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Warner Animation Group
Company typeDivision
IndustryAnimation
Motion pictures
PredecessorWarner Bros. Feature Animation
FoundedJanuary 2013; 11 years ago (January 2013)
FounderJeff Robinov
Headquarters
Burbank, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Allison Abbate
(Executive Vice President)
Chris Leahy
(Senior Vice President)
ProductsAnimated films
ParentWarner Bros. Animation
(Warner Bros. Entertainment)

The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is the feature animation division of Warner Bros. Animation, itself a subsidiary of Warner Bros., a WarnerMedia company. Established in January 2013, the studio is the successor to the dissolved 2D traditional hand-drawn animation studio Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which shut down in 2003. Its first film The Lego Movie was released on February 7, 2014 and its latest release was Smallfoot on September 28, 2018 with its next release being The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part on February 8, 2019.

History

In January 2013, Jeff Robinov (then head of the studio's motion picture division) founded a screenplay development department, nicknamed a "think tank" for developing theatrical animated films, known as the Warner Animation Group.[1] The group includes John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Jared Stern, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.[1] Warner Bros. created the group with the hope that the box office reception of their films will be competitive with other animation studios' releases.[1] The group is reportedly somewhat similar to Pixar Animation Studios' "brain trust" in terms of how its members consult with one another and give feedback on each other's projects.[2]

On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film The Lego Movie, a film animated by Animal Logic, which also provided the animation for both spinoffs. It was met with positive reviews and proved to be a box office success.

On January 7, 2013, Warner Animation Group announced their second film Storks, which was originally scheduled for a 2015 release but was pushed to February 10, 2017 and later to September 23, 2016.[3] On the same day, they announced their third film Smallfoot, based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos, was originally going to have a 2016 release as it was first announced on January 7, 2013. Then it was scheduled for release on February 9, 2018 but was later moved to September 14, 2018 and then September 28, 2018.[3] Storks was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks and was met with mixed to positive reviews from critics.[4] Smallfoot was created by the same service and received a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with mostly positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $192 million worldwide. There are possible plans for a sequel.[5][6]

On February 7, 2014, the same day The Lego Movie was released, it was reported that Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan were hired to write The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.[7] The sequel was announced to be released on May 26, 2017,[8] but later that year it was reported that a spin-off film featuring Batman from The Lego Movie might take the sequel's release date thus pushing the sequel to May 18, 2018.[9] Phil Lord and Christopher Miller returned to script and co-direct the sequel. Rob Schrab was set to direct the film, but was later replaced by Mike Mitchell due to "creative differences".[10] On June 2016, the release date was again pushed to February 8, 2019.

On February 10, 2017, Warner Animation Group released The Lego Batman Movie, which also received positive reviews from critics and box office success.[11][12]

The Lego Ninjago Movie, based on the Lego Ninjago theme of Lego toys, was released on September 22, 2017. Upon release, the film was met with mixed reviews from critics and became the first film from the studio to fail to recoup its budget.[13][14]

Smallfoot, based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos, was released on September 28, 2018. The film received a moderately positive reception from critics and a box office success, compared to the studio's previous film The Lego Ninjago Movie.

Upcoming projects

On March 27, 2015, it was reported that Jason Segel and Drew Pearce were going to co-direct and write a script to a new "Lego Movie" spin-off film titled The Billion Brick Race.[15]

Other WAG films in development are Speedy Gonzales[16] and Bone.

In September 2015 it was reported that Warner Animation Group was working on an animated musical film titled Meet The Beatles, which is to be based on The Beatles and directed by Paul King, who also directed Paddington.[17]

In March 2016, Warner Animation Group announced plans for a shared universe of animated films based on various Hanna-Barbera characters starting with a reboot of the Scooby-Doo film series, originally scheduled for September 21, 2018 in the United States.[18] In May 2017, Warner Bros. announced that the film titled Scooby and to be directed by Tony Cervone and Dax Shepard, would be released on May 15, 2020.[19] In October 2018, it was announced that the film is now set to be released in the first quarter of 2020.[20] Another film part of the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe will be based on The Jetsons, with Conrad Vernon set to direct[21] and Matt Lieberman writing the screenplay.[22][23] Other films part of the upcoming Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe also include a Flintstones and a Wacky Races film.

