Warner Bros. Pictures Animation

**Warner Animation Group (WAG)**, doing business as **Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (WBPA)** and formerly known as **Warner Bros. Feature Animation (WBFA)** and shortly **Warner Bros. Animation Studios (WBAS)** is an American animation studio founded by Hal Geer, and later Jeff Robinov. It was founded on January 10, 1980, as the 2D traditional hand-drawn animation studio, Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which changed its name to WAG in early 2004, and is also a sister to the regular Warner Bros. Animation studio.

## History

In 1980, Warner Bros. launched a new feature animation division after the closure of the former Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. Three compilation films, _The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie_, _Bugs Bunny’s 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tails_ and _Daffy Duck’s Fantastic Island_ were the first few films produced by the studio. Their fourth feature, _Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer_, was released in 1985 receiving mixed-to-negative reviews. Their fifth (and first live-action film), _Beetlejuice_, received critical acclaim and was a box-office success, due to that it spawned a franchise of games, a television animated series, along with a 2018 stage musical. A sequel titled _Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_ was released in 2024, also with critical acclaim.

On January 10, 2004, Warner Bros. (the owner of the motion picture division) changed the name of **Warner Bros. Feature Animation**. On January 7, 2013, Jeff Robinov took control of the studio by having it as a screenplay development department, nicknamed a "think tank" for developing newly featured theatrical animated films, known as the **Warner Animation Group**. Warner Bros. changed the name for the hope that the box office reception of their films will be better and more competitive with other animation studios' releases.

On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film based off the LEGO construction toys, _The Lego Movie_, a film animated by Animal 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, a media franchise was created, with two spin-offs, _The Lego Batman Movie_ and _The Lego Ninjago Movie_ (both 2017), a sequel, _The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part_ (2019). Another spin off, co-produced by Universal Pictures, called _Piece by Piece_, was released in 2024. 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, and _Piece by Piece_, despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics, the film was also a box office failure

