Warner Bros. Kids Entertainment was the family film and children's entertainment label of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It released numerous theatrical (or direct-to-video) family films and children and family television series.
History[]
The division was founded in 1992 to produce more family-friendly films. The first theatrical film released under the Family Entertainment label was Dennis the Menace, released in the summer of 1993. The film proved to be a huge hit at the box office, grossing over $50 million at the domestic box office despite receiving negative reviews from critics. Following it was Free Willy, which was also released in the summer of 1993 and would also be a huge box office hit, grossing over $75 million domestically.
Other 1993 releases included a live-action film adaptation of the book The Secret Garden, which didn't perform as well as the previous two films but still garnered over $30 million at the domestic box office, and George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. The last 1993 WBFE theatrical release was Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and it wasn't a success at the box office, getting only $5 million at the box office compared to its $6 million budget, due to a lack of promotion from Warner Bros.
1994 was the worst year for WBFE, where it was home to numerous box-office bombs. In the early part of 1994, Warner released Thumbelina, which was a major box-office bomb. Another 1994 film was a live-action rendition of the book Black Beauty, which was another box-office bomb for the studio, grabbing only nearly $5 million at the box office. Following it was A Troll in Central Park, which garnered less than $1 million at the box office. The last two films in 1994 were Little Giants, which performed better, but only received nearly $20 million domestically and Richie Rich, which was only a minor box-office bomb, grossing over $38 million for its $40 million budget.
In 1995, it brought a live-action rendition of the book A Little Princess, which only got over $10 million in its domestic release. Other films that year included international distribution of The Pebble and the Penguin (MGM holds the US rights to the film), which was a box-office bomb, grossing nearly $4 million, and Born to Be Wild, which also garnered nearly $4 million. However, the biggest success of 1995 for the company was the sequel to Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, which, although not nearly as successful as the first film, was a minor success, garnering over $30 million.
1996 saw WBFE's biggest hit yet, Space Jam, which garnered over $90 million domestically. The following year, the division released Turner Feature Animation's Cats Don't Dance (inherited from Turner Pictures as a result of Time Warner's merger with Turner Broadcasting), which bombed at the box office with over $3 million earned stemming from a lack of promotion. The next 1997 film was a sequel to The Swan Princess, The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, but it performed poorly at the box office mainly because of a limited theatrical release. The final 1997 film was the third Free Willy film, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, which performed poorly, grossing over $3 million.
In 1998, it released Warner Bros. Animation's Quest for Camelot, which would be a box-office bomb, but grossed more than previous films released by the company, grossing nearly $23 million domestically. In 1999, it brought two more films from Warner Bros. Animation, the poorly performed The King and I, which only grossed nearly $12 million, and Brad Bird's The Iron Giant, which was also a box-office bomb, grossing over $23 million. (The Iron Giant, however, would go on to become a cult classic through video releases and TV airings, and is now hailed as one of the best animated films of all time. Also, despite having WBFE logos in trailers and TV spots, director Brad Bird opted against using the WBFE logo on giant to maintain a sense of seriousness, and instead created a custom Warner Bros. Feature Animation logo, the only film to use said brand.) The only film released under WBFE in 2000 was My Dog Skip, which became the company's first major box-office success in nearly four years, grossing nearly $35 million. Beginning with My Dog Skip, WBFE's later theatrical films used the standard Warner Bros logo (likely because of WBFE's poor box-office track record), and the Family Entertainment logo was only used on foreign films, TV shows, and direct-to-video films from there-on out.
Two more family films were released in 2001 through WBFE. Cats & Dogs was proved to be one of the biggest successes of the company's history, grossing over $200 million worldwide. The next film, Osmosis Jones, was hoped to follow the previous two films in the success line-up, but sadly flopped, only grossing nearly $15 million. It wasn't until 2004 that another film from WBFE was released, Clifford's Really Big Movie, which was another box-office bomb, mainly because of opening under 500 screens, grossing only over $3 million.
Warner Bros. continued to release family films later in the 2000s, but the logo for its Family Entertainment subsidiary was no longer used. The last film to officially be released under the Family Entertainment banner was their first film to be released in Germany and the United Kingdom only, Laura's Star (2004).