On January 24, 2018, it was announced that an animated Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat film was in development as part of a creative partnership with Seuss Enterprises.[24]

On May 23, 2018, it was announced that WAG will produce an animated adaptation of The Ice Dragon, a children's fantasy book by George R. R. Martin. Martin will produce and possibly write the script for the film.[25]

On July 12, 2018, it was announced that WAG will produce an animated film about Toto from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The new film will be based on the children's book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of The Wizard of Oz. [26]

On August 29, 2018, Warner Animation Group announced Coyote vs. Acme, a Wile E. Coyote animated film with The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay on board to produce.[27]

In October 2018, it was announced that a live action/animated hybrid film based on Tom and Jerry is in development and that it would begin production in 2019.[20]

Process

Similar to other animation studios such as Sony Pictures Animation and Paramount Animation, the studio outsources their animated films to different animation and visual effects studios. This would include Animal Logic (The Lego Movie franchise and the upcoming Bone film), Sony Pictures Imageworks (Storks and Smallfoot) and Reel FX Creative Studios (the upcoming Scooby film).

The studio is also planning to push for more original films like Smallfoot and Scooby as well as more that feature both animation and live-action with Space Jam 2 and Tom and Jerry starting out this tactic.[20]

The budget for their films usually range between $60–80 million.

Filmography

Feature films

Released films

# Title Release date Co-production with Animation services Budget Gross RT MC Notes
1 The Lego Movie[S] February 7, 2014 Village Roadshow Pictures
RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Lego System A/S
Vertigo Entertainment
Lin Pictures		 Animal Logic $60 million $469 million 96% 83 First film.
First installment of the Lego Movie franchise.
First collaboration with RatPac Dune Entertainment, The Lego Group, Vertigo Entertainment, and Lin Pictures.
Only collaboration with Village Roadshow Pictures.
First collaboration with Animal Logic.
2 Storks September 23, 2016 RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Stoller Global Solutions (uncredited)		 Sony Pictures Imageworks $70 million $183 million 65% 56 First original film.
First fully animated film.
First collaboration with Stoller Global Solutions, despite the producer-owned independent being uncredited.
First film with a September release.
First collaboration with Sony Pictures Imageworks.
3 The Lego Batman Movie February 10, 2017 DC Entertainment
RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Lego System A/S
Lord Miller Productions
Vertigo Entertainment
Lin Pictures		 Animal Logic $80 million $311 million 90% 75 First collaboration with DC Entertainment and Lord Miller Productions.
First collaboration with Animal Logic to be completely animated.

First Spin Off.

4 The Lego Ninjago Movie[S] September 22, 2017 RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Lego System A/S
Vertigo Entertainment
Lord Miller Productions
Lin Pictures		 $70 million $123 million 55% 55 First film to be based on a television series.
First film based on a pre-existing Lego set.
Final collaboration with RatPac-Dune Entertainment.
Final collaboration with Lin Pictures before renaming itself Rideback.
First collaboration with Animal Logic to be released in September.
First film to be a Box Office Flop.
5 Smallfoot September 28, 2018 Zaftig Films Sony Pictures Imageworks $80 million $209 million 76% 60 First collaboration with Zaftig Films.
First musical film.
First film based on a book.
First twin film.
First September release to come out one week before Columbus Day.

Upcoming films

# Title Release date Co-production with Animation services Current Production Status Ref(s) Notes
6 The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part[S] February 8, 2019 Lego System A/S
Vertigo Entertainment
Lord Miller Productions
Rideback		 Animal Logic Post-Production [11][28] First sequel.
First collaboration with Rideback after rebranding itself from Lin Pictures.
First film with a female main antagonist.
7 Scooby Q1 2020[20] Atlas Entertainment
Primate Pictures
1492 Pictures[20]		 Reel FX Creative Studios Pre-Production [29][30][31][32] First film to be based on a Hanna-Barbera series.
First collaboration with Atlas Entertainment, Primate Pictures, and 1492 Pictures.
First collaboration with Reel FX Creative Studios.
8 Untitled film December 22, 2021 TBA Development [33]

