Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
TypeDivision
IndustryFilm
Founded1992 (1992)
Defunct2009 (2009)
FateCurrently an in-name-only unit of Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation
SuccessorsStudio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
Warner Bros. Animation
Library:
Warner Bros.
Headquarters411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsMotion pictures
ParentWarner Bros.

Warner Bros. Family Entertainment was the family division label of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It released numerous theatrical and direct-to-video family-oriented films and television shows.

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.

In 1994, it 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, 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.

In 1996, it 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. Feature 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, WBFE released two more films, 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 would, however, go on to become a cult classic through video releases and TV airings. 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.

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 flopped, only grossing nearly $15 million.

Warner Bros. continued to release family films later in the 2000s as well as the 2010s, but the logo for its Family Entertainment subsidiary was no longer used in the USA.

WBFE continued operations in Germany until 2009, after releasing Laura's Star and the Mysterious Dragon Nian.

Though made before Warner Bros. created the label, it also covers the VHS releases of Calamity Jane, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Superman, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, The NeverEnding Story, The Goonies, Daffy Duck's Quackbusters, All Dogs Go to Heaven (the 1996 UK VHS release only), The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, Rover Dangerfield, Curly Sue and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.[1]

Notable theatrical films

Notable direct-to-video films

Release Date Title Notes
1990s
March 11, 1992Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacationwith Amblin Entertainment
November 21, 1995The Snow Queenwith Martin Gates Productions
1996The Snow Queen's Revengewith Martin Gates Productions
March 17, 1998Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZerowith DC Entertainment
September 22, 1998Scooby-Doo on Zombie Islandwith Hanna-Barbera
November 3, 1998Richie Rich's Christmas Wishwith Saban Entertainment
October 5, 1999Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghostwith Hanna-Barbera
December 21, 1999Wakko's Wishwith Amblin Entertainment
2000s
August 26, 2000The Scarecrowwith Rich Animation Studios
September 12, 2000Tweety's High-Flying Adventure
October 3, 2000Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaderswith Hanna-Barbera
December 12, 2000Batman Beyond: Return of the Jokerwith DC Entertainment
October 9, 2001Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chasewith Hanna-Barbera
March 12, 2002Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ringwith Turner Entertainment
February 11, 2003Baby Looney Tunes' Eggs-traordinary Adventure
March 4, 2003Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire
September 30, 2003Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico
October 21, 2003Batman: Mystery of the Batwomanwith DC Entertainment
June 22, 2004Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster
October 5, 2004¡Mucha Lucha!: The Return of El Maléficowith Fwak! Animation
November 16, 2004Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!with Castle Rock Entertainment
January 18, 2005Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Marswith Turner Entertainment
February 8, 2005Aloha, Scooby-Doo!
October 11, 2005Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furrywith Turner Entertainment; released theatrically in select cities by Kidtoon Films
October 18, 2005The Batman vs. Draculawith DC Entertainment; television film
December 13, 2005Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?released theatrically in select cities by Kidtoon Films
June 20, 2006Superman: Brainiac Attackswith DC Entertainment
August 22, 2006Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskerswith Turner Entertainment
September 15, 2006Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyowith DC Entertainment; television film
September 19, 2006Scooby Doo! Pirates Ahoy!
November 14, 2006Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
September 4, 2007Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!
October 2, 2007Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Talewith Turner Entertainment

Notable television shows

References

  1. ↑ "Warner Bros. – Dan's Things". October 8, 2018.
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