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Classic MGM Cartoons
Written and compiled by Matt Williams and Argus Sventon
Editions and logo captures by Logoboy95, Hoa and mr3urious
Logo videos by MrFonny61 and bowen9314
Background: In the beginning, MGM used the theatrical logos of Jackie, Coffee, and Tanner on early MGM cartoons.
1st Logo
(1934-1942)
Nickname: "The MGM Lion"
Opening Title: Just the standard MGM lion logo (only animated), with the lion skewed near the top and "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" in the banner below. The lion roars.
FX: Just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The lion roar is accompanied by a fanfare composed by Scott Bradley, MGM's principal cartoon conductor. This music would be modified as the years went on. This logo did not have music at first.
Availability: Extremely rare; although Turner Entertainment sucks at colorization, they are quite good at logo preservation, and you can see these when cartoons from the period are rerun on Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies. You might also see this logo on some tapes.
Scare Factor: High for those who hate roaring lions (and there are quite a few of those out there).
2nd Logo
(1942-1946)
Nickname: "The Sunburst Logo"
Opening Title: The lion logo, except the standard ribbon is blue and is placed on a red/yellow sunburst background. Below the lion ribboning is "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" in its signature font, and then "CARTOON" in a big blue bold font. "IN TECHNICOLOR" appears underneath. "TRADE MARK" has been removed.
Closing Title: "The End" is shown in script on a blue background, then fades to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon" in the same script font. The pseudo "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer PICTURE" logo is shown below.
FX: Lion roaring again.
Music/Sounds: A modified version of logo 1's fanfare.
Availability: Seen on a few Tex Avery cartoons on Boomerang and TCM; again, MGM was so good with their logo editing and reissues, that many people can't even tell that the logo was changed!
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
3rd Logo
(1946-1952)
Opening Title: The standard lion logo as before, but the ribboning has been simplified and is now red; the "ARS GRATIA ARTIS" phrase is missing, along with the drama mask. Below the logo, we see "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER" in a bold font, with a HUGE "CARTOON" below it. "COLOR BY Technicolor" (with "Technicolor" in script) follows, and the whole thing is on a red BG. In its first year of usage, the words "In Technicolor" were seen below the logo.
Closing Title: Same as logo 2.
FX: Lion roaring, again.
Music/Sounds: An updated logo 1 fanfare; by now, it began blending into the opening themes of the cartoons.
Availability: More common than logo 2; tacked on to films it didn't originally appear on, as well.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
4th Logo
(1952-1954)
Opening Title: Almost exactly the same as logo 3, but the red background is brighter, "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" is now in script,
"CARTOON" is in a bolder three-dimensional font, and "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" is in a different font. Otherwise the same.
Closing Title: TBA
FX: Again, just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The updated fanfare for logo 1, blending into the opening theme for the cartoon.
Availability: A bit less common than its predecessor, but still common.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
5th Logo
(1953-1957)
Opening Title: It's similar to the last few, but now we've moved to blue ribboning on a blue bg. In a nice touch, "A
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER" has been moved to the bottom ribbon, with "CARTOON" and the Technicolor line underneath it.
Closing Title: TBA
FX: Again, just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare, again.
Availability: By far, more common on all MGM cartoon logos on TCM and Boomerang.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
6th Logo
(1960-1962)
Nickname: "Leo the Lion"
Opening Title: The new MGM lion design that has been put into use in films around this time, only with "CARTOON" tacked on to the bottom in red! One can only see the effort they put into this logo.
Closing Title: They varied with the cartoon.
Variants:
Cheesy Factor: Maybe it's just me, but the "CARTOON" text tacked onto the bottom is just pitiful. Couldn't they have done a nicer design around this time?
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare.
Availability: Seen on the widely unpopular and rather strange Gene Deitch-produced Tom & Jerry cartoons.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1. None for the "Tall in the Trap" variant.
