Warner Bros. Discovery has relaunched its characteristic animation unit, labeling it Warner Bros. Photos Animation (WBPA). The unit was previously often known as Warner Animation Group (2013-2023), and earlier than then, Warner Bros. Characteristic Animation (1994-2004).
Why the title change? Nobody can say for sure, however the brand new title presumably indicators a recent David Zaslav-era begin for the corporate’s characteristic animation unit, which had been treading water for years. The prior Warner Animation Group’s final bona fide hit was The Lego Film in 2014, which additionally occurred to be the primary movie produced by the division. The brand new title may have come on the suggestion of Invoice Damaschke, who was confirmed because the division’s new prime govt final month.
What’s Invoice Damaschke’s imaginative and prescient for WBPA? His aim is to finally produce two theatrical releases yearly. Damaschke goals to launch authentic ideas, in addition to create movies round library IP, however his key focus will probably be to place an emphasis on filmmaker-driven movies. He cited profitable animated movies the corporate has made up to now, corresponding to The Iron Big, House Jam, Corpse Bride, Polar Specific, Completely satisfied Ft, and The Lego Film, and just lately instructed Deadline that these are “benchmark movies that broke new floor, new expertise, new methods of telling tales and have been profitable, artistically and commercially.”
Damaschke added “[Warner Bros Motion Picture Group heads] Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are inspiring producers and filmmakers themselves who’re centered on administrators and writers as a part of their studio management and we plan to observe their artistic lead at WBPA.”
How is that completely different from the earlier Warner Animation Group? Except the Lego franchise, the sooner WAG couldn’t discover a path ahead with authentic concepts, and shifted its technique to creating movies with WB-owned IP, corresponding to Scoob!, Tom & Jerry, House Jam: A New Legacy, and DC League of Tremendous-Pets.
What are WBPA’s present initiatives? Damaschke is new to the job so the studio’s present pipeline is comprised largely of initiatives that have been already within the works earlier than he arrived. Amongst these are Coyote vs. Acme (directed by Dave Inexperienced), The Cat within the Hat (directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni), and a Flintstones origin film Meet the Flintstones (written by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic). The latter two initiatives are nonetheless early sufficient that Damaschke will go away his imprint on the completed movies.
The studio additionally introduced a couple of days in the past that it has signed a first-look cope with Locksmith Animation, the U.Okay. firm answerable for Ron’s Gone Improper. Locksmith additionally signed a first-look deal in 2019 with Warner Bros., which didn’t end in any produced movies. Beneath the brand new deal, Locksmith is at the moment growing two new initiatives: the musical-comedy Unhealthy Fairies with a screenplay by Deborah Frances-White (host of The Responsible Feminist podcast) and director Megan Nicole Dong (creator of Centaurworld), and an adaptation of Marissa Meyer’s novel collection The Lunar Chronicles, with Kalen Egan and Travis Sentell writing the screenplay, and Noëlle Raffaele (director, DC Superhero Women) connected to direct.
How giant is Warner Bros. Photos Animation? At the moment, Damaschke oversees a core workers of round 90 folks in Los Angeles. There isn’t a indication on whether or not that crew will shrink or develop within the coming years. WB makes use of third-party vendor studios for animation manufacturing, together with Animal Logic (DC League of Tremendous-Pets), Framestore (Tom & Jerry), and DNEG ( Coyote vs. Acme).
Amid’s View:
Pardon me for being skeptical of any devoted Warner Bros. characteristic animation program. By numerous administration regimes, the corporate has repeatedly launched and deserted characteristic animation efforts – first with Warner Bros. Characteristic Animation and once more with Warner Animation Group.
Warner Bros. is a curious oddity among the many majors. As Damaschke factors out above, the studio has had some notable hits. However each time they’ve an inkling of a good suggestion or do one thing notable, they shoot themselves within the foot. Assume again to once they produced one of many biggest animated options of the fashionable period – Brad Fowl’s The Iron Big – after which adopted it up with one of many biggest advertising whiffs of all-time. That historic blunder soured the complete trade on the corporate and made clear that their characteristic animation sport was to not be taken significantly.
Then, once they began Warner Animation Group, they introduced that they have been going to put collectively a “assume tank”, a nod to Pixar’s storied brain-trust. They introduced aboard Phil Lord and Chris Miller (an undeniably sensible transfer) after which they added to that assume tank a bunch of live-action writers and filmmakers who appeared to lack even probably the most distant understanding of how animation works, a lot much less any real ardour or appreciation for the artwork type. Massive shock that this group was answerable for joyless duds like Storks and Smallfoot, and their outsized affect on the division sealed WAG’s destiny as a second-rate contender.
And do that on for measurement: the one time Warner Bros. has gained one of the best animated characteristic Oscar was for George Miller’s Completely satisfied Ft, which was produced throughout a interval when WB had shuttered its inside characteristic animation division and was producing animation straight by means of Warner Bros. Photos. This interim interval additionally resulted in initiatives like The Polar Specific, Corpse Bride, and A Scanner Darkly, all of which is one way or the other preferable to the kind of materials WB produces when it’s really working an animation division:
— Hanna-Barbera ScreenCaps (@HannaBarberaCap) June 9, 2023
Now, they’re beginning once more from scratch, this time with Invoice Damaschke, an govt who left Dreamworks at its artistic nadir – and who’s blamed by various folks for main the corporate to that time. Maybe the third time’s the appeal. Or maybe Warner Bros. is supposed to eternally stay the bungling characteristic animation studio that may’t fairly get its act collectively.
