 After Hanna 's death from throat cancer in March 2001 , Hanna @-@ Barbera was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation , with the unit dedicated to the Cartoon Network original series spun off into Cartoon Network Studios . Barbera remained active as an executive producer for Warner Bros. on direct @-@ to @-@ video cartoon features as well as television series such as What 's New , Scooby @-@ Doo ? and Tom and Jerry Tales . He also wrote , co @-@ storyboarded , co @-@ directed and co @-@ produced The Karate Guard ( 2005 ) , the return of Tom and Jerry to the big screen . His final animated project was the direct @-@ to @-@ video feature Tom and Jerry : A Nutcracker Tale ( 2007 ) . 
