Walter Lantz Productions

Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures.

The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative of Universal movie mogul Carl Laemmle, who was tired of the continuous company politics he was dealing with concerning contracting cartoons outside animation studios. Animator Bill Nolan and Walter Lantz, who was Laemmle's part-time chauffeur and a veteran of the John R. Bray Studios with considerable experience in all elements of animation production, were selected to run the department.

In 1935, Lantz managed to buy out his studio and gain the copyrights to his characters. The cartoons continued to be distributed by Universal through 1947, changing to United Artists distribution from 1947 until its first closure in 1949, and by Universal again from 1950 until its second and official closure in 1972.

The most prominent characters for the studio were Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Additionally, the music-oriented Swing Symphony cartoons were another successful staple, but ended after swing music's popularity faded after the end of World War II.