Looney Tunes Cartoons, Scoob!, Pokemon Journeys, Clangers and More

Warner Bros recently rescheduled most of their films due out in the coming months. Notable by its absence though was Scoob!, Warner Animation Group's big-budget CGI Scooby-Doo reboot. The studio has now revealed why, as Scoob! will follow in Trolls World Tour's (tiny, glitter-filled) footsteps and debut on VOD on what would have been its theatrical release date, May 15. It's not yet clear if this will be a global release, but Scoob will be available in the US and Canada at least. The film will be available at a premium rental price of $19.99.  In a key difference from Universal's strategy, it will also be available to purchase on the same date, for $24.99.

Also in Warner Animation news, Warner Media has been revealing more details about their new streaming service HBO Max. It's been confirmed that the eagerly anticipated new Loony Tunes Cartoons will be available at launch on May 27 (US only). HBO Max also released a new trailer for the series.




Popular UK stop-motion series The Clangers is teaming up with music therapy charity Nordoff-Robins to produce a series of interactive musical videos to help families get through the lockdown. On Stage at Home with Clangers and Nordoff Robbins will feature specially created and songs and music for families to perform together, using instruments they find or make.

 The Clangers planet is filled with music and dancing; growing on the planet are music trees and singing flowers, and they often row out on their music boat to go fishing or visit the Iron Chicken. They also find, and discover new uses for, unusual objects on their planet, so throughout the series, they will help with tips and encourage families to create musical instruments and sounds from objects found in their homes, from sieves, to spices, wooden spoons, pots and pans and everything else in between.

The first two videos will be available from Tuesday, April 28. Find out more details, here.

The latest Pokemon TV series Pokemon Journeys: The Series will premiere in the US exclusively on Netflix on June 12. The first 12 episodes will be available on that date, with new episodes available on a quarterly basis.





Animation historian and archivist Tommy Stathes will host a second online edition of his regular Cartoons On Film events Cartoon Carnival, normally held in New York. Featuring a selection of rare early animation, the event will live stream on Saturday, April 24 at 8pm EST. You can get your tickets, here. Tommy has also announced that the online events will be hosted monthly for the foreseeable future, and he will continue to produce events online even when the in-person events are possible again, to allow audiences outside NYC to attend.


Following the end of their contract with Warner Bros,  Danish toy giant LEGO has now signed a new deal with Universal. This means that the LEGO Movie franchise as we know it is probably no more. The deal gives the studio exclusive rights for the next five years. This deal means the films could end up produced either by Illumination or DreamWorks or even by an independent studio. Theoretically, original studio Animal Logic could continue to produce the films, as they are an independent studio that has produced work for studios including Warner, Sony and Marvel. For now, we'll just have to wait and see.