Cartoon Network Studios to Move Out of Storied Burbank Headquarters

The ripples of the wave-making merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery continue to stir the animation community, with reports that the storied Cartoon Network Studios building in Burbank, California is due to close at the end of the month. According to former CNS General Manager Brian A. Miller, staff based at the old headquarters will relocate to a shared unit with Warner Bros. Animation in a WBD building, per the Warner Bros. Television’s announcement back in October that it would be implementing “a new streamlined structure.”

“Sadly, this building will no longer be CNS,” Miller wrote, retweeting photos of the studio. “From what I’ve been told, Everyone will be out by August 1. All moving together in a WB building as one animation unit. Farewell CNS as it was.”

No official announcement has been issued by the studio or by Warner Bros. Discovery / Warner Bros. Television Group.

Responding to Miller’s tweet, Craig McCracken — creator of Cartoon Network hits The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends — recalled when the up and coming outfit first moved in: “When CN told us they were opening their own studio, they asked Genndy [Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack] and I to help pick the building and make design suggestions on what we wanted for the interior work spaces. So, I can honestly say this is a place I felt I helped build. It’s sad to see it go.”

In the thread, many former CNS staffers, animation industry pros and fans shared their memories and laments at the building’s shutdown.

Animation veteran Carol Wyatt, who was at the Cartoon Network Studios celebration on Tuesday, July 18, told Animation Magazine,  “Yesterday was such a wonderful celebration of all of the amazing shows we worked on while at Cartoon Network. Seeing friends and colleagues from many projects over many years. When I heard they were getting rid of the building, I was so sad, and wondered how they would save the stairwell that was graffitied by everyone who worked there.

“I was lucky to start out at Hanna-Barbera on Two Stupid Dogs with Donovan Cook and Craig McCracken, before it became Cartoon Network. I continued working with Craig on Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends in that wonderful building. Some of the nicest, most creative people I have ever met. I am currently on Rick and Morty for Adult Swim.”

The studio’s story begins in 1999, as Cartoon Network looked to extricate itself from the subsumption of Hanna-Barbera into Warner Bros. Animation. The 43,000-square-foot former commercial bakery at 300 North 3rd Street underwent a reported $1.2 million renovation (with guiding advice from McCracken and Tartakovsky). On May 22, 2000, the Cartoon Network Studios site was christened with a bottle of champagne by animation legend Joseph Barbera, and the facility officially opened on August 24 of that year, overseen by Miller and Jennifer Pelphrey.

Despite the studio streamlining announcement last year, the decision came as a shock to some Cartoon Network fans. But, it is in line with downward trends in demand for commercial real estate. According to a March article from Forbes, rising interest rates and the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact the sector. Unsurprisingly, warehousing and logistics sites as well as multifamily housing are still booming, while retail and office buildings are flagging — vacancy rates for offices are at almost 13% and climbing, with industry watchers predicting 10-20% of existing office space will have to be restructured to suit other demands.

[H/T ComicBook.com]