Private | |
Industry | Animation |
Fate | Closed |
Successor | Warner Bros. Animation |
Founded | 1933 |
Founder | Leon Schlesinger |
Defunct | 1969 |
Headquarters |
Los Angeles, California, USA (1933–54) Burbank, California, USA (1955–69) |
Key people
|
Leon Schlesinger, Edward Selzer, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, John W. Burton, Sr., David H. DePatie, William L. Hendricks, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Arthur Davis, Frank Tashlin |
Products | Animated theatrical short subjects Television shows |
Parent | Warner Bros. |
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short subjects. The characters featured in these cartoons, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Speedy Gonzales, Sylvester and Tweety, Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner, are among the most famous and recognizable characters in the world. Many of the creative staff members at the studio, including directors and animators such as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Robert Clampett and Frank Tashlin, are considered major figures in the art and history of traditional animation.
The Warner animation division was founded in 1933 as Leon Schlesinger Productions, an independent company which produced the popular Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated short subjects for release by Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1944, Schlesinger sold the studio to Warner Bros., who continued to operate it as Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. until 1963. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were briefly subcontracted to Freleng's DePatie-Freleng Enterprises studio from 1964 until 1967. The Warner Bros. Cartoons studio briefly re-opened in 1967 before shutting its doors for good two years later.