Warner Bros. Family Entertainment is the family film label of Warner Bros., established in 1992. It is best known for producing numerous family films and television series in either live-action or animation (especially animated television programs produced by Steven Spielberg).
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. 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. WBFE made another film in 1993, called 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.
1994 was the worst year for WBFE, where it was home to numerous flops. In the early part of 1994, Warner released Thumbelina, which was a major flop at the box office. Another 1994 film was a live-action rendition of the book Black Beauty, which was another flop 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 flop, 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 include international releases of The Pebble and the Penguin (MGM holds the US rights to the film), which was a bomb at the box office, grossing nearly $4 million, and Born to Be Wild, which also garnered nearly $4 million. But the biggest success of 1995 for the company was the sequel to Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, which, although it wasn't nearly as successful as the predecessor, was a minor success, garnering over $30 million.
1996 would bring WBFE's biggest hit yet, Space Jam, which garnered over $90 million domestically, making the film a huge box office hit. 1997 would be home to some of Warner's least-successful movies yet. The next film was released in 1997, Turner Feature Animation's Cats Don't Dance, which flopped at the box office with over $3 million earned. The next 1997 film was a sequel to The Swan Princess, The Swan Princess II: 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 flop at the box office, but grossed more than previous films released by the company, grossing nearly $23 million domestically. 1999 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 flop, grossing over $23 million. The only 2000 film released under WBFE was My Dog Skip, which became the company’s first major box office success in nearly four years, grossing nearly $35 million.
Two 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 flop, 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 have the Family Entertainment banner was their first film to be released in Germany and England only, Laura's Star. In 2006, Warner Bros. released The Ant Bully, which was a box office disappointment, earning only $28 million in the US and $55 million worldwide.
In 2010, the studio released two films in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a sequel to the 2001 film Cats & Dogs, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore on July 30, 2010 and a new computer-animated film based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole books, alternatively titled Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole on September 24, 2010. Also, the studio released a live-action/CGI 3-D film adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Yogi Bear, on December 17, 2010.
In 2011, Warner Bros. released two family films, Dolphin Tale and a sequel to the 2006 film Happy Feet, Happy Feet Two.
The Family Entertainment in-name-only unit also distributes classic Warner Bros. TV shows such as ALF: The Animated Series, ALF Tales and Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and TV specials such as Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, as well as classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Jetsons, The Yogi Bear Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show, including pre-1991 Ruby-Spears cartoons such as Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos, The Centurions, Thundarr the Barbarian, Mister T and classic DC Comics cartoons such as The New Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder and Superfriends, and Turner Entertainment cartoons such as The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, The Tom & Jerry Show, The New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan’s Planet.
Future
Films currently in development include a live-action adaptation of Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear 2, Tom and Jerry and Hong Kong Phooey.
Notable films
Theatrical films
- The Magic Voyage (1992, UK distribution only, distributed in the US by Hemdale Pictures)
- Dennis the Menace (1993)
- Free Willy (1993, co-production with Regency Enterprises)
- Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1993, home video distribution only, distributed theatrically by Miramax Films and LIVE Entertainment, co-production with Turner Pictures, Film Roman and WMG)
- The Secret Garden (1993)
- George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (1993)
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Thumbelina (1994, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment)
- Black Beauty (1994)
- A Troll in Central Park (1994, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment)
- Little Giants (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
- The NeverEnding Story III (1994, non-US distribution only, distributed in the US by Miramax Films)
- Richie Rich (1994, co-production with Silver Pictures, Davis Entertainment and The Harvey Entertainment Company)
- Born to Be Wild (1995)
- The Pebble and the Penguin (1995, non-US distribution only, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment, distributed in the US by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- A Little Princess (1995)
- Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995, co-production with Regency Enterprises)
- The Amazing Panda Adventure (1995)
- It Takes Two (1995, co-production with Rysher Entertainment)
- Gumby: The Movie (1995, German distribution only, co-production with Premavision, Inc., distributed in the US by Arrow Releasing Inc.)
