Aspect Ratio of Warner Brother cartoons

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STEEDOT5

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Several cartoon series from Warner Brothers were shown in widescreen (16:9), on (free to air) television in Australia:
Batman, The
Shaggy and Scooby Get A Clue!
Tom and Jerry Tales
What's New Scooby Doo?

But the Region 1 DVD releases of all these series, are all full frame (4:3).

So where can I find the correct aspect ratio for these cartoon series from Warner Brothers? or are recent series created, to be safely viewed in either full frame (4:3) or widescreen (16:9) now?
 
Wish I knew...

But hey, if you live in Austrailia, why would you watch region 1 DVDs? Don't you use region 4? Or are those shows not on those DVDs yet?
 
Yes, Australia is under Region 4. Most of the Region 1 DVD releases of Warner Brothers cartoon series I have imported so far, have actually been encoded Region 1, 2, 3 and 4 though. DVD players in Australia are usually multi-region enabled anyway, I know all my DVD players are multi-region for sure.

The Australian branch of Warner Home Video doesn't release many cartoon series on DVD at all. Usually only a few volumes of certain cartoon series (long after Region 1 releases), and very few season sets. In terms of season sets, only Batman TAS (season 1), The Flintstones (season 1-3) and The Jetsons (season 1) have been released in Australia.
 
Don't forget about the season sets you get that Region 1 has never gotten (Powerpuff Girls season 2, Dexter, Courage, etc).

But yeah, as far back as Teen Titans season 2 (season 1 was 4:3), Warner Bros. Animation has been making their shows in the 16:9 aspect ratio, but, unfortunately, not airing or releasing them that way (except for JL and JLU, obviously). IIRC, some Teen Titans episodes DID air in 16:9 on WB's HD feed a few years back, though...

As for releasing them, I think it more has to do with that 4:3 is considered the "norm" for kids shows, and 16:9 is only for teens and adults (trust me, kids and stupid parents consider the 16:9 bars evil). Once we transition into HD and these series age a bit, we'll see more of them released in widescreen (I recall WHV considering rereleasing Teen Titans in it's proper format after they finished releasing the series, which they just have).
 
When the Australian branch of Warner Home Video was in charge of Cartoon Network titles, only a few volumes of PPG, the PPG movie and the Samurai Jack movie were released.

Since Madman Entertainment took over the Cartoon Network releases in Australia, there have been more releases of their cartoon series. But several DVD releases have been missing extras, compared to the Region 1 DVD releases. And there is no consistency in the release dates, since each season, of each cartoon series, must be shown on Cartoon Network (Australia), before it can be released on DVD.



I hope Warner Brothers reconsiders releasing more cartoon series in their correct aspect ratios in Region 1 in the future, as I would definitely be buying more. Not many cartoon series from Warner Brothers are shown on (free to air) TV in Australia either, and their treatment is terrible. Currently only 'The Batman' and 'Shaggy and Scooby Get A Clue!', each split into three parts (with other 30 minute shows shown between), and each shown only every three weeks.
 
Ah, I forgot that Madman has the release rights now.

The thing about that, though, that I still don't get is how CN Australia is stuck way back in 1999 in terms of where they are in airing Cartoon Cartoons.
 
Maybe each cartoon series from Cartoon Network has to be shown on Cartoon Network (Australia) again, after their contract takes effect (Around February 2007)?

The currently release cycles are just strange:
There is no sign of season 2 for many series (Camp Lazlo, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed Edd & Eddy), a year after the release of their first season. While one particular series (Ben 10) gets frequent releases, and another series (Dexter's Laboratory) moves onto season 2 quickly.
 
Ah, I got confused by the 1997 part. Plus, now it makes sense about why they can't release things until it's aired again (if CN AU is anything like CN US, it probably very rarely airs any of the older shows).
 
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