Warner Bros. Cartoons

Warner Bros. Cartoons is an animation studio from the golden age of American animation. They are best known for Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies.

=History=

Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising first started making Looney Tunes in 1930 and followed up with Merry Melodies in 1931. The first Looney Tunes featured Bosko the Talk-ink Kid. Both cartoons were produced for Leon Schlesigner and were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Harman and Ising left due to financial disputes.

Schlesigner opened Leon Schlesinger Productions in 1933. The studio started off slow with one-shot Merry Melodies and Looney Tunes featuring Buddy. In 1935, Isadore "Friz" Freleng introduced Porky Pig in I Haven't Got a Hat. Freleng departed shortly after and Fred "Tex" Avery started producing cartoons featuring Porky Pig. In 1934, the studio began making cartoons and Technicolor. By 1943, they had stopped making black and white cartoons.

Because of limited space, Avery and his unit were moved to a new building. They called it Termite Terrace, but were moved out a year later. Between 1936 and 1944, they introduced Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, and Tweety Bird.

In 1944, Schlesigner sold his studio to Warner Bros. who renamed it Warner Bros. Cartoons. Many animators left shortly after, including Avery. Edward Selzer was appointed the head of the studio. Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil, and Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner were all created after Schlesigner left.

Warner Bros. took a blow when it was ruled that companies couldn't force theaters to buy feature-length films and shorts together. Theaters would pay only so much for shorts, so a five-week schedules were imposed on every cartoon. Some people, such a Chuck Jones, simply ignored this while others started to focus more on dialogue.

The studio closed between 1953 and 1955 due to the 3-D film craze. The studio lost animators to other studios during this time. In 1957, John Burton was appointed head of the studio. Several important employees left for Hanna-Barbera. During Burton's tenure, old Looney Tunes shorts were first broadcasted on television as The Bugs Bunny Show.

David H. DePatie became the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. studio in 1961. In the same year, Jones violated his contract by producing a cartoon for UPA and was fired. In 1962, the studio was closed. The last cartoon they produced was Senorella and the Glass Huarache.

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises rented the building and was contracted to make Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies. This arrangement lasted until 1967 when the company moved to San Fernando Valley.

For two years, the original studio reopened. They produced more Looney Tunes shorts featuring the classic Looney Tunes characters as well as new ones like Bunny and Claude, Merlin the Magic Mouse, and Cool Cat. In 1969, all production of shorts were stopped, but the backlog was broadcasted on television.

Chuck Jones Productions was hired to do animation for Warner Bros. in 1976. The success of these cartoons inspired Warner Bros. to open their own animation studio. In 1980, they opened Warner Bros. Animation.

=Filmography=

Shorts

 * Looney Tunes
 * Merry Melodies

Dr. Seuss Films

 * Horton Hatches the Egg
 * Dr. Seuss on the Loose

Live Action with Animation

 * Two Guys From Texas
 * My Dream Is Yours
 * It's a Great Feeing

Television

 * The Bugs Bunny Show
 * The Adventures of the Road Runner (Pilot, never sold)
 * Philbert (Pilot, never sold)