## Released feature films

|#|Title|Release date|Distributor/Co-production with|Animation service|Released by|Notes||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|_The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie_|November 20, 1981|Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Animation|VHS|First compilation film||
|2|_Bugs Bunny’s 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tails_|November 19, 1982|Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Animation|Theatrical|Second compilation film||
|3|_Twice Upon a Time_|August 5, 1983|The Ladd Company Korty Film Lucasfilm|Lumage|Theatrical|First stop motion film and first non-Looney Tunes film||
|4|_Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island_|August 5, 1983|Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Animation|Theatrical|Third compilation film||
|5|_Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer_|November 15, 1985|DIC Enterprises Hallmark Cards|TMS Entertainment|Theatrical|Second non-Looney Tunes film||
|6|_Beetlejuice_|March 30, 1988|The Geffen Company||Theatrical|First live action film||
|7|_Daffy Duck's Quackbusters_|September 24, 1988|Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Animation|VHS|Fourth and last compilation film||
|8|Babar: The Movie|July 28, 1989|New Line Cinema (US only) Nelvana Ellipse Programme The Clifford Ross Company|Hanho Heung-Up, Co., Ltd.|Theatrical|First film to be produced under New Line||
|9|_The Nutcracker Prince_|November 21, 1990|Lacewood Productions Hinton Animation Studios Boulevard Entertainment Allied Filmmakers|Hinton Animation Studios|Theatrical|||
|10|_Rover Dangerfield_|August 2, 1991|Hyperion Animation The Kushner-Locke Company|Hyperion Animation|Theatrical|||
|11|_Free Willy_|July 16, 1993|Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Alcor Films||Theatrical|Second live action film||
|12|Tom and Jerry: The Movie|July 30, 1993|Miramax (US only) Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution (International) Turner Entertainment Co. Live Entertainment Film Roman|Film Roman|Theatrical|First film in the Tom and Jerry franchise under the studio. First film to be based on a Hanna-Barbera property||
|13|_Batman: Mask of the Phantasm_|December 25, 1993|Warner Bros. Animation Dong Yang Animation Spectrum Animation DC Entertainment|Dong Yang Animation Spectrum Animation|Theatrical|First film under the studio to be based on a DC property. First animated film in the Batman franchise under the studio||
|14|_Thumbelina_|March 30, 1994|Don Bluth Ireland Limited|Don Bluth Animation|Theatrical|First Don Bluth film under the studio||
|15|_The Mask_|July 29, 1994|New Line Cinema Dark Horse Entertainment Katja Motion Picture Corporation|Industrial Light & Magic Dream Quest Images|Theatrical|First PG-13 film. third live action film and second film to be produced under New Line.||
|16|_A Troll in Central Park_|October 4, 1994|Don Bluth Ireland Limited|Don Bluth Animation|Theatrical|Second Don Bluth film under the studio||
|17|_The Swan Princess_|November 18, 1994|New Line Cinema (North America) Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (International) Nest Entertainment Rich Animation Studios|Rich Animation  Studios|Theatrical|Third film to be produced under New Line.||
|18|_The Pebble and the Penguin_|April 12, 1995|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (US and Canada) Warner Bros. Pictures (International) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation Don Bluth Limited|Don Bluth Animation|Theatrical|Third Don Bluth film under the studio||
|19|_Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home_|July 19, 1995|Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Alcor Films Shuler-Donner/Donner||Theatrical|Fourth live action film||
|20|_Space Jam_|November 15, 1996|Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Northern Lights Entertainment|Main facility Bardel Entertainment Stardust Pictures Heart of Texas Productions Character Builders Chuck Gammage Animation Premier Films Ltd. Rees / Leiva Productions Spaff Animation Uli Meyer Features|Theatrical|First non-compilation Looney Tunes film First film under the studio to be based around the NBA Fifth live action film First live action/animated hybrid film||
|21|_Cats Don't Dance_|March 26, 1997|Turner Feature Animation David Kirschner Productions|Turner Feature Animation|Theatrical|||
|22|_Free Willy 3: The Rescue_|August 8, 1997|Regency Enterprises Shuler Donner/Donner||Theatrical|Sixth live action film||
|23|_Pippi Longstocking_|August 22, 1997|Nelvana AB Svensk Filmindustri IdunaFilm (Sweden) Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Germany) Malofilm (Canada) TFC Trickompany|Nelvana|Theatrical|Based on the series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren||
|24|_The Fearless Four_|October 2, 1997|Munich Animation Bioskop Film|Munich Animation|Theatrical|||
|25|_Quest for Camelot_|May 15, 1998|Warner Bros. Family Entertainment|Warner Bros. Feature Animation|Theatrical|||
|26|_The King and I_|March 19, 1999|Rich Animation Studios Rankin/Bass Productions Morgan Creek Productions, Inc.|Rich Animation Studios|Theatrical|First and only Rankin/Bass film produced under the studio||
|27|_The Iron Giant_|August 4, 1999|Warner Bros. Feature Animation|Warner Bros. Feature Animation|Theatrical|First and only film under the studio to be directed by Pixar-executive Brad Bird||
