Warner Bros. Animation Inks Overall Deal with Genndy Tartakovsky

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS) have signed an exclusive multiyear cross-studio overall deal with Emmy Award-winning creator, producer and director Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls).

Under the deal, Tartakovsky will develop, create and produce original animated programming at both CNS and WBA intended for a variety of audiences and for all television platforms.

Tartakovsky is currently in production on Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, an animated supernatural adventure family event coming soon to HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Season two of his Emmy Award-winning series Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is set to premiere this summer on Adult Swim.

“Genndy is a true visionary who embodies the creator spirit of Cartoon Network Studios,” said Sam Register, president of CNS and WBA. “As he continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and animation, we are excited to have a front row seat both here and now also at Warner Bros. Animation.”

Tartakovsky added, “My time at Cartoon Network Studios, since its inception, has been the most creatively formative and fulfilling years of my career. I now find myself continuing that amazing relationship as well as bringing in Warner Bros. Animation—the home to everything that inspired me to become an animator in the first place. I am beyond excited to see what we do next!”

In other news from Warner Bros. Animation, the studio revealed it is working on the first-ever Looney Tunes original animated movie musical. In Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical, Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang give their regards to Broadway. After an exhausted Bugs Bunny decides it’s time to trade in sold-out shows for a regular life, Daffy Duck attempts to step into the lead role, but his star ambitions are sidetracked when he is kidnapped by an obsessive fan.

The family movie event features screenplay and lyrics by Emmy Award winner Ariel Dumas (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and music and orchestration by Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Grammy Award winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). It is slated to debut soon on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.

Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros., said, “Bugs Bunny on Broadway? Yes, please! This musical gives off old Hollywood and Broadway vibes while offering a new, modern way to sing along to this one-of-a-kind Looney Tunes movie with the whole family.”

“Mayhem and music have helped define the comedic genius of the Looney Tunes for decades,” Register added. “It is a pairing that has created some of the greatest cartoons of our time, and it’s going to be a thrill to add our own musical stamp to these characters.”