Hanna Barbera
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry |
Television Cinema |
| Fate | Separated from Cartoon Network Studios and absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation |
| Predecessor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio |
| Successor |
Cartoon Network Studios Warner Bros. Animation Warner Animation Group |
| Founded | July 7, 1957 (as animation studio) |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | March 12, 2001 (as animation studio) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Products |
TV programs Theatrical feature films TV specials Direct-to-video projects TV movies Theatrical short films Commercials |
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, Inc.) was an American animation studio that dominated American television animation for over three decades in the mid 20th century.
It was 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, a TV unit of Columbia Pictures. In late 1966, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting and spent two decades as its subsidiary. It is officially considered the very first major animation studio to successfully produce cartoons exclusively for television.
Hanna-Barbera is known for creating a wide variety of popular animated characters and for 30 years, the studio produced a succession of smash hit 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 animation studio was purchased from Taft (by then named Great American Broadcasting) by Turner Broadcasting System, who used much of its back catalog to program its new channel, Cartoon Network. After Turner purchased the company, Hanna and Barbera continued to serve as creative consultants and mentors.
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