Films in development

Title Ref(s)
The Jetsons [34][35][36][20]
Bone [37][38][39]
Space Jam 2[S] [40][41][42][43][20]
The Billion Brick Race [44][45]
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat [46]
Speedy Gonzales [16]
Meet the Beatles [17]
The Ice Dragon [25]
Toto [26]
Super Pets [47]
Coyote vs. Acme [27][20]
Tom and Jerry[S] [20]
The Flintstones [20]
Wacky Races [20]
Smallfoot 2 [48]
S Combines live-action with animation.

Short films

# Title Release date
1 Enter the Ninjago June 17, 2014
2 The Lego Movie: 4D - A New Adventure January 29, 2016
3 The Master September 23, 2016
4 Pigeon Toady's Guide to Your New Baby December 6, 2016
5 Dark Hoser June 13, 2017
6 Batman is Just Not That Into You
7 Cooking with Alfred
8 Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?
9 Shark E. Shark in "Which Way to the Ocean?" December 19, 2017
10 Zane's Stand Up Promo

Franchises

Title Release date
Looney Tunes 1930-present
The Lego Movie 2014–present

Accolades

Academy Awards

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Best Original Song "Everything is Awesome" written and lyrics by Shawn Patterson Nominated

Golden Globes

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Best Animated Feature Film Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Animated Film Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Won

Critics' Choice Awards

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Best Animated Film Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Won
Best Original Song "Everything is Awesome" written and lyrics by Shawn Patterson Nominated
2017 The Lego Batman Movie Best Animated Film Chris McKay

Annie Awards

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2015 The Lego Movie Best Animated Feature Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Dan Lin and Roy Lee Nominated
Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Christian Epunan Hernandez, Danielle Brooks, and Raphael Gadot
Directing in an Animated Feature Production Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Directors; Chris McKay, Co-Director
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production Grant Freckelton
Writing in an Animated Feature Production Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Won
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas, Jonathan Tappin and Courtney O'Brien-Brown Nominated
2017 Storks Outstanding Achievement, Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production Katie Crown
2018 The Lego Batman Movie Directing in a Feature Production Chris McKay
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production Zach Galifianakis
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production David Burrows, Matt Villa and John Venzon

Heartland Film Festival

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Truly Moving Picture Award Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Won
2016 Storks Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland
2017 The Lego Batman Movie Chris McKay

