Warner Bros. turns 100 years old this year, just like its longtime rival, Disney. Unlike Disney, however, Warner’s treatment of its animation department has been variable and sometimes indifferent, dating back to the studio’s Golden Age. As I previously wrote in my post about the ludicrous idea that Apple should buy Disney:
The recent lack of stability in ownership (being sold twice in the past decade?), and the various owners’ different motivations and philosophies, has certainly been one factor in Warner’s recent problems. That’s on top of Warner Bros.’ mercurial-at-best treatment of its cartoon properties, dating back to animation’s Golden Age era with the Looney Tunes. (A YouTube video on the history of Looney Tunes on TV does an excellent job outlining such.)
Yes, there’s been plenty of classics produced under the Warner Bros. shield logo, and Warner certainly appreciates the money/fame earned from Batman or Bugs Bunny. Still, too often, Warner’s owners are indifferent bean counters toward their properties, as seen by the multiple ownership changes and recent purging of animation from Max. (Including part of the Looney Tunes catalog, the one animation property that should have a permanent home on a Warner-owned streaming service.) If “90 Day Fiance” or “Harry Potter” remakes make more money, too bad Cartoon Network? If anything, some of Warner’s greatest animation successes seem to come in spite of their owners-du-jour, rather than because of them.
As I was finishing up this post, news broke that Warner Bros. Discovery (the current owners of the studio) have shelved yet another film as a tax write-off, this one a finished Looney Tunes theatrical film starring Wile E. Coyote (“Coyote vs. Acme”). (*Sigh*)
In spite of Warner Bros.’s bean counter owners-du-jour, I still thought it’d be worth taking a brief look at the studio’s cartoon properties for its 100th anniversary.
Warner Bros.’s major cartoon properties
Warner’s major cartoon properties broadly are as follows:
- Looney Tunes
- DC Comics
- Hanna-Barbera
- Tom and Jerry (and the other MGM cartoons, like Droopy)
- Cartoon Network / Adult Swim (including Boomerang, Cartoonito, and Toonami)
- Miscellaneous:
- Warner Bros. Animation feature films (most notably “The Iron Giant”)
- The 1990s Amblin co-productions (“Animaniacs,” “Tiny Toon Adventures,” etc.)
When people think of a “Warner Bros. cartoon,” it’s usually Looney Tunes or one of the other properties above.
As I wrote about (in my opinion) the most famous Western animated cartoons, the most well-known Warner entry would be “Looney Tunes,” followed by “Scooby-Doo,” “The Flintstones,” and “Tom and Jerry.”
Warner Bros.’s top-grossing cartoon franchises
Warner Bros.’s top-grossing cartoon franchises over their lifetimes, according to Wikipedia, are as follows:
- Batman: $29.6 billion
- Looney Tunes: $15.9 billion
- Ben 10: $7.85 billion
- DC Extended Universe (DCEU): $7.76 billion
- Superman: $6.9 billion
Note the figures presumably aren’t adjusted for inflation, and account for merchandise, movie box office revenue, etc.
While there’s little surprise that Batman is Warner Bros.’s most lucrative cartoon, he’s the company’s second-biggest franchise overall, after “Wizarding World,” aka “Harry Potter” (with $34.5 billion to date).
It’s also surprising that “Ben 10” is that popular… it doesn’t seem to get discussed often, despite being a modernized version of the old DC Comics title “Dial H For Hero?” Though apparently it’s a merchandising/toy bonanza, which would explain why it’s had multiple TV spin-offs.
Warners’ 100th anniversary celebration
Warner Bros. has offered some items to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Some of its DVDs have seen re-releases under the “WB 100” branding.
Earlier this year, a series of short Looney Tunes cartoons were made, featuring Bugs and company as various famous WB characters, including Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones.
“Warner Brothers tour” by Alan Light is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Flickr / cropped from original)
