New Warner Bros. Animation logo

By
on

Along with tomorrow night’s debut of Warner Bros. Animation’s latest take on Batman, Batman: the Brave and the Bold, (Cartoon Network, 7:30pm 8pm Eastern) will be a new Warner Animation logo. Hoping to recapture its classic studio roots, the new logo features a retro Bugs Bunny (circa 1941-42) sort-of a cross between the one in Avery’s All This And Rabbit Stew and a Clampett model (seen in The Wacky Wabbit). Take a look, below:

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  • Baron Lego

    Was… that done in Flash?

  • http://justforspite.blogspot.com Gene Hole

    whoa, they dug up plastic man? CN’s really digging into the archives for this new take on batman.
    I like the new bugs bunny opening, a bit short, but i like the design of the character.

  • http://elblogderg.blogspot.com Roberto

    First they made Loonatics and now they want to recapture their classic roots? It’s too late, guys!

    Seriously though, it’s good to see some classic designs in modern LT and I REALLY, REALLY hope they don’t end with the logo. That Marvin the Martian flick, for example, please make it less bland than Back In Action.

  • james

    new logo looks great!

  • http://rockitpack.blogspot.com :: smo ::

    yeah got the same question as baron…that looks really odd and unnatural. the design is cool but it looks like they used symbols almost. even if it WAS done in flash why not draw the whole thing? it looks good but eerie.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/william_joseph_dunn/ William Joseph Dunn

    I guess you need the latest Quicktime viewer to see it, because it’s not showing up on my Warner Bros computer (oh the irony).

    I think B:B&B has been moved to 8:00 tomorrow night instead of 7:30.

  • http://www.cartoonresearch.com/gerstein David Gerstein

    Pity this couple of seconds is the most we’ll see of Bugs on Cartoon Network, at least for the time being.

  • Mike

    I’m no Bugs historian but did anyone else think the munching stopped too abruptly? Am I used to the Chuck Jones fast, tapered chew? (Never thought I’d say THAT sentence again).

  • Annie-Mae

    Well they shortened it because the other one was longer and it does look animated in flash. But overall it’s a nice new look, maybe it’s a good sign to see some good retro styled Looney Tunes shorts.

  • http://goldenagecartoons.com Matthew Hunter

    I like it, but I’m going to miss the Bugs-in-tuxedo one!

  • http://dmgermain.blogspot.com David Germain

    That looked like it was done in symbol flash. Oh well, it could be worse I guess.

  • http://www.mitchworks.com/ Mitch Kennedy

    Bugs’ design is great! But hoollleeeee-cow! that is the shittiest animation in town! Couldn’t WB afford some full animation on that one? They really didn’t have to go with that disgusting flat Flash crap. Better luck next time, boys!

  • William Massie

    Do kids even know who Bugs Bunny is?

  • http://nealsternecky.com Neal Sternecky

    Something screwy going on in that animation, or my name isn’t Larimore.

    And it isn’t.

  • http://www.lakupo.com/grblitz/ ManekiNeko

    This is an improvement. The Bugs Bunny in the previous opener was the corporate schill, Space Jam Bugs that nobody likes. This is the real deal, and the red velvet background and curly cursive font at the bottom of the screen was a nice, stylish touch.

    As for the new Batman series, I’ll watch it… but it’ll be awfully hard to take the Dark Knight seriously when he sounds like Hoss Delgado from the Billy and Mandy cartoon.

  • Iain

    The logo actually looks pretty good and shows how good the TV animation crew could be at doing fluitity.

    I guess Bugs’ digital ink-and-paint finishing made him look like he was done in flash.

  • P.C. Unfunny

    Why the hell did they animate a well designed Bugs in flash ? It’s like putting a Picasso on your wall with tape.

  • Kyle Maloney

    Bah! why must they tease me like that? I want to see an all new short that looks that good.

    There isnt a higher res of this by any chance is there? I’d love to see it in HD.

  • http://dtoons-pro.com Alex D.

    That’s an interesting. It kinda competes with Walt Disney Animation’s logo (the short version).
    Though I never liked that version of Bugs Bunny.