7th Logo
(1963-1967)
Nickname: "Tom the Lion"
Logo: We start with a variation on the last logo, logo 6. We have "CARTOON" in red below the logo, and "METROCOLOR" below that. It looks, as a whole, much nicer. The lion roars twice in the logo, then it fades out to reveal none other than Tom in the circle, yowling and hissing. Then, the ribboning fades into a simple red circle and moves upwards, Tom "roaring" all the while. "T" and "M" appear besides it, and "and" appears below. "JERRY" appears letter-by-letter below all that as Jerry drops into the "Y," smiling pleasantly, and waves his hand. Tom notices this and hisses.
Closing Title: "The End" appears in black, fading to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer TOM AND JERRY CARTOON" on black, with "Made in Hollywood, USA" below it.
FX/Cheesy Factor: Nice animation sequence from the Chuck Jones-led animation unit.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare leading into the trademark Tom & Jerry music.
Availability: Seen on the Chuck Jones-produced Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Scare Factor: Minimal; the lion part may be scary for some, but the animated part makes the logo something special. One of the most well liked logos, and one of the most creative as well.
Editions and logo captures by Logoboy95, Hoa and mr3urious
Logo videos by MrFonny61 and bowen9314
Background: In the beginning, MGM used the theatrical logos of Jackie, Coffee, and Tanner on early MGM cartoons.
1st Logo
(1934-1942)
Nickname: "The MGM Lion"
Opening Title: Just the standard MGM lion logo (only animated), with the lion skewed near the top and "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" in the banner below. The lion roars.
Closing Title: On a customized BG, we see the words "The End" in white (sometimes yellow with "shadow" effect) script above the MGM pseudo-logo saying "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer PICTURE". During the WWII, the "The End" words were pulled to above the screen and the pseudo-logo was pulled to below, to give space for the following disclaimer:
"AMERICA NEEDS YOUR MONEY.
BUY DEFENSE BONDS AND STAMPS
EVERY PAY DAY."
BUY DEFENSE BONDS AND STAMPS
EVERY PAY DAY."
FX: Just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The lion roar is accompanied by a fanfare composed by Scott Bradley, MGM's principal cartoon conductor. This music would be modified as the years went on. This logo did not have music at first.
Availability: Extremely rare; although Turner Entertainment sucks at colorization, they are quite good at logo preservation, and you can see these when cartoons from the period are rerun on Boomerang and Turner Classic Movies. You might also see this logo on some tapes.
Scare Factor: High for those who hate roaring lions (and there are quite a few of those out there).
2nd Logo
(1942-1946)
Nickname: "The Sunburst Logo"
Opening Title: The lion logo, except the standard ribbon is blue and is placed on a red/yellow sunburst background. Below the lion ribboning is "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" in its signature font, and then "CARTOON" in a big blue bold font. "IN TECHNICOLOR" appears underneath. "TRADE MARK" has been removed.
Closing Title: "The End" is shown in script on a blue background, then fades to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon" in the same script font. The pseudo "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer PICTURE" logo is shown below.
FX: Lion roaring again.
Music/Sounds: A modified version of logo 1's fanfare.
Availability: Seen on a few Tex Avery cartoons on Boomerang and TCM; again, MGM was so good with their logo editing and reissues, that many people can't even tell that the logo was changed!
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
3rd Logo
(1946-1952)
Closing Title: Same as logo 2.
FX: Lion roaring, again.
Music/Sounds: An updated logo 1 fanfare; by now, it began blending into the opening themes of the cartoons.
Availability: More common than logo 2; tacked on to films it didn't originally appear on, as well.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
4th Logo
(1952-1954)
Opening Title: Almost exactly the same as logo 3, but the red background is brighter, "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" is now in script,
"CARTOON" is in a bolder three-dimensional font, and "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" is in a different font. Otherwise the same.Closing Title: TBA
FX: Again, just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The updated fanfare for logo 1, blending into the opening theme for the cartoon.
