According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. and renowned animator John Kricfalusi are at odds over the use of clips from classic Warner Bros. cartoons. Studio lawyers worked to remove the video snippets which Kricfaluci posted on his blog (johnkstuff.blogspot.com) using the popular YouTube hosting format.
Best known as the creator of Ren and Stimpy and founder of Spumco International, Kricfalusi is an outspoken lover of old-school WB animation, and regularly uses his blog to comment on his favorite cartoons and creators with
clips illustrating his points. Most recently, he used the site to express his outrage with the situation in a rant titled ‘Warner Bros. Cartoons Hates Their Fans.” Included in the post are actual emails he traded with YouTube, as well as a cartoon of Bugs Bunny inviting Elmer Fudd to kiss his rear end. The bad blood could end Kricfalusi’s relationship with Warner Bros., which in the past has hired him to provide featurettes and audio commentaries for various DVD sets.
Warner Bros. told the trade that they have no objection to Kricfalusi using the clips to offer educational and historical perspective, which it considers legitimate fair use. However, the studio is not happy with them being available on YouTube, where anyone can view them out of context. Warner is also reportedly working out a deal to host their own videos on YouTube.
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