  • http://www.numairabbas.com Numair (Nimmer) Abbas

    Hmmm I hate to grumble, but the only good thing I like about this is the design of Bugs. Its the look of Bugs I grew up with. I’m no close to being a guru of animation yet, but it looks like someone did a really bad job of animating those ears. The first three frames look fine and then the head turns and… urgh… the animator decides to take a short cut. They dont sag, they dont flap – they just snap into the new position as if connected to wires. Yep I think the chew ends really quick too which was probably done as a ‘requirement’ to end the motion before the duration of film does. But why wasn’t the chew faster then? It isnt the Flash software that made this look bad. Its the animator that animated it. I’ve seen some damn good animation done in Flash really. And while I’m doing all my grumbling… I’ll add that I really don’t like the ending expression for some reason I cant put my finger on. Too condescending or pretentious looking maybe…?

  • robert pope

    nice design, but everything else just stinks. Rubbery, hyper-kinetic animation (seriously, the overlapping and follow-through on that carrot’s leafy green stalk is childishly overdone) and a too-loud overemphasized crunch. *sigh*

  • Andrew

    I viewed it the first time- HOW do SO MANY people know whether or not it’s Flash?! The video is highly compressed! It looked very fluid as can be to me!

    And yes, kids still know about the Looney Tunes.

  • http://www.vitaminsteve.com Steve Flack

    Nice, but the Warner Feature Animation logo Brad Bird created for the Iron Giant should have becme the standard “Warner Animation” logo years ago.

  • Angry Anim

    HA! Neal’s comment is a RIOT!!

    The problem is that with the antic before he bites the carrot, it seems like inertia would just carry his hear through for the head turn. It would be nice… with some nice overlap with the ears and all that. Instead, he bites down, his head comes back up on that same side, and then abruptly goes into a head turn and body begins to lean.

    I can’t see any animator consciously making that decision… it feels like it was longer and it was some exec’s decision to cut it down, but I don’t know.

    I love how people point the finger to Flash right away. Give me a break.

  • http://dtoons-pro.com Alex D.

    I really enjoyed the logo Steve Flack just mentioned. It’s a shame they only used that logo once.

  • http://www.blendfilms.com patrick smith

    not to be a complete stickler here.. but…

    WHAT SHIT ANIMATION this clip is…

    i mean.. .this is BUGS for christ sake.. at least put some time into it.

    why is he drifting down at the end? why does he snap back to 3/4 AFTER he bites? JEEEEEZ …2D is truly dead if a moron like me could animate BUGS better than the studio that created him.

  • dan

    You know, if I have negative feelings about something I generally don’t take the time to post them but my God…. Bugs deserves a lot better than that. That animation is HORRIBLE. They’re going to use that for the openning for all their shows?!?!?

    For shame doc….

    Who the hell okayed that?!?!?!

  • J Lee

    Well, to be fair, the original Avery-McKimson-Maltese Bugs carrot chewing opening from “The Heckling Hare” has its own jerky animation moment, when Bugs suddenly notices the audience. So I don’t have that big a problem with a little stiffness here, which may also be due to the quality limits of your average YouTube files.

    But the thought of Warners putting their classic characters in the near future through another revival attempt using the current technical level of Flash animation is downright scary — maybe not quite of the level of CGI Bugs, Daffy and Elmer, but pretty close.

  • Jim Engel

    I dunno—I liked it.

  • HULK

    If I may interject here, I actually HAVE animated Bugs Bunny in flash before for something about as long as this piece. True nothing beats traditional but if you know what you’re doing(or hire someone who does to do it for you) you can get surprisingly close with flash. The only people who will be able to tell the difference will be animation nerds like us. Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing a few flash shorts starring the classic Looney Tunes characters as long as they are funny and tell good stories. The use of flash alone might be just the “modern touch” that the WB execs have been looking for and be a good way to get those characters back in the public consciousness. I think we can all agree anything would be a step above “Loonatics”.

  • http://eggheadcheesybird.co.uk Alex

    I don’t like how his head moved.

    I’m sorry, I don’t usually nitpick but that’s what happens when you watch a one second film three times…

  • Chuck R.

    I’ll join the minority and say this looks nice, even classy.

    Those of you who are really really bothered by it; crimony, do you get out often?

  • http://kielphegley.com Kiel Phegley

    Probably no one will see this at this point, but the show has been moved to 8:00 rather than 7:30.

  • Trevor

    Where would one go to find a contact like a recruiter or head of production on this? I would love to apply to work on it.

