 Logo used since 2024 | |
| Formerly | Warner Animation Group (2013–2023) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | |
| Predecessor | Warner Bros. Feature Animation (1994–2004) |
| Founded | January 7, 2013; 12 years ago (January 7, 2013) |
| Founder | Jeff Robinov |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Bill Damaschke (president) Chris Leahy (executive vice president) |
| Products | Animated films |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Website | warnerbrospicturesanimation.com |
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation[a] (WBPA), formerly known as theWarner Animation Group (WAG), is an Americananimation studio that serves as the animated feature film label ofWarner Bros.'theatrical film production anddistribution division,Warner Bros. Pictures. Established in January 2013, the studio is the successor to thetraditional animation studioWarner Bros. Feature Animation, which dissolved in 2004, and is also a sister to the regularWarner Bros. Animation studio.
The studio has produced10 feature films, its first beingThe Lego Movie, which was released on February 7, 2014, and the most recent beingDC League of Super-Pets, which was released on July 29, 2022. Films produced by WBPA have grossed a total of $2 billion at the box-office.
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 theWarner Animation Group.[1] The group includesJohn 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 byAnimal Logic, which also provided the animation for both spin-offs. It was met with critical praise and proved to be a box-office success. Due to the movie's success, amedia franchise was created, with two spin-offs,The Lego Batman Movie[2] andThe Lego Ninjago Movie (both 2017),[3] and a sequel,The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). WhileThe Lego Batman Movie proved to be successful at the box office,The Lego Ninjago Movie andThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part were both unable to recoup its budget, withNinjago 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. announcedAllison Abbate had been named Executive Vice President, and Chris Leahy has been named Senior Vice President.[6]
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 titledScoob! was initially set for a theatrical release on May 15, 2020,[8] but then it was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9] On April 21, 2020, it was announced that it would instead go tovideo on demand in response to the pandemic.[10] It received mixed reviews from critics.
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A live-action/animated film based onTom & Jerry was released internationally on February 11, 2021, and in the United States on February 26, simultaneously in theaters and onHBO Max. The film also marked the debut of the company's new logo, made to match the November 2019 refresh of the Warner Bros. shield that itself debuted a month prior inLocked Down.[11] It received generally negative reviews from critics, and is the first film from the company to have met so.
Space Jam: A New Legacy, starringLeBron James, was released on July 16, 2021, and was the first film from Warner Animation Group to incorporate traditional animation. It also received negative reviews from critics, due to its extensiveproduct placement ofWarnerMedia'sintellectual properties.
An animated film based on theLegion of Super-Pets titledDC League of Super-Pets was released on July 29, 2022.[12] It received generally positive reviews from critics.
A Christmas-themed spin-off prequel titledScoob! Holiday Haunt, taking place in the gang's youth, with the actors who portrayed their younger selves reprising, was set for release in 2022 onHBO Max, but was cancelled following the merger ofWarnerMedia andDiscovery, Inc. to formWarner Bros. Discovery in April 2022 by CEODavid Zaslav on August 2, 2022, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming.[13][14][15] Later that month, it was reported that the film would still be finished, even though Warner Bros. Discovery had no present plans to release it.[16] Although the film wasused as a tax write-off, the film was finally finished on November 4 that year.[17]
Following the merger, it was announced in August that Allison Abbate would be leaving the studio.[18]
On February 9, 2023, it was reported that formerDreamWorks Animation chief creative officerBill Damaschke was in talks to lead the studio.[19] 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-CEOsMichael De Luca andPamela Abdy on developing a new slate of films.[20] On June 9, 2023, Damaschke announced the rebranding of the division intoWarner Bros. Pictures Animation and stated that they planned to follow the creative lead of Abdy and De Luca.[21]
In August 2018, the studio began development on a live-action/animated hybrid film based onLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies characterWile E. Coyote, titledCoyote vs. Acme.[22] The project was directed byDave Green from a script bySamy Burch, withChris DeFaria andJames Gunn acting as producers.[23] Initially, the film was scheduled for July 21, 2023, a date it would later lose toGreta Gerwig'sBarbie.[24][25] In November 2023, parent companyWarner Bros. Discovery announced that the project would not be released despite its completion, with the studio preferring to take atax write-off instead.[26] Following extensive backlash from the public and the industry, Green and his collaborators were allowed to shop the film to potential distributors, withNetflix,Amazon MGM Studios,Paramount Pictures andApple Studios taking interest on the project.[27][28] After several unsuccessful negotiations, the film remained in limbo.[29] In March 2025,Ketchup Entertainment acquired worldwide rights to the film, with a 2026 release window.[30][31] That July, duringSan Diego Comic-Con, the film was announced to be scheduled for worldwide release on August 28, 2026.[32]
