Robot 6
Is the new Warner Bros. mural a sign of the times?
The new Warner Bros. mural (photo by Jonah Weiland)
Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to the new mural at Warner Bros.’ Burbank studio lot when I saw the photo earlier in the week on CBR Live!
It’s nice, with prominence given to animated versions of DC Comics properties the Teen Titans, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Blue Beetle against the backdrop of the Hall of Justice. (At night, black lights reveal DC villains, and sometimes-villains, like The Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman and Harley Quinn.)
But Brooks Barnes of The New York Times points out that it’s a fairly big deal, at least from a business-strategy standpoint: It’s the first time in 15 years the mural has been updated.
Previously, Bugs Bunny, Fred Flinstone, Batman and Scooby-Doo were shown in a cartoon version of Mount Rushmore, with representatives from other WB properties scattered around the billboard. Now Bugs, Scooby, Sylvester, Tweety and Daffy Duck are in the background, peeping over the roof of the Hall of Justice.
Although the design was planned back when “the studio was still hot on making a tentpole movie featuring multiple heroes called Justice League,” it certainly seems like a sign that Warner Bros. views cartoons such as The Brave & the Bold and the DC Universe Original Animated Movies as playing a big role in its immediate future.
- April 9, 2009 @ 07:46 AM by Kevin Melrose
4 Comments
Ian Brill
April 9, 2009 at 8:47 am
Does this mean Daffy Duck is joining the JLA?
Julio
April 9, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Even though Im a massive Batfan, I strongly wish it was a mural of The Animated Series Batman not the Brave and the Bold. BatB is very forgettable but TAS has some great memories. They should bring it back
Tim O'Shea
April 10, 2009 at 5:26 am
As a huge fan of both the TAS era and this new Brave and Bold series, I mourn the lack of love for the B&B Errol Flynn-style two-handed Aquaman in this mural. And Ian, good call, clearly they should have had Duffy dressed as Duck Dodgers fueling speculation as to what the B&B season finale is. (I kid!)
Shaun
April 10, 2009 at 5:45 am
Well, Daffy’s been a Green Lantern, so why not?
I gotta go with Julio… B&B is pretty forgettable stuff. Fine for the kids, I guess, but even my 10 year old misses Justice League and prefers the Timm-verse Batman. The new Disney XD channel (formerly Toon Disney) is putting TAS back on its schedule, but it looks like the scheduling is a bit erratic and only in the middle of the night (as it appears to be doing with all of the older shows they acquired)… Time to set the DVR.