Get excited Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Bros fans! Animated remakes of classic properties have just been green lit. You can expect to see more from the worlds of Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and the Flintstones. Not much is known at the time about any of these projects. They are all very early in development. They will likely be 3D animated though, as that’s the animation style mostly used today. This is great news for Looney Tunes fans especially. In the past month, Looney Tunes was removed from Warner Bros streaming service Max. This was devastating to fans, as it was the only platform audiences could stream the show.
To add on to that, the studio lot at Warner Bros that was formerly dedicated to Looney Tunes is being demolished. The studio is known as Building 131. This is also devastating to fans, as the home for Looney Tunes Cartoons will soon no longer exist.
The news of more Looney Tunes projects coming is surprising, given this turn of events. Although it is very uplifting news for Looney Tunes events. What also makes this surprising is the announcement of new Tom and Jerry, and Flintstones animated movies in addition. Warner Bros has previously tried to make movies of Hanna-Barbera IP in recent years. It didn’t go as planned. In 2020 Warner Bros released Scoob. Scoob was a movie adaptation of the famous Scooby Doo animated series. It was a 3D animated movie. It had an all star voice cast with Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, a theatrical release was cancelled. It was instead released on streaming. This severely undercut the release of the movie. While it was great for audiences to get to experience the movie at home, it defeated the purpose.
Hanna Barbera properties have famously aired on tv. They have had countless direct to video animated movies over the years. Making these new animated movies was with the intention of theatrical release. A theatrical release would make sense as it would expand on the franchise. It would also help the animated movies differentiate, and show audiences why they should see it. Due to Scoob being released on streaming, just like any other Scooby Doo movie, it failed to stand out.
Warner Bros also had very little to say about the numbers it did on Premium Video On Demand. To add to that, Warner Bros had two other Hanna-Barbera movies that followed suit. The Tom and Jerry movie, and Space Jam Legacy movies were also effected negatively by this. Both films were released in 2021, and were animated live action hybrids. Although those movies didn’t go directly to streaming, they did release simultaneously in theatres. This undercut both movies. It’s also important to note that the reception from critics and audiences were negative for all 3 movies. Tom and Jerry was a moderate success. The film grossed $136.5 on a $50-79 million dollar budget. However Space Jam Legacy was a complete box office flop. That film even had the star power of Lebron James, Don Cheadle, and Zendaya. Unfortunately nothing could save it, as the film received terrible reviews from critics and audiences.
A Cancelled Looney Tunes Project Was Just Picked Up
A previously scrapped project was recently picked up. Warner Bros had made a Coyote Vs Acme movie. Despite the movie being completely finished, it was scrapped due to a $30 million dollar tax write off. Although new movie distribution company Ketchup bought the rights to the movie. Coyote vs Acme was bought for $50 million. The film will release in theatres next year. Ketchup had recently saved another Looney Tunes movie. Looney Tunes The Day The Earth Blew up was also originally scrapped. The same reason being for tax write offs. Unlike Coyote Vs Acme this Looney Tunes movie was intended for streaming service Max. Ketchup instead released the movie in theatres this past March. What makes this a surprising turn of events is the recent Looney Tunes movie flopped at the box office. Perhaps Ketchup is relying on the digital, and streaming success of these movies. Ironic for movies intended to break away on streaming, are now being released for streaming. Cyote Vs Acme releases in 2026.
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