  • http://www.blackdotstudios.com Ian Jones-Quartey

    Don’t blame Flash, blame the animator.

    That said, this logo was done with the noblest of intentions. I’m willing to bet that someone in charge either didn’t want to pony up the cash for it to be done well, or couldn’t tell how stiff this looks. I hope WB hires a more skilled animator to do a better version, because this is a nice idea. So kudos to them on the idea, but shame on them for the execution.

    I agree with ManekiNeko- I abhor the “Space Jam” versions of these characters and this will be worth it if I never have to see Bugs-in-tuxedo again.

  • tobor68

    i have to agree that it’s the animator. and not well timed or spaced.

    it’s also on one’s which, while smooth, doesn’t have the same feeling of two’s that we’re all used to.

    WB animation, along with disney, just doesn’t seem to give a crap about their inherited legacy.

  • John Dorian

    Well, to let people know, the opening logo never appeared at all. Cartoon Network usually does that with the WBA shows of this decade. But the ending logo did appear. And I must say, that’s a good start on reinventing the studio and coming back into the heels of not only existance, but classiness also. Let’s hope that the upcoming Plastic Man show on KidsWB.com have this opening on the way. And The Wizard Of Oz short series too.

  • http://elblogderg.blogspot.com Roberto

    “WB animation, along with disney, just doesn’t seem to give a crap about their inherited legacy.”

    I think Disney is doing a better job than WB. I mean, sure Disney has done some bad movies, but looking to their classic characters I believe they use Mickey, Donald and Goofy in better projects than WB does with the Looney Tunes

    Compare Runaway Brain, Three Musketeers and The Prince and The Pauper to Space Jam and Back In Action, or The House Of Mouse to Loonatics and Baby Looney Tunes. Or compare Mickey, Donald and Goofy’s merchandising to LT one.

    Yeah, I know Disney has done some crappy sequels and some 3d Mickey movies, but those were mainly direct to dvd things that are only done for money, cause some kids will buy them anyway. But at least they show some respect for their classic characters sometimes.

    I’d kill to see a modern LT short that is half as decent as Runaway Brain. I guess Carrotblanca wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t great either.

  • Spencer

    Man, most of you guys are really rough for a compressed video, and as compressed as it is, it still looks fluid. Judging and saying flash was used on a tiny little video like this, is judgment too early. Btw, everyone has their opinion, but lets at least try to be nice about it and not swear like sailors.

  • http://brooksillustration.com Micah Brooks

    Roberto, don’t forget the Goofy “How To” short that ran in front of the last National Treasure movie. That was the best I’ve seen from Disney in a long, long time. If only WB would make a LT short that good.

  • http://blog.badideasociety.org Scot

    My guess is that Warner Premier Digital was responsible for the logo. A program that utilizes some form of vector-based animation was used to do it. Flash would so that easily… with mixed results.

  • Jason

    Well, I like it. My only gripes are:

    1. It’s too short.

    2. It doesn’t have the WB logo leaping out of the darkness with that woooOOOOm sound as per the old Looney Tune intros. That’s the best part!

    If those two things were fixed, I’d be in wabbit heaven!

  • CartoonSteve

    Speaking of chewing (or lack of), has anyone noticed in the animated Wendys logo, Wendy takes a big bite of her hamburger and then immediately smiles? Chew Wendy…Chew!

  • Gorgo

    I don’t understand all the complaining with the animation. It’s perfectly fine and captures the vintage WB era with a good old fashioned golden age era Bugs. I swear, do people come on this site to nitpick over every little thing about animation? I swear you people just come on here for the sake of complaining!

  • Spencer

    Haha…totally agree Gorgo.

  • toons8r

    not too bad. Gives hope for the future with classic Bugs in there (considering he’s almost non existent in the new logo…)!

    But I still say the best WB logo was from the Animaniacs direct to video where tuxedo Wakko popped out from the tuxedo Bugs logo & took a bite out of the shield! something I had secretly hoped for yet took me by surprise when I saw it!!

  • Lilian

    BRING BACK WB LOGO 2003 LIKE, BRING BACK THE 2003 LIKE LOGO!!!!

  • Marky Myers

    This logo withheld a new revolution of Warner Bros. Animation, with so many projects in production.

  • Tim Nicholson

    I love this logo so much! Hope there’s variations of it!