Hanna-Barbera

Hanna Barbera, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, is an american animation studio founded in 1957 by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.

For three decades in the 20th century, it was a prominent force and leader in American television animation as it created a variety of popular animated characters and a succession of cartoon series, including The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and The Smurfs.[3]

Its cartoons won eight Emmys and seven Oscars while a star was given to Hanna and Barbera on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[4][5] The boys sold the studio to Taft Broadcasting on December 29, 1966.[6] By the mid-1980s, when the profitability of Saturday-morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication, Hanna-Barbera's fortunes had declined.

Turner Broadcasting System purchased the studio from Taft (by then renamed Great American Broadcasting) in late 1991 and used much of its back catalog as the foundation and programming for Cartoon Network and later Boomerang.[7][8] After Turner purchased the company, Hanna and Barbera continued to serve as creative consultants and mentors.

The studio became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Animation in 1996 following Turner's merger with Time Warner and was ultimately absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001, existing in name only. As of 2020, Warner Bros. continues to produce new animation based on Hanna-Barbera's catalog using the Hanna-Barbera brand name.