WarnerMedia revitalizes one of the most legendary brands in animation history by making Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe (formerly Cartoon Network Studios Europe, acting on behalf of Great Marlborough Productions) the key television animation studio of a group of countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The founding of Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe was announced by Tom Ascheim, president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC). Sam Register (President of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios) and Vanessa Brookman (Head of Kids EMEA) will run the London-based studio. The aforementioned Ascheim claims that:
In 2021, we merged the two largest animation studios with Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, and their collaboration is already bringing very interesting results. Currently, also thanks to Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, we represent the most talented creators and cult characters for the history of character animation and productions. This makes us unique in the ever-evolving, competitive global media landscape.
Hanna-Barbera Productions was founded in 1957 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It was the first to achieve significant success in the world of television animation. The artistic styles, production techniques and sound effects they introduced 60 years ago are still used today. They created hundreds of iconic characters, including Scooby-Doo and the Flintstones, among others. Vanessa Brookman adds that:
It is a great honor for us to expand the EMEA base with one of the most prestigious brands in history. Together with Sam, we want to ambitiously develop a European series of content created by a talented group of artists. We look forward to introducing other unique productions to families and children around the world. We are starting a new chapter in our global animation strategy.
Together with industry leaders such as WBA and CNS, Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe will develop WarnerMedia’s global strategy for creating content for children. Currently, work is taking place there, among others over a full-length film based on the hit series The Amazing World of Gumball .