In January 2018, the studio began a strategic partnership withDr. Seuss Enterprises to produce musical films based on Seuss' work.[33] The first film under this collaboration is anadaptation ofThe Cat in the Hat, written and directed byAlessandro Carloni andErica Rivinoja and starringBill Hader as the titular character.[34] It is scheduled to release on November 6, 2026.[35][36] Aspin-off based on the characters Thing One and Thing Two is also in development.[37]
In June 2023, following the studio's rebranding to WBPA, a first-look deal with independent British studioLocksmith Animation was announced.[38] The first film under this partnership is a musical-comedy titledBad Fairies, directed by Megan Nicole Dong from a script byDeborah Frances-White. The film is scheduled to release on May 21, 2027.[39][40]
A Christmas film titledMargie Claus is scheduled to be released on November 5, 2027, withMelissa McCarthy to star and produce (under herOn the Day Productions company) alongsideBen Falcone and Pilar Flynn. Falcone also co-wrote the script with Damon Jones.[41] The project was previously set up as a live-action feature atNew Line Cinema.[42]
Oh, the Places You'll Go!, the second film of WBPA's partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, is scheduled for a March 17, 2028 release.Jon M. Chu andJill Culton are directing from a script by Rob Lieber.J.J. Abrams (through his companyBad Robot Productions) and Gregg Taylor will produce.[43][44]
In collaboration with sister companyDC Studios and puppet animation studio Swaybox, WBPA is developingDynamic Duo, directed by Arthur Mintz and written by Matthew Aldrich.[45] An origin story for the charactersDick Grayson (Nightwing) andJason Todd (Red Hood), the film is "a mix of animation, puppetry and CG". The project has been scheduled to open on June 30, 2028.[46]
A feature adaptation ofMarissa Meyer's fantasy book seriesThe Lunar Chronicles was announced as the second film in development under the Locksmith Animation deal.[38] Noëlle Raffaele is directing from a screenplay by Kalen Egan and Travis Sentell. The film has been scheduled to release on November 3, 2028.[47]
Meet the Flintstones, an origin story for the Hanna-Barbera characters, was announced to be in development along with the studio's rebranding to WBPA. It is being directed by Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve from a screenplay byAaron Horvath andMichael Jelenic, directors ofIllumination'sThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.[48][49]
A photorealistic animated feature film adaptation of theAnimal Planet seriesMeerkat Manor was announced to be in development in April 2024, withSeth Green and Tracy Falco set to produce the film, and series creator Caroline Hawkins and Clare Birks fromOxford Scientific Films to serve as executive producers.[50]
A "super-secret project" based onLooney Tunes is in development. Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve are attached to direct.[51]
A feature adaptation ofEmily the Strange is in development withPamela Ribon set to write the screenplay.Bad Robot will co-produce the film, withRob Reger, the character's creator, serving as executive producer alongside Trevor Duke-Moretz.[52]
A new feature based onTom and Jerry is in the works, withRashida Jones,Will McCormack andMichael Govier penning the script.[53]
Similar toParamount Animation andSony Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation outsources their computer-animated films' production to other studios such asAnimal Logic (The Lego Movie franchise,DC League of Super-Pets andToto),Sony Pictures Imageworks (Storks andSmallfoot),Reel FX Creative Studios (Scoob!),Framestore (Tom & Jerry) andIndustrial 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,[54] and Tonic DNA.[55][56][57][58][59][60]
The budgets for their films tend to range from $60–80 million. Their most expensive films to date areThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part ($99 million),Scoob! ($90 million),Space Jam: A New Legacy ($150 million), andDC League of Super-Pets ($90 million).
The screenplay department is reportedly somewhat similar toPixar 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".[61]
| 2014 | The Lego Movie |
|---|---|
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | Storks |
| 2017 | The Lego Batman Movie |
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | |
| 2018 | Smallfoot |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part |
| 2020 | Scoob |
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry |
| Space Jam: A New Legacy | |
| 2022 | DC League of Super-Pets |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2026 | Coyote vs. Acme |
| The Cat in the Hat | |
| 2027 | Bad Fairies |
| Margie Claus | |
| 2028 | Dynamic Duo |
| Oh, the Places You'll Go! | |
| The Lunar Chronicles |
| 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 |
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