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Classic MGM Cartoons
Logo descriptions by Matt Williams and Argus Sventon
Logo captures and editions by Logoboy95, Hoa, and mr3urious
Video captures courtesy of TheDaVinci030
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, with the lion skewed near the top and "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" in the banner below. The lion roars.
FX/SFX: Just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The lion roar is accompanied by a fanfare (ala the Alfred Newman-composed 20th Century Fox 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 (mainly The Captain & the Kids). 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). The scare factor may vary for those who are used to it.
2nd Logo
(1942-1946)
Nickname: "The Sunburst Logo"
Opening Title: Tanner in the 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/SFX: Tanner roaring.
Music/Sounds: A modified version of logo 1's fanfare.
Music/Sounds Variant: Several Tex Avery cartoons would have Tanner roaring with the music called "Tiger Rag" a.k.a. "Hold That Tiger".
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 giant word "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. Starting in 1950, a new closing title was instituted, with the words "The End" in red script on a blue BG. This fades to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer CARTOON". "MADE IN HOLLYWOOD, USA" also appears.
FX/SFX: Tanner 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: Same as logo 3.
FX/SFX: Again, just Tanner roaring.
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 the blue ribboning was moved to a blue BG. In a nice touch, "A
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER" has been moved from the bottom ribbon to be placed on the ribbon, with "CARTOON" and the Technicolor line underneath it.
Closing Title: Again, same as logo 3.
FX/SFX: Again, just Tanner's roar.
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:
FX/SFX: Just the lion again.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare.
Availability: Seen on the Gene Deitch-produced Tom & Jerry cartoons, which are still rerun on a semi-regular basis. If you have Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 2, when you see "Puss n' Toots", this logo got tacked on, due to sloppy editing!
Scare Factor: See Logo 1. None for the "Tall in the Trap" variant.
7th Logo
(1963-1967)
Nicknames: "Tom the Lion", "Tanner 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. Tanner lion roars twice in the logo.
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.
Variant: After showing Tanner roaring, it later 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.
FX/SFX/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, which are still rerun on a semi-regular basis. The version that doesn't fade to Tom the Cat is featured on The Bear That Wasn't.
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.
Logo captures and editions by Logoboy95, Hoa, and mr3urious
Video captures courtesy of TheDaVinci030
Background: In the beginning, MGM used the theatrical logos of Jackie, Coffee, and Tanner on early MGM cartoons.
1st Logo
(1934-1942)
Opening Title: Just the standard MGM lion logo, 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 (later yellow with a "shadow" effect) script above the MGM pseudo logo saying "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer PICTURE". During WWII, the "The End" words were moved to the top of the screen and the pseudo logo was moved to the bottom, to give space for the following advertisement:
"AMERICA NEEDS YOUR MONEY.
BUY DEFENSE (or WAR) BONDS AND STAMPS
EVERY PAY DAY."
BUY DEFENSE (or WAR) BONDS AND STAMPS
EVERY PAY DAY."
FX/SFX: Just the lion.
Music/Sounds: The lion roar is accompanied by a fanfare (ala the Alfred Newman-composed 20th Century Fox 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 (mainly The Captain & the Kids). 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). The scare factor may vary for those who are used to it.
2nd Logo
(1942-1946)
Nickname: "The Sunburst Logo"
Opening Title: Tanner in the 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/SFX: Tanner roaring.
Music/Sounds: A modified version of logo 1's fanfare.
Music/Sounds Variant: Several Tex Avery cartoons would have Tanner roaring with the music called "Tiger Rag" a.k.a. "Hold That Tiger".
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 giant word "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. Starting in 1950, a new closing title was instituted, with the words "The End" in red script on a blue BG. This fades to "A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer CARTOON". "MADE IN HOLLYWOOD, USA" also appears.
FX/SFX: Tanner 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: Same as logo 3.
FX/SFX: Again, just Tanner roaring.
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 the blue ribboning was moved to a blue BG. In a nice touch, "A
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER" has been moved from the bottom ribbon to be placed on the ribbon, with "CARTOON" and the Technicolor line underneath it.Closing Title: Again, same as logo 3.
FX/SFX: Again, just Tanner's roar.
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)
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.
- On "Sorry Safari," which takes place in the jungle, the "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CARTOON" appears over animation of a lion in the jungle roaring and growling.
FX/SFX: Just the lion again.
Music/Sounds: The updated logo 1 fanfare.
Availability: Seen on the Gene Deitch-produced Tom & Jerry cartoons, which are still rerun on a semi-regular basis. If you have Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 2, when you see "Puss n' Toots", this logo got tacked on, due to sloppy editing!
Scare Factor: See Logo 1. None for the "Tall in the Trap" variant.
7th Logo
(1963-1967)
Nicknames: "Tom the Lion", "Tanner 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. Tanner lion roars twice in the logo.
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.
Variant: After showing Tanner roaring, it later 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.FX/SFX/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, which are still rerun on a semi-regular basis. The version that doesn't fade to Tom the Cat is featured on The Bear That Wasn't.
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.
Shadeed329 |
Latest page update: made by Shadeed329
, Aug 18 2010, 12:58 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Shadeed329
view changes - complete history) |
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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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| 20thCenturyFoxLover2 | The Bear That Couldn't Sleep | 0 | Mar 2 2010, 9:27 PM EST by 20thCenturyFoxLover2 | ||
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Thread started: Mar 2 2010, 9:27 PM EST
Watch
I've seen original prints of the Barney Bear cartoon "The Bear That Couldn't Sleep" (1939), and it does indeed have the original MGM movie logo featuring Tanner before the original opening titles.
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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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