|28|_Pokemon: The First Movie_|November 10, 1999|Toho Company, Ltd. Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment Kids' WB!|OLM, Inc.|Theatrical|First film under the studio to be based on Nintendo property and the first film overall in the Pokemon franchise||
|29|_Animaniacs: Yakko's Wish_|December 21, 1999|Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Animation Amblin Entertainment|Warner Bros. Animation|VHS and Digital|First film to be based on the Animaniacs and the first film under the studio to be produced by Amblin.||
|30|_Pokemon: The Movie 2000_|July 21, 2000|Toho Company, Ltd. Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment Kids WB!|OLM, Inc.|Theatrical|Second film in the Pokemon franchise||
|31|_Tweety's High-Flying Adventure_|September 12, 2000|Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Family Entertainment|Warner Bros. Animation|VHS (9/12/00) Digital (9/11/07)|||
|32|_Pokemon 3: The Movie_|April 6, 2001|Toho Company, Ltd. Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment Kids' WB!|OLM, Inc.|Theatrical|Third film in the Pokemon franchise||
|33|_Cats & Dogs_|July 4, 2001|Village Roadshow Pictures Roadshow Animation Cat Fight Pictures NPV Entertainment Mad Chance Zide/Perry Productions Rhythm & Hues Studios|Rhythm & Hues Studios|Theatrical|Seventh live action film Second live action/animated hybrid film||
|34|_Osmosis Jones_|August 10, 2001|Warner Bros. Feature Animation Conundrum Entertainment|Warner Bros. Feature Animation|Theatrical|Eighth live action film Third live action/animated hybrid film||
|35|_Scooby-Doo_|June 14, 2002|Warner Bros. Pictures Hanna-Barbera Productions Atlas Entertainment Mosaic Media Group|Rhythm & Hues Studios|Theatrical|Ninth live action film Fourth live action/animated hybrid film Second film based on a Hanna-Barbera property First film in the Scooby-Doo franchise under the studio||
|36|_The Powerpuff Girls Movie_|July 3, 2002|Warner Bros. Pictures Cartoon Network Studios|Cartoon Network Studios|Theatrical|First film based on a Cartoon Network property||
|37|_Kangaroo Jack_|January 17, 2003|Warner Bros. Pictures (worldwide) Roadshow Entertainment (Australia) Castle Rock Entertainment Jerry Bruckheimer Films|Rhythm & Hues Studios|Theatrical|Tenth live action film Fifth live action/animated hyrid film||
|38|_The Little Polar Bear_|June 20, 2003|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film Warner Bros. Filmproduktion|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film|Theatrical|Based on the books by Hans de Beer||
|39|_Looney Tunes: Back in Action_|November 14, 2003|Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Feature Animation|Theatrical|Eleventh live action film Sixth live action/animated hybrid film||
|40|_Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed_|March 26, 2004|Mosaic Media Group|Rhythm & Hues Studios|Theatrical|Twelveth live action film Seventh live action/animated hybrid film Third film based on a Hanna-Barbera property Second film in the Scooby-Doo franchise under the studio||
|41|_Clifford's Really Big Movie_|April 23, 2004|Scholastic Entertainment Big Red Dog Productions|Starburst Animation Co., Ltd.|Theatrical|Based on the PBS Kids series||
|42|_Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light_|August 13, 2004|Warner Bros. Pictures (United States) Toho Company, Ltd. (Japan) Studio Gallop 4Kids Entertainment|Studio Gallop|Theatrical|Based on the Yu-Gi-Oh series||
|43|_Laura's Star_|September 23, 2004|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany MABO Pictures Filmproduktion Comet Film|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film|Theatrical|Based on the German children's book series by Klaus Baumgart||
|44|_The Polar Express_|November 10, 2004|Castle Rock Entertainment Shangri-La Entertainment Playtone ImageMovers Golden Mean Productions|ImageMovers|Theatrical|Based on the 1985 fantasy children's book by Chris Van Allsburg||
|45|_Son of the Mask_|February 18, 2005|Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema (United States) Radar Pictures Dark Horse Entertainment|Industrial Light & Magic Tippett Studio|Theatrical|Thirteenth live action film Eighth live-action animated hybrid film||
|46|_Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?_|May 13, 2005|Kidtoon Films (theatrical) Warner Home Video (home video) Warner Bros. Animation Hanna-Barbera Productions|Warner Bros. Animation|Theatrical (5/13/05) DVD (12/13/05)|Fourth film based on a Hanna-Barbera property Third film in the Scooby-Doo franchise under the studio||
|47|_Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry_|September 3, 2005|Kidtoon Films (theatrical) Warner Home Video (home video) Warner Bros. Animation Turner Entertainment Co.|Warner Bros. Animation|Theatrical (9/3/05) DVD (10/11/05)|Fifth film based on a Hanna-Barbera property Second film in the Tom and Jerry franchise under the studio||
|48|_Corpse Bride_|September 23, 2005|Tim Burton Productions Laika Entertainment|3 Mills Studios|Theatrical|Second stop motion film under the studio First Tim Burton film under the studio||
|49|_The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island_|September 29, 2005|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany MaBo Filmproduktion|Rothkirch Cartoon-Film|Theatrical|Based on the German children's book series by Hans de Beer||
