Warner Animation Group (abbreviated as WAG) is the feature animation division of Warner Bros. Animation. The studio is the successor to traditional-animation department Warner Bros. Feature Animation.
Contents
History
In January 2013, Jeff Robinov (then the 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. It is the successor to the dissolved hand-drawn animation department Warner Bros. Feature Animation. The group includes John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and Jared Stern. Warner Bros. created the group with the hope that the box office reception of their films will be competitive with other animation studios' releases. 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.
On February 7, 2014, Warner Animation Group released their first film, The Lego Movie, a film animated by Animal Logic. 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 September 23, 2016. On the same day, they announced their third film, Smallfoot, which was originally scheduled for release in 2016, but was later moved to 2018. Storks was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks and was met with mixed reviews from critics.
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 Sequel. The sequel was announced to be released on May 26, 2017, 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, pushing the sequel to May 18, 2018. 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".
On February 10, 2017, Warner Bros. released The Lego Batman Movie, which received positive reviews from critics.
The Lego Ninjago Movie, based on the Lego Ninjago theme of Lego toys, was released September 22, 2017. Upon release, the film was met with mixed reviews from critics.
Smallfoot was the 2nd film Warner Animation released to not be a Lego Movie and the first Warner Animation film to be a musical, and was released on September 28, 2018. It received relatively lukewarm reviews from critics.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the 4th film in The Lego Movie series and the 2nd musical from Warner Animation, was released to theaters as well a Real D 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX on February 8, 2019. Despite being a box-office bomb, it was met with a very warm reception from critics and audiences alike.
Scoob! was originally supposed to go to worldwide theaters on May 15, 2020, but was then sent premium video-on-demand due to the 2019-2020 Coronavirus pandemic in North America, but was then released in select theaters in international countries by the beginning of July 2020 with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, to make up for its intended worldwide theatrical release before eventually getting struck by the coronavirus pandemic. It received mixed reviews from critics. It also marks as the first film from Warner Animation Group to not be released in February or September.
Upcoming projects
On March 27, 2015, it was reported that Jason Segel and Drew Pearce was going to co-direct and write a script to a new "Lego Movie" spin-off named The Billion Brick Race, which is currently set for release in 2019.
Other WAG films announced are based on Adventure Time, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Speedy Gonzales and Bone.
In late September 2015, it was reported that Warner Bros. and Warner Animation Group were working on an animated musical called Meet The Beatles based on The Beatles, the film is to be directed by Paul King, who directed Paddington.
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.
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.
Filmography
Feature films
Released films
| # | Title | Release date | Co-production with | Animation service(s) | Budget | Gross | RT | MC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lego Movie | February 7, 2014 | Village Roadshow Pictures RatPac-Dune Entertainment Lego System A/S Vertigo Entertainment Lin Pictures |
Animal Logic | $60 million | $469.2 million | 96% | 83 |
| 2 | Storks | September 23, 2016 | RatPac-Dune Entertainment Stoller Global Solutions (uncredited) |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | $70 million | $182.4 million | 64% | 56 |
| 3 | The Lego Batman Movie | February 10, 2017 | DC Comics RatPac-Dune Entertainment Lego System A/S Lord Miller Productions Vertigo Entertainment Lin Pictures |
Animal Logic | $80 million | $312 million | 90% | 71 |
| 4 | The Lego Ninjago Movie | September 22, 2017 | RatPac-Dune Entertainment Lego System A/S Vertigo Entertainment Lord Miller Productions Lin Pictures |
$70 million | $123.1 million | 55% | 55 | |
| 5 | Smallfoot | September 28, 2018 | Zaftig Films | Sony Pictures Imageworks | $80 million | $213 million | 76% | 60 |
| 6 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | February 8, 2019 | Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lord Miller Productions, Rideback Productions | Animal Logic | $99 million | $190 million | 85% | 80 |
| 7 | Scoob! | May 15, 2020 | Atlas Entertainment Primate Pictures |
Reel FX Creative Studios | TBA | TBA | 50% | 48 |
Upcoming films
| # | Title | Release date | Co-production with | Animation service(s) | Current Production Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Tom and Jerry | February 26, 2021 | Turner Entertainment The Story Company |
Framestore | Completed |
| 9 | Space Jam: A New Legacy | July 16, 2021 | Spring Hill Entertainment | TBA | Post-Production |
| 10 | DC Super Pets | May 20, 2022 | DC Entertainment | Animal Logic | Pre-Production |
| 11 | Coyote vs. Acme | July 21, 2023 | TBA | TBA | Development |
Films in development
| Title |
|---|
| Untitled "Jetsons" Film [1] |
| Untitled "Flintstones" Film [2] |
| Untitled "Wacky Races" Film [3] |
| The Ice Dragon [4] [5] [6] |
| Untitled "Toto" Film [7] [8] [9] |
| Oh, The Places You’ll Go |
| The Cat in the Hat |
| Thing 1 and Thing 2 |
| Untitled "Funko" Film [11] [12] |
Short films
| # | Title | Release date | Distributor | Animation service(s) | Release with | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enter the Ninjago | June 17, 2014 | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment | Animal Logic | The Lego Movie | Home video release |
| 2 | The Lego Movie: 4D - A New Adventure | January 29, 2016 | Warner Bros. Pictures | Pure Imagination Studios | Theme park ride | |
| 3 | The Master | September 23, 2016 | Animal Logic | Storks | Theatrical release | |
| 4 | Pigeon Toady's Guide to Your New Baby | December 20, 2016 | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment | Sony Pictures Imageworks | Home video release | |
| 5 | Dark Hoser | June 13, 2017 | N/A | The Lego Batman Movie | ||
| 6 | Batman is Just Not That Into You | |||||
| 7 | Cooking with Alfred | Animal Logic | ||||
| 8 | Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That? | |||||
| 9 | Shark E. Shark in "Which Way to the Ocean?" | December 19, 2017 | The Lego Ninjago Movie | |||
| 10 | Zane's Stand Up Promo | N/A | ||||
Franchises
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| The Lego Movie | 2014–2019 |
Gallery
Trivia
- During the opening logo, "Merrily We Roll Along" was used as a fanfare for the company, starting with Tom and Jerry.
- This company has not yet made a G-rated production, as every one of its feature-length films so far has been rated PG by the MPAA, due to stricter reasons.
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