WBFE also formerly distributed family entertainment divisions and companies that were related to Warner, such as WarnerVision Entertainment’s KidVision children’s home entertainment division and Rhino Entertainment’s Kid Rhino Home Video division until the early 2000s, when both Kid Rhino and KidVision went defunct and were discontinued.
WBFE also served as the label for children’s and family-friendly entertainment programming that were not made by Warner Bros., but were distributed by the company, such as ALF’s Animated Adventures and the original ThunderCats, as well as TV specials and telefilms including Rankin-Bass’ The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. The label also covered Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, The Yogi Bear Show, and The Smurfs; DC Comics cartoons such as Super Friends, Justice League of America: The Filmation Animated Adventures; and Turner Entertainment cartoons such as The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show and The New Adventures of Gilligan.
The use of WBFE as the opening logo for Warner Bros. Animation productions ceased in 2007, and beginning in 2008, the WB Animation logos have been used at the beginning and ends of shows. The WBFE logo continues to be seen on the various movies and shows under its' name from the 1990s and 2000s, as well as newer prints of the aforementioned inherited and library titles.
WBFE continued operations in Germany until 2009, after releasing Laura's Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian.
Notable films[]
Theatrical films[]
| Title | Release Date | Distributor | Co-Production Companies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis the Menace | June 25, 1993 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | John Hughes Entertainment Hank Ketcham Enterprises |
|
| Free Willy | July 16, 1993 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Regency Enterprises Le Studio Canal+ Alcor Films Donner/Shuler-Donner |
First film to feature the second variant of the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment logo. |
| The Secret Garden | August 13, 1993 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | American Zoetrope | |
| George Balanchine's The Nutcracker | November 24, 1993 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Elektra Entertainment Regency Enterprises |
|
| Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | December 25, 1993 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Animation DC Comics |
Part of the DC animated universe |
| Thumbelina | March 30, 1994 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. | The first Don Bluth's animated film to be distributed by Warner Bros.; It's now licensed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment since 2002 (now by Disney since 2019). |
| Black Beauty | July 29, 1994 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| A Troll in Central Park | October 7, 1994 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. | The second Don Bluth's animated film to be distributed by Warner Bros.; It's now licensed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment since 2002 (now by Disney since 2019). |
| Little Giants | October 21, 1994 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Amblin Entertainment | |
| The NeverEnding Story III | October 27, 1994 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Cinevox Filmproduktion GmbH Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion Studio Babelsberg |
Germany distribution only, distributed in the US by Miramax Films |
| Richie Rich | December 21, 1994 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Silver Pictures Davis Entertainment The Harvey Entertainment Company |
|
| Born to Be Wild | March 31, 1995 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Fuji Entertainment Outlaw Productions |
|
| The Pebble and the Penguin | April 12, 1995 (USA) | Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (USA) Warner Bros. Pictures International |
Don Bluth Ireland, Ltd. | International distribution only; The final Don Bluth's film to be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the USA and by Warner Bros. in the foreign rights; It's now licensed internationally by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment since 2002 (now by Disney since 2019). |
| A Little Princess | May 10, 1995 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Baltimore Pictures | |
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | July 19, 1995 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Le Studio Canal+ Regency Enterprises Alcor Films Shuler-Donner/Donner |
|
| The Amazing Panda Adventure | August 25, 1995 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| It Takes Two | November 17, 1995 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures (USA) Rysher Entertainment (International) |
Rysher Entertainment Orr & Cruickshank Productions Dualstar Productions |
It's now owned by Paramount Home Media Distribution since 2017. |
| Gumby: The Movie | December 1, 1995 (USA) | Arrow Releasing Inc. (USA) | Premavision, Inc. | German distribution only. |
| The Adventures of Pinocchio | July 26, 1996 (USA) | New Line Cinema (USA) | The Kushner-Locke Company Savoy Pictures |
German distribution only. |
| Pepolino and the Treasure of the Mermaid | August 29, 1996 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Infafilm GmbH Videovox Stúdió Focusfilm Kft. MaTiMa Film Bayerischer Rundfunk |
