Warner Bros. Focusing On Animation, But It May Be Too Late

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

Under the leadership of David Zaslav, Warner Bros. has made quite a few moves that have annoyed various groups. For example, many superhero fans were annoyed when he shuttered Batgirl (a completed film) for a tax write-off, and others were annoyed when he pulled the plug on both the Arrowverse and the DCEU. Film buffs (including Steven Spielberg) hated it when he started laying people off at Turner Classic Movies. Meanwhile, general audiences were annoyed by strange moves like rebranding (and then re-rebranding) the HBO Max subscription service. However, nobody hates what Warner Bros. has done the past few years more than animation fans.

The studio killed the highly anticipated Scoob! Holiday Haunt movie while purging dozens of beloved cartoon shows (including classics from Cartoon Network, DC Animation, and the golden age of Looney Tunes). The studio tried to kill movies like The Day the Earth Blew Up and Coyote vs. Acme; they only relented amid fan outcry, and those movies ended up with an indie distributor. For these reasons and more, Warner Bros. has become enemy number one for cartoon lovers, but the studio is trying to change that. At the recent Annecy Animation Film Festival, WB announced several killer projects sure to please animation fans of all ages.

It’s All About Batman

Long before David Zaslav started killing WB’s reputation, the studio became known for its awesome, direct-to-video DC animated movies. That trend isn’t going away anytime soon, and WB is taking some big, nostalgic swings aimed square at ‘80s and ‘90s kids. At the Annecy Animation Film Festival, they are giving audiences their first real look at Batman: Knightfall, which adapts the comic story in which Bane breaks Batman’s back. This R-rated movie is the first of a multipart film series that will chronicle Bruce Wayne’s recovery, his successor’s problematic time as Batman, and Bruce eventually reclaiming the mantle of the Bat.

If that’s not enough bat-action, then you’re in luck. At the film festival, WB also debuted footage of Dynamic Duo, a movie that centers around two Robins (Dick Grayson and Jason Todd) and how their lives were changed forever by Batman. The movie is being made with Swaybox’s pioneering “Momo animation” style, and those who have seen footage of the film favorably compare it to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. While we’ll have to wait over two years to see the film, Dynamic Duo will be getting a theatrical release, highlighting WB’s newfound confidence in their animated projects.

All the Nostalgia, All The Time

There’s nothing as potent as nostalgia, which is why studios rely so heavily on sequels, prequels, and reboots. Warner Bros. is no exception, and many of the animated projects they announced or showed off at Annecy are designed to bring beloved old IPs back. This includes Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, a Dr. Seuss adaptation featuring Josh Gad and Ariana Grande. WB is also making a Hello Kitty movie for audiences who need a little more cuteness in their lives. If you prefer slapstick or action, though, the studio has you covered: they are also working on projects involving Tom & Jerry as well as Thundercats, which is now on its fourth reboot.

Speaking of stuff that just keeps getting rebooted, one of the most shocking announcements from Warner Bros. is that they are making a new Powerpuff Girls movie. Or at least, trying to: officially, they are still negotiating the rights, but that didn’t keep the studio from teasing Annecy audiences about their plans to make a new film. Previously, the original show got a weird anime adaptation, an aggressively polarizing reboot in 2016, and nearly got a live-action TV show. Like Thundercats, this will be the fourth attempt to bring Powerpuff Girls back, so let’s hope the gals stick the superhero landing.

A New Chapter?

At the Annecy Animation Film Festival, all of these announcements came courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation President and Chief Creative Officer Bill Damaschke. The general consensus among attendees is that the man talks a good game, and he did an excellent job of portraying everyone at the studio as ready and willing to fully throw themselves back into the world of theatrical and streaming-first animation.

However, cynics who feel burned by previous WB decisions have largely adopted a “wait and see” approach here. These announcements all sound great, but all of those aforementioned canceled and otherwise abandoned projects all started out as breathless announcements. The real litmus test will be whether or not all of these projects ever see the light of day or if they get shuttered in the relentless pursuit of another tax write-off. Only then will we know if the WB is ready to stop being the greatest supervillain the animation world has ever known.