Version User Scope of changes
Mar 11 2009, 3:43 PM EDT Gabkat2007 1 word added, 21 words deleted
Mar 7 2009, 8:47 PM EST logoboy95 20 words added

Changes

Key:  Additions   Deletions
Written and Compiled by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, and WillWill45
Logo pictures and videos by Eric S. and Juniorfan88
Editions by WizardDuck and mr3urious


Background: Founded in 1976, Cinar (pronounced "seh-NAR") was originally a film distribution company which distributed international/foreign films from the 1970's to the early 1980's from offices in New York City. The company was owned by the married couple Ronald Weinberg and Micheline Charest. In 1984, things were changing for Cinar as the couple moved the company to Montreal, Quebec and began to focus on children's TV programming. Between 1985 and 2004 Cinar produced a number of successful shows such as Arthur, Caillou, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Adventures of David the Gnome, Busy World of Richard Scarry, and Zaboomafoo among others. In March 2004, after a financial scandal which brought down the company's founders several years earlier, the company would be bought out by Michael Hirsh, being renamed Cookie Jar Entertainment, its current name.


1st Logo
(1985-1997)(1985-1994)

Cinar/Cookie Jar Entertainment - CLG WikiCINAR (1985-1994)Cinar - CLG WikiCinar - CLG Wiki

Nickname: "Rotating Blue Bars"

Logo: On a primitive computerized dark blue background, we pan-out to the right through many bright blue 3-D bars interlocking with each other. The bars rotate up and zoom out, rev
ealing the text:

CINAR

glittering with stars.
The word "CINAR" is in a blocky lined font, with the I dotted red and the N and A rather connected.

Variants:
  • Sometimes, "A" and "PRODUCTION" (or "PRESENTATION") are shown above and below the logo, respectively.
  • On the first season of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1992-93), the Cinar logo is in-credit on a black BG, bypassing this logo.
  • A still of this logo with "A" above and "PRODUCTION" below was seen on David the Gnome, Adventures of the Little Koala, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1993-94 season, before the 2nd logo was introduced). Sometimes, "CINAR" turns upward.
  • Animated versions of this logo were tied into the opening credits of David the Gnome and The Busy World of Richard Scarry.

FX: The bars interlocking, the glittering stars.

Cheesy Factor
: Rather poor quality early computer graphics and cheesy "glittering" effect for its time, although the animation itself is pretty cool (kinda resembling Marvel Productions 2nd logo "CGI Spidey").

Music/Sounds: Plays over the ending theme.

Availability: Last seen in the US when Boomerang reran Young Robin Hood. Appears on shows airing on Canada’s Teletoon Network on occasion, and recently spotted on White Fang on Canada’s YTV Network. One of the last ones to use this was the series finale of The Busy World of Richard Scarry.

Scare Factor
: Minimal, pretty much depends on the ending theme shown.




2nd Logo
(1993-2004)

Cinar - CLG WikiCinar (1994-2004)Cinar

Nickname: "Cinar in Space"

Logo
: On a space background, various glowing line blocks zoom out from the
bottom of the screen, forming the Cinar logo from before in the same font as the previous logo with a red dot on the I, but this time the N and A do not appear connected together. The logo flashes and the disclaimer "CINAR is a registered trademark of CINAR corporation" appears below. Starting in 1998, the URL www.cinar.com appears below that (this variant may plaster the URL-less logos on new prints of Cinar’s classics).

Variants:
  • Sometimes, there is no byline.
  • On Zoboomafoo, the logo is still.
FX: The zooming line blocks, the flash.

Music/Sounds: A whooshing sound with a calm new age synth tune, which is rarely heard. It most commonly used the ending theme of the show. On some shows, like The Busy World of Richard Scarry, it is silent.

Availability
: Was common back in the '90s, but is practically gone now for no good. It survives on all pre-2004 Arthur episodes on PBS and on VHS/DVD.

Scare Factor: Low; the darkness and quick pace may get to some, but the CGI is much improved over the previous logo.