SANDER SCHWARTZ
President, Warner Bros, Animation

Sander Schwartz

As President, Warner Bros. Animation, Sander Schwartz is responsible for the production of theatrical, television, made-for-video and classic animation, as well as the supervision of creative development for animated television and made-for-video programming. Schwartz is further charged with overseeing the utilization and adaptation of Warner Bros.’ library of classic animated characters for non-programming uses (e.g., commercials, PSAs, Internet, interactive), working closely with various subsidiaries throughout the company.

Schwartz also works closely with Warner Bros. Pictures to help develop animated feature films based on all-new characters, as well as the Studio’s classic Looney Tunes, DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera properties.

Under Schwartz’s guidance as its president since 2001, Warner Bros. Animation stands as a leading producer of quality, innovative animation, with a full production slate of popular television series and made-for-video releases, as well as a host of projects in development. New series developed by Schwartz and set to premiere this fall on Kids’ WB! on The CW include “Legion of Super Heroes,” based upon the DC Comics characters and featuring Superboy, who would later grow up to be Superman; “Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!,” a new adventure featuring everyone’s favorite quivering sleuths; and “Tom and Jerry Tales,” in which the iconic animation superstars appear on Kids’ WB! for the first time and star in their first U.S. television series in more than 13 years.

Other Warner Bros. Animation-created projects currently in production or on the air in the television arena are multiple Emmy Award winner “The Batman”; “Loonatics Unleashed,” featuring the descendents of the world’s beloved antic band of animated Schwartz 2 of 3 entertainers, the Looney Tunes; the Emmy-nominated “Xiaolin Showdown.”; “Teen Titans”; “Justice League Unlimited”; “Johnny Test”; and “Krypto the Superdog.”

Schwartz led the powerhouse animation studio’s production of “The Batman,” an all-new take on the Dark Knight, which debuted to stellar ratings on Kids’ WB! in 2004. The innovative, all-new animated television series continues to be a consistent performer on Kids’ WB!, as well as Cartoon Network, where it debuted in 2005. He also led production on “Daffy Duck for President,” a four-minute animated, educational short film based on the late Looney Tunes legend Chuck Jones’ last book, published in 1997.

Schwartz joined Warner Bros. from Sony Pictures Family Entertainment (SPFE), where he served for two years as the division’s first President (1999-2001), responsible for creating family-oriented entertainment. Schwartz also oversaw the development, production, marketing and worldwide distribution of the division’s television and directto- video product.

Under Schwartz’s management, SPFE produced traditional cel animation, 3-D CGI animation and live-action series, including “Jackie Chan Adventures,” “Max Steel” and “Men in Black: The Series” for Kids’ WB!; “Dragon Tales” (co-produced with Sesame Workshop) on PBS’s Ready to Learn block; and “Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles,” “Jumanji” and “Extreme Ghostbusters,” airing in syndication.

In 1995, four years prior to the formation of SPFE, Schwartz established Columbia TriStar Television Children’s Programming. Under his leadership, CTTCP produced 11 television series consisting of over 450 half-hours of syndicated and network programming, making Sony Pictures Family Entertainment a preeminent supplier of quality animation and children’s programming.

Schwartz also supervised the production of such popular children’s series as “Beakman’s World” and “Channel Umptee-3,” as well as children’s game shows, including “JEP!” and “Wheel of Fortune 2000.”

Schwartz joined Columbia Pictures Television in 1989 as Vice President, Business Affairs. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of TMS Entertainment, where he was responsible for the sales, distribution and production of all television programming and feature films. Schwartz also served as Executive in Charge of Production for the company’s animated product and on the theatrical feature film “Little Nemo.”

Prior to TMS, Schwartz held business affairs positions at Walt Disney Television and CBS Entertainment in New York and Los Angeles , where he oversaw business transactions relating to Saturday morning series and specials. While at CBS, Schwartz was involved in setting up the network’s first in-house animated series, the highly acclaimed “CBS Storybreak,” based on classic children’s tales inspired by literature from around the world.

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