German distribution only. |
| Space Jam | November 15, 1996 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Feature Animation National Basketball Association |
|
| Shiloh | November 8, 1996 (Heartland Film Festival) April 25, 1997 (USA) |
Legacy Releasing Warner Bros. |
Zeta Entertainment Utopia Pictures Good Dog Productions Carl Borack Productions |
|
| Cats Don't Dance | March 26, 1997 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Turner Feature Animation | |
| A Rat's Tale | March 27, 1997 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Augsburger Puppenkiste | |
| The Fearless Four | October 2, 1997 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Munich Animation Stardust Pictures London Bioskop Film |
|
| Air Bud | August 1, 1997 (USA) | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (USA) Malofilm (Canada) Warner Bros. (UK) |
Buddy Films, Inc. Walt Disney Pictures |
UK distribution only. |
| Wild America | July 2, 1997 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Morgan Creek Productions | Used only on the VHS/DVD cover; It's licensed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2014 to 2020 and by Mill Creek Entertainment since 2020. |
| Free Willy 3: The Rescue | August 6, 1997 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Regency Enterprises Shuler Donner/Donner |
|
| Pippi Longstocking | August 22, 1997 (USA) | Legacy Releasing (USA) Malofilm (Canada) Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Germany) |
Nelvana Svensk Filmindustri Téléfilm Canada |
home video distribution only. |
| Quest for Camelot | May 15, 1998 | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Feature Animation | |
| The Flying Liftboy | November 26, 1998 (Netherlands) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions AVRO | |
| The King and I | March 19, 1999 | Warner Bros. Pictures | Morgan Creek Productions Rankin/Bass Productions Nest Entertainment Rich Animation Studios |
The first Richard Rich's animated film to be distrbuted by Warner Bros.; It's licensed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2014 to 2020 and by Mill Creek Entertainment since 2020. |
| The Iron Giant | August 6, 1999 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Feature Animation | Theatrical trailer only. |
| Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season | July 2, 1999 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Legacy Releasing | |
| Pokémon: The First Movie | July 18, 1998 (Japan) November 10, 1999 (USA) |
Toho (Japan) Warner Bros. Pictures International |
Kids' WB Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment |
International theatrical trailers and TV spots only; Seen only in the poster. |
| Tobias Totz and His Lion | September 30, 1999 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Bioskop Film Munich Animation Film Rothkirch Cartoon Film Stupid Studio |
The first Rothkirch Cartoon Film's animated film to be released by Warner Bros. |
| My Dog Skip | March 3, 2000 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Alcon Entertainment MDS Productions LLC |
Theatrical trailer only. |
| Pokémon: The Movie 2000 | July 17, 1999 (Japan) July 21, 2000 (USA) |
Toho (Japan) Warner Bros. Pictures International |
Kids' WB Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment |
Seen only in the poster. |
| The Scarecrow | August 26, 2000 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Nest Family Entertainment (uncredited) Rich Animation Studios |
The second and final Richard Rich's animated film to be distrbuted by Warner Bros.; Direct-to-video only. |
| Pokémon 3: The Movie | July 8, 2000 (Japan) April 6, 2001 (USA) |
Toho (Japan) Warner Bros. Pictures International |
Kids' WB Nintendo OLM, Inc. 4Kids Entertainment |
Seen only in the poster. |
| Cats & Dogs | July 4, 2001 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Village Roadshow Pictures | Used only on the VHS/DVD cover. |
| Osmosis Jones | August 10, 2001 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Feature Animation Conundrum Entertainment |
Used only on the VHS/DVD cover. |
| Miss Minoes | December 6, 2001 (Netherlands) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions AVRO | |
| The Little Polar Bear | October 4, 2001 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film | The second Rothkirch Cartoon Film's animated film to be released by Warner Bros. |
| Clifford's Really Big Movie | April 23, 2004 (USA) | Warner Bros. Pictures | Big Red Dog Productions Scholastic Productions Mike Young Productions Public Broadcasting Service |
It’s licensed by Universal Home Entertainment since 2015. |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light | August 13, 2004 (United States) November 3, 2004 (Japan) |
Warner Bros. Pictures International Toho (Japan) |
4Kids Entertainment Studio Gallop |
|
| Laura's Star | September 19, 2004 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film MotionWorks Comet Film Produktion GmbH Animationsfabrik |
|
| The Little Polar Bear 2: The Mysterious Island | September 29, 2005 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film | |
| The Thief Lord | January 5, 2006 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | ||
| The Trip to Panama | September 21, 2006 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film | |
| Two Times Lotte | May 10, 2007 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Lunaris Film TFC Trickompany Filmproduktion |
|