- The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996, German distribution only, produced by The Kushner-Locke Company and Savoy Pictures)
- Space Jam (1996)
- Shiloh (1996)
- Cats Don't Dance (1997, co-production with Turner Feature Animation)
- A Rat's Tale (1997, produced by Augsburger Puppenkiste)
- The Fearless Four (1997)
- Air Bud (1997, UK distribution only, distributed in the US by Walt Disney Pictures)
- Wild America (1997, co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
- Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997, co-production with Regency Enterprises)
- Pippi Longstocking (1997, home video distribution only, produced by Nelvana, Svensk Filmindustri and Téléfilm Canada)
- Quest for Camelot (1998)
- The King and I (1999, co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
- The Iron Giant (1999)
- Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999)
- Pokémon: The First Movie (1999, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment)
- Tobias Totz and His Lion (1999)
- My Dog Skip (2000, co-production with Alcon Entertainment)
- Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (2000, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment)
- The Scarecrow (2000)
- Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment)
- Cats & Dogs (2001, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures)
- Osmosis Jones (2001)
- The Little Polar Bear (2001)
- Scooby-Doo (2002, co-production with Hanna-Barbera Productions and Mosaic Media Group)
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002, co-production with Cartoon Network Studios)
- Kangaroo Jack (2003, co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment and Jerry Bruckheimer Films)
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004, co-production with Hanna-Barbera Productions and Mosaic Media Group)
- Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light (2004, co-production with Studio Gallop and 4Kids Entertainment)
- Laura's Star (2004)
- The Polar Express (2004, co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment, Shangri-La Entertainment, ImageMovers, Playtone, Golden Mean)
- Racing Stripes (2005, co-production with Alcon Entertainment)
- Corpse Bride (2005, co-production with Laika and Tim Burton Productions)
- The Little Polar Bear 2 – The Mysterious Island (2005)
- The Thief Lord (2006, German distribution only, distributed in the US by 20th Century Fox)
- Saving Shiloh (2006)
- The Ant Bully (2006, co-production with Legendary Pictures, Playtone and DNA Productions)
- Happy Feet (2006, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller and Animal Logic)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008, co-production with Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation)
- Little Dodo (2008)
- Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock (2009, co-production with Imagenation Abu Dhabi, Media Rights Capital and Troublemaker Studios)
- Laura's Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian (2009)
- Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures)
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, Cruel and Unusual Films and Animal Logic)
- Yogi Bear (2010, co-production with Hanna-Barbera Productions)
- Top Cat: The Movie (2011, distributed with Vertigo Films, co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Anima Studios and Illusion Studios)
- Dolphin Tale (2011, co-production with Alcon Entertainment)
- Happy Feet Two (2011, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller Mitchell and Animal Logic)
- Laura's Star and the Dream Monsters (2011)
- The Lego Movie (2014, co-production with Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic)
- Dolphin Tale 2 (2014, co-production with Alcon Entertainment)
- Max (2015, co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- Storks (2016)
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017, co-production with Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic)
- The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017, co-production with Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic)
- Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018, co-production with DC Entertainment)
- Smallfoot (2018, co-production with Zaftig Films)
- The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019, co-production with Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic)
- The Billion Brick Race (2019, co-production with Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic)
- Scooby (2020, co-production with Hanna-Barbera Productions, Atlas Entertainment, Primate Pictures and Reel FX Creative Studios)
- Untitled Harvey Street Kids film (2021, co-production with The Harvey Entertaiment Company)
- Bone (TBA, co-production with Lin Pictures)
- Space Jam 2 (TBA)
- Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (TBA, co-production with Dr. Seuss Enterpress)
- The Ice Dragon (TBA)
- Toto (TBA)
- Super Pets (TBA, co-production with DC Entertainment)
Direct-to-video films
Live-action films
- Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998)
- Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998, co-production with Saban Entertainment and The Harvey Entertainment Company)
- Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009, co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
- Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009, co-production with Hanna-Barbera)
- Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010, co-production with Hanna-Barbera)
- Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010)
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! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)
- Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014)
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)
- Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015)
Others
- The Snow Queen (1995)
- The Snow Queen's Revenge (1996)
- The Mighty Kong (1998)
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
- Wakko's Wish (1999, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
- Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999, Australia and New Zealand distribution only, co-production with Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network)
- 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)
- Rupert (1991–1997)
- 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)
- Noah's Island (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)
- Laura's Star (2002–2008)
- ¡Mucha Lucha! (2002–2005)
- Ozzy & Drix (2002–2004)
- What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2006)
- The Little Polar Bear (2002-2003)
- 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)
- Little Dodo (2007)
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 Warner Bros. Pictures logo and the animation of Bugs Bunny is reused, except he is animated digitally.
Gallery
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External links
- Template:Imdb company
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