Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. (/ˈhænə bɑːrˈbɛərə/ bar-BAIR-ə) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to close its in-house cartoon studio. Headquarted in Cahuenga Boulevard until 1998 and then Sherman Oaks, both in Los Angeles, California, until going defunct, it created many television shows, theatrical films, specials and shorts, including Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo and The Smurfs. Its productions have won a record-breaking 8 Emmy Awards.
Its fortunes declined by the 1980s as the profitability of Saturday-morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication. Taft Broadcasting acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and retained ownership until 1991 when Turner Broadcasting System took over and used its back catalog as programming for its then-newly-created Cartoon Network which was launched the following year. Turner later merged in 1996 with Time Warner, which rebranded as WarnerMedia in 2018 and is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery since April 8, 2022.
After Hanna died on March 22, 2001, Hanna-Barbera as a standalone company was dissolved and merged into Warner Bros. Animation and later Cartoon Network Studios. Although defunct, Warner Bros. to this day continues to produce new programming and material based on the studio's classic properties and using with their logo occasionally in select projects.