Kids' Choice Awards

Year Film Category Winner/Nominee(s) Result
2014 The Lego Movie Favorite Movie Actor Will Arnett Nominated
Favorite Animated Movie Nominated
2017 The Lego Batman Movie Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (January 7, 2013). "Warner Bros. Creates Animation Film Think Tank". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media LLC. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Shaw, Lucas (February 9, 2014). "'The Lego Movie' Snaps a Bright, Colorful Franchise Into Place for Warner Bros. Animation". The Wrap. The Wrap News Inc. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Warner Bros. Pictures Dives Into Animation Think Tank". ComingSoon.net. January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  4. ^ "Storks reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Smallfoot (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Smallfoot (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Shaw, Lucas (February 3, 2014). "Warner Bros. Already Working on Sequel to 'The Lego Movie' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (February 21, 2014). "'Lego' Sequel Set For May 26, 2017". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (October 10, 2014). "'Lego Batman' Spinoff Movie in the Works at Warner Bros. (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys; Galuppo, Mia (February 3, 2017). "'Lego Movie' Sequel Enlists 'Trolls' Director Mike Mitchell (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Kit, Borys (April 20, 2015). "'The Lego Batman Movie' Gets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  12. ^ "The Lego Batman Movie (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  13. ^ "Warner Bros Dates Lego Spinoff 'Ninjago' For Fall 2016". Deadline Hollywood. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  15. ^ Siegel, Tatiana. "New Lego Spin-off Movie in the Works From Jason Segel, 'Iron Man 3' Writer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 31, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ a b Osborn, Alex (April 4, 2016). "Speedy Gonzales Animated Movie in the Works". Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  17. ^ a b "{Exclusive} "Paddington" Director Paul King In Tune For Warner Bros.' Animated Musical "Meet The Beatles"". The Tracking Board. September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  18. ^ Franich, Darren (April 13, 2016). "Scooby-Doo reboot could lead to a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  19. ^ McNary, Dave (May 3, 2017). "Scooby-Doo Animated Movie Moves Back Two Years to 2020". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kroll, Justin (October 15, 2018). "'Tom and Jerry,' 'Scooby-Doo' Movies Land Top Talent at Warner Animation Group (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  21. ^ McNary, Dave (January 23, 2015). "Animated 'Jetsons' Movie Lifting off With 'Sausage Party' Director". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  22. ^ Lesnik, Silas (January 23, 2015). "The Jetsons Planned as Animated Feature". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  23. ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (January 23, 2015). "Warner Bros Plots 'The Jetsons' Animated Feature; Matt Lieberman Writing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  24. ^ https://www.thewrap.com/cat-in-the-hat-animated-film-dr-seuss-franchise-warner-bros/
  25. ^ a b Kit, Borys (May 23, 2018). "George R.R. Martin's 'The Ice Dragon' to Get the Animated Movie Treatment". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Wizard of Oz Animated Film to Retell the Story from Toto's Perspective". Screen Rant.com. July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  27. ^ a b McNary, Dave (August 29, 2018). "Wile E. Coyote Movie in the Works at Warner Bros". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  28. ^ Lesnick, Silas (February 21, 2014). "The LEGO Movie Sequel is Officially Set for May 26, 2017!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  29. ^ McNary, Dave (August 26, 2013). "Warner Bros. Developing Animated 'Scooby-Doo' Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  30. ^ Kit, Borys (August 17, 2015). "New 'Scooby-Doo' Movie in the Works from Warner Animation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  31. ^ Sciretta, Peter (April 12, 2016). "The Next Scooby-Doo Movie Will Launch a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe (CinemaCon 2016)". /Film. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  32. ^ McNary, Dave (May 3, 2017). "Scooby-Doo Animated Movie Moves Back Two Years to 2020". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  33. ^ "Untitled WB Animation Event Film (2021) (2021) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  34. ^ Jr, Mike Fleming (24 January 2015). "Warner Bros Plots 'The Jetsons' Animated Feature; Matt Lieberman Writing".
  35. ^ Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk. "'Jetsons' movie ready to blast off production". ajc.
  36. ^ ChrisXMorgan (26 May 2017). "Jetsons Animated Movie in the Works With Sausage Party Director".
  37. ^ Rapp, Elisabeth (March 9, 2008). "Bone: Warner Bros Grabs "Bone"". Cinematical.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Smith, Jeff. "BONE to Warner Bros". boneville.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Kit, Borys (November 16, 2016). "'Kung Fu Panda' Director Mark Osborne to Helm Adaptation of Cult Comic 'Bone' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  40. ^ Ford, Rebecca (May 2, 2016). "Justin Lin Circling 'Space Jam' Sequel Starring LeBron James (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  41. ^ "Air Jordan 7 "Hare" Promo Space Jam Movie Prop Up for Grabs". SneakerBarDetroit. August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  42. ^ Marisa Guthrie (September 19, 2018). "LeBron James Sets 'Black Panther's' Ryan Coogler to Produce 'Space Jam' Sequel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  43. ^ Chris Agar (September 20, 2018). "LeBron James' Space Jam Movie Is A Reboot, Not A Sequel". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  44. ^ "Film Releases". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  45. ^ Wolfe, Jennifer (April 21, 2015). "Warner Bros. Resets Release Dates for Next Three 'LEGO' Features". Animation World Network. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  46. ^ Kit, Borys; Fernandez, Jay A. (January 24, 2018). "New 'Cat in the Hat' Movie in the Works From Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media, LLC.
  47. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/super-pets-movie-works-at-warner-bros-1131383
  48. ^ https://www.metro.us/entertainment/movies/will-there-be-a-smallfoot-2
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