Warner Animation Group Is Now Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
New boss Bill Damaschke not only detailed the studio's future but a first-look deal with Locksmith Animation
One of the biggest animation showcases for the entire world, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, starts this weekend. For once Warner Bros. has come with some positive swings in the Discovery era. President of Feature Animation Bill Damaschke, who was hired in February has announced a rebranding of the motion picture division formerly known as Warner Animation Group, or WAG.
The studio is now known as Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Damaschke claims this rebrand is one to focus on filmmakers, seemingly reinforced by citing films directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant), Tim Burton (Corpse Bride), George Miller (Happy Feet), Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express) and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) over the studio’s history. Said to be “honoring the past and rich history…benchmark films that broke new ground, new technology, new ways of telling stories and were successful, artistically and commercially. They last in people’s hearts.”
WAG’s slate in the decade so far, consisting of Scoob, Tom & Jerry, Space Jam: A New Legacy and DC League of Super-Pets, has ridden on established IP. That’s not going anywhere, but there is still a concerted effort to start new franchises as well. The current goal is for WBPA to release two animated films each year. But what exactly is on the slate? Currently, there’s a core staff of 90, consisting of production artists, filmmakers, and writers on the leftover WAG production, an adaptation of The Cat in the Hat, from Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Erica Rivinoja and Annie Award-nominated DreamWorks alum Alessandro Carloni. It’s being targeted for either a 2025 or 2026 theatrical release as the first product of a deal with Dr. Seuss Enterprises Lp for films based on the author’s children’s books. There’s also the next Looney Tunes film, Coyote vs. Acme, directed by Dave Green, produced by Chis DeFaria and now DC Studios CEO James Gunn, and starring Will Forte and John Cena. Damaschke also revealed a Flintstones origin movie, titled Meet the Flintstones, is in early development. It is being written by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who developed Teen Titans Go!, wrote its theatrical film with the former co-directing, and directed The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The studio is said to be on a level of priority equal to DC Studios.
While Animal Logic in Vancouver will continue to collaborate, another collaborator has reinforced their part of the fray, who will certainly help on the originals end. They have signed a first-look deal with Locksmith Animation, the studio behind Ron’s Gone Wrong at 20th Century Studios, to develop and produce animated features for worldwide distribution. This is on top of a production deal signed in 2019. Their second film, That Christmas, is currently in production, written by Richard Curtis for a release on Netflix.
The first film in development is Bad Fairies, a subversive musical comedy set in modern London, about a kickass gang of rulebreaking fairies with attitude. Deborah Frances-White is writing the screenplay. Megan Nicole Dong, who created the Netflix animated series Centaurworld, is attached to direct.
The other is The Lunar Chronicles, based on Marissa Meyer’s best-selling novels, which they optioned early last year. A sci-fi twist on Grimms’ Fairy Tales, four young women launch a rebellion against the fascistic Queen of the moon and travel the universe while taking hold of their own destinies. Kalen Egan & Travis Sentell, writers on the Prime Video series Electric Dreams, are the attached writers for the film, with Noëlle Raffaele, director of DC Superhero Girls and story artist for The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Marvels, the attached director.
Working with Locksmith, Warner Bros. can reinvigorate how it handles animated features through key partnerships, creative development, and quality storytelling. The Locksmith team, led by founder and President of Julie Lockhart, and Chief Creative Officer Mary Coleman, will work closely with Damaschke and the team to advance a fresh, innovative approach to beloved legacy IP while also developing and producing originals. It’s unclear if either Locksmith film takes a slot, if future ones would, or if it is in addition to WBPA’s twice yearly output.
