Subsidiary | |
Industry |
Television Cinema |
Fate | Separated from Cartoon Network Studios and absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation |
Successor |
Cartoon Network Studios Warner Bros. Animation Warner Animation Group |
Founded | July 7, 1957 (as animation studio) |
Founder | |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Products |
TV programs Theatrical feature films TV specials Direct-to-video projects TV movies Theatrical short films Commercials |
Owner | Time Warner |
Parent |
Independent (1957–1967) Taft Broadcasting (1967–1987) American Financial Group (1987–1988) Great American Broadcasting (1988–1991) Turner Broadcasting System (1991–1996) Time Warner (1996–2001; 2003–present) AOL Time Warner (2001–2003) |
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. (simply known as Hanna-Barbera and also referred to as H-B Enterprises, H-B Production Company and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons), was an American animation studio that dominated American television animation for three decades in the mid-to-late 20th century, founded in 1957 by former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (creators of Tom and Jerry) and live-action director George Sidney in partnership with Screen Gems, television arm of Columbia Pictures. Sold to Taft Broadcasting in late 1966, it spent the next two decades as its subsidiary. It is considered the very first animation studio to successfully produce cartoons made exclusively for television.
Hanna-Barbera is known for creating a wide variety of popular animated characters and for over 30 years, the studio produced a succession of many smash hit TV cartoon shows, including Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo and The Smurfs. For their achievements, Hanna and Barbera together won seven Academy Awards, eight Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The pair was also inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993.
Hanna-Barbera's fortunes declined in the mid-1980s when the profitability of Saturday morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication. In late 1991, the studio was purchased from Taft (by then named Great American Broadcasting) by Turner Broadcasting System (Ted Turner's company), who used much of its back catalog to program its new TV channel, Cartoon Network. After Turner purchased the company, Hanna and Barbera continued to serve as creative consultants and mentors.