Availability: A bit less common than its predecessor, but still common.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
5th Logo
(1953-1957)
Opening Title: It's similar to the last few, but now we've moved to blue ribboning on a blue bg. In a nice touch, "A
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER" has been moved to the bottom ribbon, with "CARTOON" and the Technicolor line underneath it.Closing Title: TBA
FX: Again, just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare, again.
Availability: By far, more common on all MGM cartoon logos on TCM and Boomerang.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1.
6th Logo
(1960-1962)
Nickname: "Leo the Lion"
Opening Title: The new MGM lion design that has been put into use in films around this time, only with "CARTOON" tacked on to the bottom in red! One can only see the effort they put into this logo.
Closing Title: They varied with the cartoon.
Variants:
- On some cartoons, the then-current MGM movie logo would play (without "CARTOON" at the bottom, and without the theme song accompanying it) followed by a screen saying "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CARTOON", whose font and background vary depending on the cartoon. The theme song would start whenever this screen came up.
- On "Tall in the Trap", which takes place in the Old West, the MGM logo appears as a "wanted" poster, with Leo drawn in the T&J style below the words "WANTED", "ARS GRATIA ARTIS" on a yellow banner below him, and "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CARTOON below that. As a guitar rendition of the T&J theme plays, the poster is shot at.
Cheesy Factor: Maybe it's just me, but the "CARTOON" text tacked onto the bottom is just pitiful. Couldn't they have done a nicer design around this time?
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare.
Availability: Seen on the widely unpopular and rather strange Gene Deitch-produced Tom & Jerry cartoons.
Scare Factor: See Logo 1. None for the "Tall in the Trap" variant.
7th Logo
(1963-1967)
Nickname: "Tom the Lion"
Logo: We start with a variation on the last logo, logo 6. We have "CARTOON" in red below the logo, and "METROCOLOR" below that. It looks, as a whole, much nicer. The lion roars twice in the logo, then it fades out to reveal none other than Tom in the circle, yowling and hissing. Then, the ribboning fades into a simple red circle and moves upwards, Tom "roaring" all the while. "T" and "M" appear besides it, and "and" appears below. "JERRY" appears letter-by-letter below all that as Jerry drops into the "Y," smiling pleasantly, and waves his hand. Tom notices this and hisses.
Closing Title: "The End" appears in black, fading to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer TOM AND JERRY CARTOON" on black, with "Made in Hollywood, USA" below it.
FX/Cheesy Factor: Nice animation sequence from the Chuck Jones-led animation unit.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare leading into the trademark Tom & Jerry music.
Availability: Seen on the Chuck Jones-produced Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Scare Factor: Minimal; the lion part may be scary for some, but the animated part makes the logo something special. One of the most well liked logos, and one of the most creative as well.
Hoa |
Latest page update: made by Hoa
, Nov 8 2008, 12:33 PM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Hoa
16 words added 46 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
MGM Animation
MGM Holdings Inc.
More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| whalesrock1 | 1940 Logo | 0 | Saturday, 7:55 PM EST by whalesrock1 | |
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Thread started: Saturday, 7:55 PM EST
Watch
Its from the World War II & the lion roars at me & turn me into a jaguar
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| Hoa | Mr3urious... | 2 | Nov 8 2008, 11:55 AM EST by Hoa | |
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| Logophile | The Early Lions | 0 | Sep 8 2008, 12:26 PM EDT by Logophile | |
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Thread started: Sep 8 2008, 12:26 PM EDT
Watch
Like you said in the background, they used Jackie, Tanner and Coffee. But in some early Tanner cartoons, the logo has Coffee's roar track.
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| tvlogos2008 | is there any more | 1 | Aug 1 2008, 6:19 PM EDT by Hoa | |
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Thread started: May 14 2008, 7:33 AM EDT
Watch
is there any more mgm cartoon logos (6th logo) tom & jerry varents?
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