Hanna-Barbera: Difference between revisions

Hanna-Barbera was originally formed as a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1944 by ''Tom and Jerry'' creators and directors; William "Bill" Hanna & Joseph "Joe" Barbera and live-action director George Sidney as "H-B Enterprises" in order to produce sponsored films and later television commercials. In 1955, Bill and Joe later became the co-heads of the MGM animation department after producer Fred Quimby retired. After MGM shut down its [[MGM Cartoons|animation studio]] in 1957, H-B Enterprises became Hanna and Barbera's full-time job. The same year, H-B struck a deal with [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia Pictures Corporation]] to syndicate the cartoons on television in conjunction with Columbia's television division [[Screen Gems Television|Screen Gems]] until 1966 and co-produced several cartoons in the early 1970s until 1974 and by [[Columbia Pictures Television]] from 1974-1975. The company was renamed to "Hanna-Barbera Productions" in 1959 and was later acquired by Taft Broadcasting in 1967; Taft was later renamed to Great American Broadcasting in 1987 after a buyout; it would then be renamed to Citicasters in 1993 before finally being absorbed into Jacor Communications in 1997, who in turn was acquired by ClearChannel Communications (now iHeart Media) in 1999. In 1991, the studio was purchased by Turner Broadcasting, initially with help from the Apollo Investment Group. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera both went into semi-retirement, yet continued to serve as ceremonial figureheads for the studio. The same year, the company was renamed to "H-B Production Co." and renamed again as "Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc." in 1993. In 1992, Turner launched the Cartoon Network, which had been built around reruns from the Hanna-Barbera and the [[Turner Entertainment Co.]] cartoon libraries (pre-1986 MGM, [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|pre-1950 WB]], and a.a.p. cartoons). The same year in 1994, Turner turned Hanna-Barbera towards primarily producing new material for its Cartoon Network when [[Cartoon Network Studios]] was organized as a division of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. On October 10, 1996, Turner was bought out by Time Warner. With William Hanna's death in 2001, Hanna-Barbera was folded into [[Warner Bros. Animation]], and Cartoon Network Studios became a separate company and assumed production of Cartoon Network's output. Joe Barbera remained with Warner Bros. Animation until his death in 2006. Today, Hanna-Barbera still survives as an in-name-only unit of Warner Bros. Animation for distribution and marketing of properties and productions associated with Hanna-Barbera's "classic" works. However, not all cartoons co-produced by Hanna-Barbera are owned by Time Warner such as the following: ''Jeannie'' and ''The Partridge Family 2200 A.D.'' ([[Sony Pictures Television]]), ''The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang'', ''Laverne & Shirley in the Army'', ''Amigo and Friends'', ''The Little Rascals: The Animated Series'', and the 1970 ''Harlem Globetrotters'' cartoon ([[CBS Television Studios]]/[[CBS Television Distribution]]), ''Gravedale High'' ([[NBCUniversal Television]]), ''Capitol Critters'' ([[20th Century Fox Television]]), ''Pink Panther and Sons'', ''The Adventures of Sinbad Jr.'', and ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures'' (first season co-produced by H-B and the second season was co-produced by [[DIC Entertainment|DIC]] & [[MGM Television]]), and most of the theatrical library. Warner Bros. has no rights whatsoever to any of these series listed.