|50|_Batman vs. Dracula_|October 18, 2005|Warner Home Video DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation Warner  Bros. Family Entertainment|Warner Bros. Animation|DVD (10/18/05) TV (10/22/05)|Second film under the studio to be based on a DC property. Second animated film in the Batman franchise under the studio||
|51|_The Pink Panther_|February 10, 2006|Warner Bros. Pictures (United States and Canada) 20th Century Fox (International) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation Robert Simonds Productions|Kurtz and Friends Animation|Theatrical|Fourteenth live action film Ninth live-action animated hybrid film First of two films in the Pink Panther franchise under the studio||
|52|_The Ant Bully_|July 28, 2006|Warner Bros. Pictures Legendary Pictures Playtone DNA Productions|DNA Productions|Theatrical|First and only film under the studio to have DNA as animation provider||
|53|_Codename KND: Operation Z.E.R.O_|August 11, 2006|Cartoon Network Studios Curious Pictures|Cartoon Network Studios|Television|Second film based on a Cartoon Network series||
|54|_Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo_|September 15, 2006|Warner Bros. Animation Kadokawa Shoten DC Entertainment|Warner Bros. Animation Kadokawa Shoten|Television|Third film based on a Cartoon Network series||
|55|_Bah, Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas_|November 14, 2006|Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation|Warner Bros. Animation|DVD|||
|56|_Happy Feet_|November 17, 2006|Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Roadshow Animation|Animal Logic|Theatrical|Fifthteenth live action film Tenth live action/animated hybrid film||
|57|_TMNT_|March 23, 2007|Warner Bros. Pictures (United States) Golden Scene (Hong Kong) The Weinstein Company (International)|Imagi Animation Studios|Theatrical|First and only film in the TMNT franchise under the studio. Second Ninja Turtles film not produced by Paramount and Nickelodeon (pre-acquistion)||
|58|_Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure_|March 30, 2007||||||
||_Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole_|September 24, 2010|Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Roadshow Animation|Animal Logic|Theatrical|||
||_Yogi Bear_|December 17, 2010|Warner Bros. Pictures De Line Pictures Sunswept Entertainment Hanna-Barbera Productions Rhythm & Hues Studios|Rhythm & Hues Studios|Theatrical|||
||Happy Feet Two|November 18, 2011|Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Kennedy Miller Mitchell Dr. D Studios Dr. D Studios|Animal Logic|Theatrical|||
||_The Lego Movie_|February 7, 2014|Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Lego System A/S|Animal Logic|Theatrical|First film to be based on LEGO construction toys.||
|2|_Storks_|September 23, 2016|RatPac-Dune Entertainment|Sony Pictures Imageworks|rowspan="7"|Theatrical||
|3|_The Lego Batman Movie_|February 10, 2017|Warner Bros. Pictures DC Entertainment RatPac-Dune Entertainment|rowspan="2"|Animal Logic|||
|4|_The Lego Ninjago Movie_|September 22, 2017|Warner Bros. Pictures Lego System A/S RatPac-Dune Entertainment|||||
||Teen Titans Go! to the Movies|July 27, 2018|Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainment DC Entertainment|Copernicus Studios Big Jump Entertainment Company 3 Animation|Based on the Cartoon Network series|||
||_Smallfoot_|September 28, 2018|Warner Bros. Pictures Zaftig Films|Sony Pictures Imageworks|Fifth Warner Animation Group in 3D. First Warner Animation Group’s Musical.|||
||_White Snake_|January 11, 2019|Warner Bros. Far East Light Chase Animation Studios|Light Chase Animation Studios||||
||_The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part_|February 8, 2019|Warner Bros. Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Lego System A/S|Animal Logic||||
||_Pokemon: Detective Pikachu_|May 10, 2019|Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide) Toho Company, Ltd. (Japan) Legendary Pictures The Pokemon Company Nintendo|Moving Picture Company Framestore Image Engine Rodeo FX Instinctual FX|Theatrical|First WB theatrical film in the Pokemon franchise since Pokemon 3: The Movie||
||_Scoob!_|May 15, 2020|Warner Bros. Pictures|Reel FX Creative Studios|Digital|||
||_Tom & Jerry_|February 26, 2021|Warner Bros. Pictures The Story Company|Framestore|Theatrical and Digital|First Warner Animation Group film released thought Theaters and HBO Max.||
||_Space Jam: A New Legacy_|July 16, 2021|Warner Bros. Pictures Proximity The SpringHill Company|Industrial Light & Magic|Theatrical and Digital|Last Warner Animation Group film released thought Theaters and HBO Max.||
||_DC League of Super-Pets_|July 29, 2022|Warner Bros. Pictures DC Entertainment Seven Bucks Productions|Animal Logic|Theatrical|||
||_Mummies_|February 24, 2023|Warner Bros. Pictures 4 Cats Pictures Anangu Grup Moomios Movie AIE|CORE Animation|Theatrical|First Warner Animation Group film released in 2023||
||_Boipelo_|May 17, 2023|Amblin Entertainment Good Universe|Amblimation Industrial Light & Magic|Theatrical|||
||_Piece by Piece_|October 11, 2024|Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures I Am Other Tremolo Productions Lego System A/S|Pure Imagination Studios Zebu Animation Studios Tongal|Theatrical|||
||A Minecraft Movie|April 4, 2025|Warner Bros Pictures Legendary Pictures Domain Entertainment Mojang Studios|Sony Pictures Imageworks Weta FX Digital Domain Method Studios|Theatrical|||

