Cartoon Network Studios

**Cartoon Network Studios** is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Animation Group division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating on October 21, 1994 as a division of Hanna-Barbera until the latter absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. Turner Entertainment Co. did not include the current library from Cartoon Network Studios (as a division of Hanna-Barbera) (including *What a Cartoon!* and the first season of *Dexter's Laboratory*).

Located in Burbank, California, the studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and shorts for Cartoon Network and later Cartoonito. In the 2010s and beyond, their programs began to expand into their sister companies Adult Swim, TBS, and HBO Max. So far, the company has only produced one theatrically released film, *The Powerpuff Girls Movie*, distributed by its sister company, Warner Bros. Pictures.

## History

### 1990s to 2000s

#### Hanna-Barbera era

Cartoon Network Studios originated as a division of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. that focused on producing original programming for Cartoon Network, including *What a Cartoon!*, *Dexter's Laboratory*, *Johnny Bravo*, *The Powerpuff Girls*, and *Clubtopia*. Following the 1996 merger of Hanna-Barbera's parent, Turner Broadcasting System with Time Warner, and after being located on Cahuenga Boulevard in Los Angeles since 1963, the Hanna-Barbera studio, its archives, and its extensive animation art collection, were relocated in 1998 to Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, California, where Warner Bros. Animation was located. This relocation was executed by its chief executive, Jean MacCurdy. On July 21, 1999, Cartoon Network officially started the studio to separate itself from the complete folding of Hanna-Barbera into Warner Bros. Animation that started after the Time Warner merger. Following the death of the studio's co-founder William Hanna in 2001, Cartoon Network Studios took over the animation function of Hanna-Barbera.

#### Separating under Cartoon Network

In 2000, Cartoon Network Studios transferred its production offices to a new facility located at 300 N 3rd St. in Burbank, California, which was the location of a former Pacific Bell telephone exchange. Former DiC and Nickelodeon employees Brian A. Miller and Jennifer Pelphrey have managed the company since it began production in the same year. The current headquarters of the animation studio was christened on May 22, 2000, by veteran animator and animation advisor Joseph Barbera with a bottle of champagne.

In 2002, the studio produced two television pilots for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim: *Welcome to Eltingville* and *The Groovenians*. Neither of them were picked as full series. Also, the studio released this year its only theatrical film to date: *The Powerpuff Girls Movie*, based on *The Powerpuff Girls*, which received positive reviews from critics but performed poorly at the box office. In 2006, Cartoon Network Studios collaborated with sister studio Williams Street for the first time for *Korgoth of Barbaria*, a television pilot made for Adult Swim, which was also not green-lit as a series.

In 2007, Cartoon Network Studios began its first foray into live-action with the hybrid series *Out of Jimmy's Head*, and then its first fully live-action project, *Ben 10: Race Against Time* and its sequel, *Ben 10: Alien Swarm*, along with the television pilots *Locker 514*, *Siblings* and *Stan the Man*. The studio's first live-action series *Tower Prep* would arrive in 2010. Former New Line Television producer Mark Costa was hired to oversee the projects and Cartoon Network Studios' live-action production company Alive and Kicking, Inc.. *Incredible Crew* was the last series in that genre the studio produced for Cartoon Network. Despite the failure of live-action on the channel, the studio's infrastructure was retained to produce live-action fare for sibling programming block Adult Swim, identifying on-air as Alive and Kicking, along with two other companies (Rent Now Productions and Factual Productions), instead of using the Cartoon Network Studios banner.

### 2010s

#### Exploring animation

In 2010, *Adventure Time* premiered on Cartoon Network. It began life as a short featured on Nicktoons' *Random! Cartoons* that was ultimately not green-lit as a series by that channel. Cartoon Network picked it up later. The show ran until 2018 with 10 seasons and 283 episodes. A film was announced in 2015, but in 2018 Adam Muto said that the film was never officially announced. In 2019, a continuation, titled *Adventure Time: Distant Lands*, was announced for HBO Max with a release in 2020. Also this year, *The Cartoonstitute*, an incubator series similar to *What a Cartoon!*, debuted on Cartoon Network Video. The pilots of *Regular Show* and *Uncle Grandpa* were presented here among with other shorts, with the *Uncle Grandpa* pilot also serving as a basis for *Secret Mountain Fort Awesome*, which preceded the actual series.

In 2014, Cartoon Network Studios produced its first miniseries, *Over the Garden Wall*. The following year, *Long Live the Royals* was also premiered.

In 2016, the studio produced two reboots based on *The Powerpuff Girls* and *Ben 10* respectively. Also, the studio produced its first television series based on a series of online shorts, *Mighty Magiswords*.

In 2017, after plans as old as 2002 for a film failed to work, *Samurai Jack* was revived for a fifth and final season for Adult Swim, to critical acclaim, concluding the series after its cancellation from Cartoon Network in 2004. Also this year, it was announced that Cartoon Network Studios, in collaboration with Studio T, would produce an adult animated series titled *Close Enough* created by *Regular Show* creator J. G. Quintel. Originally planned for TBS, the series was eventually dropped from there after the failure of its planned animation block; eventually, in 2019, HBO Max picked it up from TBS.

In 2019, after handling a few episodes of *Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law*, the second season of *Black Dynamite*, the above-mentioned fifth season of *Samurai Jack* and producing the above-mentioned television pilots *Welcome to Eltingville*, *The Groovenians* and *Korgoth of Barbaria*, Cartoon Network Studios produced its first full program for Adult Swim: *Primal*, an adult animated series from Genndy Tartakovsky. The first five episodes were also packaged for a limited theatrical release as a feature film titled *Primal: Tales of Savagery*.

### 2020s

In 2020, Cartoon Network Studios began to produce content for parent company WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max, including *Adventure Time: Distant Lands*, *Tig n' Seek* and *The Fungies!*. More recently, Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register was appointed head of the studio. Amy Friedman was named head of programming for Cartoon Network after Rob Sorcher resigned his roles as head of the studio and chief content officer, and switching to Warner Bros. Television Group for an overall production deal.

In 2021, the studio also announced that they will also be producing preschool content for Cartoonito, Cartoon Network's preschool programming block that would also have their shows on HBO Max. The first series produced by Cartoon Network Studios on Cartoonito is the *Craig of the Creek* spin-off *Jessica's Big Little World*. Also this year, Jason DeMarco was named SVP for Anime & Action Series/Longform for Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.

On May 11, 2022, after Tom Ascheim exited his role as president and departed, the Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics division was dissolved as part of a restructuring by new owner Warner Bros. Discovery, with its studios including Cartoon Network Studios moved directly under Warner Bros. Television.

## Filmography

> *Main article: List of Cartoon Network Studios productions*
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## See also

* List of programs broadcast by Cartoon Network
* List of animation studios owned by Warner Bros. Discovery
	+ Hanna-Barbera - the former owner and predecessor of Cartoon Network Studios
	+ Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe - European sister studio of Cartoon Network Studios owned by Warner Bros. Television Studios UK
	+ Warner Bros. Animation - sister studio of Cartoon Network Studios
	+ SkyRuby Studios - sister studio of Cartoon Network Studios
	+ Williams Street - sister studio of Cartoon Network Studios