| Kleiner Dodo | January 1, 2008 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film | |
| Laura's Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian | September 24, 2009 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film | |
| Laura's Star and the Dream Monster | October 13, 2011 (Germany) | Warner Bros. Pictures International | Rothkirch Cartoon Film |
Direct-to-video films[]
Live-action films[]
- Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998)
- Addams Family Reunion (1998, co-production with Saban Entertainment)
- Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998, co-production with Saban Entertainment and The Harvey Entertainment Company)
Scooby-Doo[]
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)
- Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
- Aloha, Scooby-Doo! (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005, released theatrically in select cities part of Kidtoon Films)
- Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)
- Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! (2007)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King (2008)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009)
Looney Tunes[]
- Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
- Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000)
- Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
Others[]
- The Mighty Kong (1998)
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
- Wakko's Wish (1999, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
- Millionaire Dogs (1999)
- The Scarecrow (2000)
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
- Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2001, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment)
- The Little Polar Bear: Lars and the Little Tiger (2002)
- The Little Polar Bear: The Dream of Flying (2003)
- The Little Polar Bear: Nanouk's Rescue (2003)
- Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
- ¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléfico (2004)
- The Little Polar Bear: A Visitor from the South Pole (2004)
- Nine Dog Christmas (2004)
- Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! (2004, co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment)
- Laura's Christmas Star (2006)
Notable television shows[]
- Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1995, with Amblin Entertainment)
- Taz-Mania (1991–1995)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995)
- The Plucky Duck Show (1992, with Amblin Entertainment)
- The Little Polar Bear (1992-1993)
- Animaniacs (1993–1998, with Amblin Entertainment)
- Freakazoid! (1995–1997, with Amblin Entertainment)
- Pinky and the Brain (1995–1998, with Amblin Entertainment)
- The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries (1995–2002)
- Road Rovers (1996–1997)
- Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000)
- Waynehead (1996–1997, with Nelvana)
- The Legend of Calamity Jane (1997-1998)
- The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999)
- The New Batman/Superman Adventures (1997–2000)
- Histeria! (1998–2000)
- Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain (1998–1999, with Amblin Entertainment)
- Batman Beyond (1999–2001)
- Detention (1999–2000)
- Static Shock (2000–2004)
- Justice League (2001–2004)
- The Zeta Project (2001–2002)
- Baby Looney Tunes (2002–2005)
- ¡Mucha Lucha! (2002–2005)
- Ozzy & Drix (2002–2004)
- What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2006)
- Duck Dodgers (2003–2005)
- Teen Titans (2003–2006)
- Xiaolin Showdown (2003–2006)
- The Batman (2004–2008)
- Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006)
- Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island (2005–2006)
- Johnny Test (2005–2014; first season only)
- Firehouse Tales (2005–2006)
- Krypto the Superdog (2005–2006)
- Loonatics Unleashed (2005–2007)
- Legion of Super Heroes (2006–2008)
- Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! (2006–2008)
- Tom and Jerry Tales (2006–2008)
Logo[]
It features an standard Warner Bros. shield with the banner reading "Family Entertainment". Bugs Bunny in a tuxedo, steps out from behind the shield, does a vanna pose, and leans on the banner. Bugs would take a bite from his carrot as the banner shines.
Starting with Quest for Camelot, the shield in now rendered in CGI with the same animation from the 1998-2020 Warner Bros. Pictures logo and the animation of Bugs Bunny is reused, except he is animated digitally.
Gallery[]
.png "Warner Bros. Family Entertainment logo (widescreen).png (2.69 MB)"){kind=logo}
.png "Warner Bros. Family Entertainment (1999).png (319 KB)")
.jpg "Warner Bros. Family Entertainment 1999 (The King and I Variant).jpg (75 KB)")
.png "Warner Bros. Family Entertainment logo (AOL Time Warner).png (1.05 MB)"){kind=logo}
.png "Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Logo (Time Warner).png (5.36 MB)"){kind=logo}
See also[]
- Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros. Animation
- Warner Bros. Feature Animation
- Warner Bros. Television
- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
- Warner Animation Group
- Warner Archive Collection
- Warner Archive Instant
External links[]
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. The revision history lists the authors. The text on Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki and Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). |
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