## Upcoming

|#|Title|Release date|Distributor/Co-production with|Animation service||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|13|The Pout-Pout Fish|March 20, 2026|Warner Bros Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures Viva Pictures Domain Entertainment|||
|14|_Coyote vs. Acme_|August 28, 2026|Two Monkeys, a Goat, and Another, Dead, Monkey|DNEG Animation||
|15|_The Cat in the Hat_|November 6, 2026|Warner Bros. Pictures And Dr. Seuss Enterprises|rowspan="2"|DNEG Animation|
|16|_Bad Fairies_|May 21, 2027|Locksmith Animation, Sketchshark Productions And Legendary Pictures|||
|17|_Margie Claus_|November 5, 2027|On the Day Productions|||
|18|_Oh, the Places You'll Go!_|March 17, 2028|Dr. Seuss Enterprises Bad Robot Productions|||
|19|_ Dynamic Duo_|June 30, 2028|DC Studios 6th & Idaho Swaybox|Swaybox||
|20|_The Hello Kitty Movie_|July 21, 2028|New Line Cinema, Saniro And Flynn Picture Company|||
|21|_The Lunar Chronicles_|November 3, 2028|Locksmith Animation|Industrial Light And Magic||

## Process

Similar to Paramount Animation and Sony Pictures Animation, WAG (WBPA) outsources their computer-animated films' production to other studios such as Animal Logic (_Happy Feet franchise_, _The Lego Movie_ franchise,  _DC League of Super-Pets and Toto_), Sony Pictures Imageworks (_Storks_ and _Smallfoot_), 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, and Tonic DNA.

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).

### Franchises

|Title|Films|Short films|Release dates|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Looney Tunes_|9|1,041|1930–present|||
|_Tom & Jerry_|style="text-align:center;"|1||1993–present||
|_DC_|style="text-align:center;"|2||1993-present||
|_Happy Feet_|style="text-align: center;"|2|0|2006-2011||
|_The Lego Movie_|style="text-align:center;"|9|style="text-align:center;"|11|2014–present|
|Marcus James|style="text-align: center;"|2|0|2025-present||

## Infobox (company)

- **name**: Warner Animation Group
- **logo**: Warner_Animation_Group_2023.svg
- **logo caption**: Logo used since January 10, 2023.
- **former name**: Warner Bros. Feature Animation (1980-2004)
Warner Bros. Animation Studios (2002-2004)
- **type**: Division (business), Division
- **traded as**: Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
- **predecessor**: Warner Bros. Cartoons (1933–1969)
Hanna-Barbera (1957-2001)
- **founder**: Hal Geer (later Jeff Robinov)
- **location city**: Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California
- **location country**: United States, U.S.
- **genre**: Animation
- **products**: Animated films
- **owner**: Warner Bros. Pictures
- **parent**: Warner Bros.