Burbank, Calif. — Warner Bros. Entertainment on Thursday announced plans to launch a megasite for its animation holdings, a brand-new broad-appeal immersive animation experience, including Warner Bros. Animation, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics, that will feature cartoons on-demand, games and virtual world elements.
The advertising-supported site will be called “T-Works” and will launch next spring, the company — a division of Time Warner Inc., said. The project was unveiled today by Barry Meyer, Chairman and CEO, and Alan Horn, President and COO, Warner Bros.
Slated to launch in 2008, T-Works is a cross-divisional and companywide initiative designed to take the Studio’s wealth of animated characters beyond the media where they have an extremely rich history (television, film, home video, consumer products) will let fans watch originally produced and classic cartoons on the site, as well as create their own custom avatars that can be migrated to other social networks.
Besides serving as a destination for fans of such characters as Tweety Bird, Bugs Bunny and the Flintstones, the grab-and-go capability enables fans to incorporate a custom avatar into their lives, whether it is on T-Works or utilized in the participant’s digital world (MySpace, Facebook, etc.). Fans will be able to forge a deeper relationship with the characters than they have ever been able to in the past.
Warner Bros. Animation is working with original programming digital production arm Studio 2.0 on two series, based on its “Batman” and “The Wizard of Oz” properties, which will debut exclusively on T-Works.
The site’s games channel will launch with over 125 titles.
“The site will enable Warner Bros. to market toys, books and movies from its various divisions, including DC Comics, which serves as the home to Batman and Superman.”
“While the focus of T-Works is our amazing collection of animated superstars, this online destination represents much more than that,” said Horn. “T-Works presents us with a great environment and thus a great platform to highlight many of our current projects, from feature films to made-for-videos, consumer products, comic books and more.”
“T-Works will offer original entertainment content, social interaction and an intimacy with our beloved and iconic characters like never before in an environment that is safe and appropriate for all ages,” said Lisa Judson, president of Warner Bros. Animation.
While the site will let users adopt a cartoon personality, or avatar, and interact with others on the site, it will also include personal security, with a particular focus on the youngest site participants, is central to T-Works’ technologies, with monitors, filters, parental notification and controls and special components built in to assure safety for all users, the company said.
Video channels will include original shows made for the site as well as games. Users also can accumulate points that can be redeemed for items to decorate their T-Works profile.
“T-Works fits perfectly with our overall digital strategy of creating original content online, as well as developing compelling consumer destinations,” said Bruce Rosenblum, President, Warner Bros. Television Group.
“T-Works will not only provide a great collaborative opportunity for projects that bridge a number of divisions at the company, but it will also be an invaluable resource in developing and incubating properties that may transcend their online roots and live in other media,” he said.
“In addition to being a great entertainment destination for fans, T-Works will also serve as a great marketing platform for all the Studio’s businesses, helping us to reach audiences in a space and in a manner that is all about Warner Bros.” added Meyer.