (TV series, 1965–1970)
• My World and Welcome to It (TV series, 1969–1971)

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Arnold, Mark (2015).Think Pink! The DePatie-Freleng Story. BearManor Media.ISBN 9781593931698.
• Beck, Jerry (2005).Pink Panther : the ultimate guide to the coolest cat in town.ISBN 0-7566-1033-8.

• Unofficial DePatie-Freleng website

• DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
• American companies established in 1963
• American companies disestablished in 1980
• American companies disestablished in 1982
• American companies disestablished in 1983
• American companies disestablished in 1984
• Defunct American animation studios
• Mass media companies established in 1963
• Mass media companies disestablished in 1980
• Mass media companies disestablished in 1982
• 1963 establishments in California
• 1980 disestablishments in California
• 1982 disestablishments in California
• 1983 disestablishments in California
• Companies based in Burbank, California

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata