Already a member?
Sign in
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| May 10 2008, 2:44 PM EDT | WillWill45 | 11 words added, 11 words deleted |
| Mar 30 2008, 1:48 PM EDT | WileE2005 | 542 words added, 102 words deleted |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
Written and Compiled by Matt Williams and Bigrene2
Edited by Eric S., Wile_E2005 and V of Doom
Logo Pictures by Eric S. and Wile_E2005
Looney Tunes
1st Logo
(1930-1932)
Nicknames: “Bosko titles 1.”
Studio Logo: On a gray background, the words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." appeared, and below that "& THE VITAPHONE CORP." appears in a much smaller font, with the "VITAPHONE" using "electric" style letters. Below that is a very small WB shield, and in script, "Present". Behind it there is the drawing of a flag, "waving" so it looks like it is in 3 sections. On the first one, "WARNER BROS." Appears, followed by the electric-letter "VITAPHONE" logo and on section 3, "PICTURES". Below that is the copyright information.
Series Logo: A white sign in the middle has the words "LOONEY TUNES" and in black, "A HUGH HARMA
N-RUDOLF ISING PRODUCTION" below that. Below the sign in small letters are the words "LEON SCHLESINGER, PRODUCER". Holding up the sign is Bosko, a Mickey Mouse-type character who was WB's current star at the time. Poking out from behind the sign and standing around the logo are stereotypical 30s cartoon animals.
Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, it is altogether in one card. Under “Looney Tunes,” it reads “A Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising Musical Cartoon.” “Producer” also was back then as “Associate Producer.” Above the sign is the WB and Vitaphone text without the WB shield.
Closing Title: Bosko stands in front of a sign saying "A LOONEY TUNE" and says "That’s all, Folks!" Below it, in black, are the words "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING PRODUCTION" (or “MUSICAL CARTOON” earlier), and "Licensed under BRAY-HURD patents".
FX: No animation except for the closing.
Music: "A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight" by Theodore Metz is the series theme.
Availability: Near extinction as Bosko shorts are rarely rerun due to their "ethnic offensiveness".
Scare Factor: None
2nd Logo
(1932-1933)
Nicknames: “Bosko titles 2.”
Studio Logo: Same as LT logo 1
Series Logo: Same as LT Logo 1, but this time the only animal is a bird, and helping Bosko hold up the sign is his girlfriend Honey.
Closing Title: Same as LT logo 1 except the lettering on the sign is in a different font and the "BRAY-HURD" text is in italics, and it is later changed into “DISTRIBUTED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC.”
FX: Not enough animation
Music: The first two cartoons with this logo used the same music as the previous logo. After that, the theme was "Whistle And Blow Your Blues Away" composed by Carmen Lombardo & Joseph Young.
Availability: Again, very rare due to the reason listed above.
Scare Factor: None
3rd Logo
(1933-1935)
Nicknames: “The Buddy Logo.”
Studio Logo: Again, same as LT logos 1 and 2.
Series Logo: On a curtain backdrop to the right, WB's newest (and admittedly crappiest) cartoon star, Buddy, appears, holding his left hand up Vanna White-style. On the upper left side of the screen the words "LOONEY TUNES" appear and below Buddy and the curtain the words "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" appear.
Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, “LOONEY TUNES” is on a sign on a fence with birds on it and on the left, Buddy stands there, and on the right, his girlfriend named Cookie stands there in a sexy pose. Under that is the Leon Schlesinger credit.
Closing Title: Same as the Series Logo except Buddy is animated saying "That’s all, Folks" and below the Leon Schlesinger credit the words "Distributed by WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC."
Early Variant: Same as the early series logo except with Buddy jumping from behind the fence saying “That’s all, Folks!” with an iris out on the logo.
FX: As with LT Logos 1 and 2, there's not much animation. However, that was soon to change
Music: Same as last logo until 1934, when the theme was switched to "Beauty And The Beast" by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.
Availability: Rare again, but thankfully so as these cartoons are among the dullest in existence.
Scare Factor: None
4th Logo
(1935-1936)
Nicknames: “The Beans Gang Titles”, “The Zooming WB Shield.”
Studio Logo: At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info.The background is similar to a ship's porthole. And the WB Shield's most famous role is cemented-it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.
Variant: For the very first cartoons using the "porthole", a logo similar to LT logo 1 appears, but the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." With "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& The Vitaphone Corporation" line.
Series Logo: Using the same porthole background, in the center, "LOONEY TUNES" appears. The Beans Gang, WB's current stars, which consists of (going counterclockwise starting at the top right) Beans, his girlfriend, Oliver Owl, and Porky Pig, appear around it. Below "LOONEY TUNES","PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" appears.
Closing Title: A black screen with "LOONEY TUNES" curved at the top-left with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" on the bottom-right. "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP." is at the very bottom, and at the center, the world-famous "That's All Folks!" logo writes itself on.
Early Variant: The first cartoons with this logo feature an end title similar to the last logo, but with Beans saying “That’s all, Folks!” to the ending of the cartoon’s theme.
FX: The "writing on" of the "That's All Folks!", the infamous "zooming shield".
Music: The music used for the previous logo was used at the beginning.
Availability: Can be seen on a few Beans' Gang LT shorts and the early Porky shorts if ever rerun. It’s usually colorized, except for DVD releases.
Scare Factor: None really, the "zooming" shield didn't pose a possible problem until later on.
5th Logo
(1936-1937)
Nicknames: “The Zooming Shield,” “Fat Porky Pig.”
Studio Logo: Against a background of musical notes, the WB shield zooms in with "VITAPHONE" above and "PRESENTS" below.
Series Logo: "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top, with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig’s head is in the center.
Closing Title: The same black screen as above.
Music: Same as logo 4 until a new theme by M.K. Jerome known as the "Porky Signature" is used. In mid 1937, the shield has its sound effect-the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown.
FX: The "zooming shield".
Availability: Seen on Porky Pig cartoons from the period, though mostly colorized.
Scare Factor: Low. The zooming noise can scare some, but this logo is pretty tame.
6th Logo
(1937-1942)
Nicknames: “Zooming Shield,” “Porky in a Drum.”
Studio Logo: Same as last time. Later on, "VITAPHONE" is changed to "WARNER BROS." And "Presents" is changed to "Present".
Series Logo: "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top, with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig does the following poses listed.
Closing Title: Bob Clampett redesigned Porky Pig by this period. Afterwards, his place in world history is assured as he breaks out of a drum saying his famous "T-T-T-Th-Th-Th-That's All Folks!" line. On the top of the drum is "LOONEY TUNES" and below it is "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER". At the bottom is "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES". Behind the drum is a curtain background.
Music: The distinctive Looney Tunes theme, "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is introduced, composed by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, and arranged by Carl Stalling. An abridged version at a different key is also used for the closing theme.
Music Variations:
FX: The "zooming shield".
Availability: Seen on many 30s and early 40s Porky Pig cartoons, though mostly colorized.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the zooming noise.
7th Logo
(1942-1964)
Nicknames: “The Bullseye,” “The Concerted Circles,” “The Zooming Shield.”
Studio Logo: Similar to the previous logos, only now the famous "Circles/Bullseye" backdrop that has become a trademark of Warner Bros. Is in place. In 1944, below the "WARNER BROS.", "PICTURES INC." is added.
Series Logo: Above the "bullseye" and on the same background, "LOONEY TUNES" appears in its now-distinctive font. Below it appears "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER." In 1944, this was changed to “PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS” and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON". On color cartoons with this logo, it says (1942-1945) “IN TECHNICOLOR,” (1945-1956) “COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR,” or (1956-1964) “TECHNICOLOR.”
Closing Titles: Until 1946, the "Porky In A Drum" closing was used on a red background, however on some 1946 Bugs Bunny cartoons a variant was used where Bugs broke the drum and said "And That's The End!" while sitting in the open drum and munching on a carrot. Starting in 1944, the "LEON SCHLESINGER" text was changed to "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON". In 1945, a new closing was used on the non-Porky Pig cartoons. It started with the "That's All, Folks!" script being written out, and then "LOONEY TUNES" appearing at the top, curved as in the "black screen" logo. Near the bottom, either the Leon Schlesinger text/Released by WB combo was used (1943-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1944-1963) was used. From 1960-1964, the titles bore an additional legend: “A VITAGRAPH RELEASE.” The background was the circles/bullseye used in the Studio Logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here. Instead, check out Dave Mackey's site here.
Variations: There were many variations to this logo, and here are some of them:
FX: The "zooming shield", the "That's All Folks" closing animation.
Cheesy Factor: During the 1947-1953 years, the WB shield looked rather off-model after it had zoomed up.
Music: "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is still used during this period. In 1945, this theme is shortened somewhat.
Music Variations: Many. Here's a listing:
Availability: Surprisingly becoming rarer than ever, especially since Cartoon Network and Boomerang no longer air Looney Tunes. It can be found on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVDs from Warner Home Video. This logo was used on over a hundred classic Looney Tunes shorts.
Scare Factor: Low. This is a very famous and well-liked logo, but the "twanging" sound the shield makes can get to some._______________________________________________________________
Merrie Melodies
1st Logo
(1931-1932)
Logo: (To be announced)
2nd Logo
(1932-1933)
Logo: (To be announced)
3rd Logo
(1933-1934)
Nicknames: "B&W Titles", "Cinecolor Titles".
Logo: TBA
4th Logo
(1934-1935)
Nickname: "The Curtains"
Logo: (To be announced)
5th Logo
(1936-1964)
Nicknames: "Zooming Shield," "The Merrie Melodies Bullseye," "The Merrie Melodies Concentric Circles"
Studio Logo: At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info. The background is the famous "bullseye." And the WB Shield's most famous role is now cemented--it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.
Variations: For the very first cartoons using the "bullseye," a logo similar to MM logo #1 appears, but the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." with "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& the Vitaphone Corporation" line. Also, starting in 1939, "VITAPHONE" was changed to "WARNER BROS.," and "Presents" was changed to "Present." From 1944 on (after Leon Schlesinger's retirement from the studio), it bore the additional legend "PICTURES, INC."
Series Logo: In the middle of the "bullseye" and on the same background, "MERRIE MELODIES" again appears in its curved, musical note font. It was changed in 1937 to look more square-cut, and by late 1940 was now in its famed distinctive font. Below it appears "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER." In 1944, this was changed to "PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, INC." and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON." All cartoons from this era are in color, and thus would bear the additional legend "IN TECHNICOLOR" (appearing first inside of the rings from 1936-43 and then as a separate legend from 1944-48), "IN CINECOLOR" (some 1947-49 cartoons only), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1948-56), or "TECHNICOLOR" (1956-64).
Blue Ribbon Reissues: The Blue Ribbon program began in late 1943 with about 13 classic Merrie Melodies being recycled each release season for another go-round. These reissues featured revised title cards that shorn them of their production numbers and screen credits. The Blue Ribbon series logo consisted of a red background with a blue ribbon on the left (hence the name) and the Grand Shorts award on the right. In the middle of the screen was the 1940-style Merrie Melodies logo, and below that appeared either "produced by LEON SCHLESINGER" (1943-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1945-61) as well as the following additional legends: "IN TECHNICOLOR" (1943-49), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1949-58), "PRINT BY TECHNICOLOR" (seen on 1955-58 reprints of Cinecolor issues) or "TECHNICOLOR" (1958-61). It would then fade into either the title of the cartoon (1943-57) replete with MPPDA/MPAA and Cartoonists' union bugs below, or cut to the original screen credits (1957-61). Early reissues had the cartoon title fade-in on a dark background.
Closing Titles: Starts with the "That's all Folks!" script being written out, and then "MERRIE MELODIES" appearing at the top, curved as in the 3rd logo (and later refined). Near the bottom, either the Leon Schlesinger (or Warner Bros. Cartoons) text/Distributed (or Released) by WB combo (1936-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1944-64) was used. From 1960-64, the titles bore the additional legend: "A VITAPHONE RELEASE." The background was the circles/bullseye used in the Studio Logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here. Instead, check out Dave Mackey's site on classic WB cartoons.
Variations: There were many variations to this logo, and here are some of them:
SFX: The "zooming shield."
Music: "I Think You're Ducky" from January-September 1936. Starting in late 1936, the music changed to "Merrily We Roll Along," arranged by Carl Stalling, first heard during Eddie Cantor's scenes in the 1935 short "Billboard Frolics." In mid 1937, the WB shield has its sound effect--the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown. In 1945, this theme (the opening version) was shortened somewhat. The long version of the opening theme was used up through the Blue Ribbon reissues of the pre-1948 cartoons. Oddly enough, however, one Merrie Melodies short, "Horton Hatches the Egg" (originally from 1942) did air in syndication (at one time) with the Looney Tunes sig "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing at the end, which is standard for Merrie Melodies re-issued as Looney Tunes.
Closing Title Music: Until 1937, the last piece of score music heard during a certain short from the Merrie Melodies library played over in the end title. Starting in mid 1937, an abridged version of the famous "Merrily We Roll Along" theme (first used as the main title music beginning with the short "Boulevardier from the Bronx" released Oct. 10, 1936) was heard in the end title.
Music Variations: Many. Here's a listing: October 1936-January 1937: Fast-paced opening theme, which can be scary to some.
Availability: Rare, due to these cartoons not being rerun on television. It was used on over a hundred Merrie Melodies shorts. They can be found on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVD sets.
Scare Factor: Low, it's a popular logo. However, it could be worse for some (esp. the "twanging" sound of the WB shield) who have heard this music playing in the AAP logo (referring to that company's reprints of the cartoons mentioned here) before the Merrie Melodies main title appears.
_______________________________________________________________
Generic WB Cartoon Logos
1st Logo
(1962-1967)
Background: In 1962, when Warner Bros. Animation was nearing the end of its classic run of Looney Tunes, famed WB cartoon director Chuck Jones created his ultimate one-shot cartoon, "Now Hear This," which was done in a very artistic, abstract and stylized manner. Chuck Jones also designed new, modern opening and closing titles intended for this cartoon only that fit with the cartoon. However, Termite Terrace also wound up using this logo on their other one-shot cartoons afterward, which were also done in a somewhat stylized manner. In 1963, Warner Bros. Animation shut down, and former staff members David H. Depatie and Friz Freleng opened their own animation studio where Termite Terrace was originally housed. In 1964, they began producing Looney Tunes cartoons for WB to continue the series, and made the following opening/closing titles the permanent logos for the classic WB cartoons.
Nickname: “The Abstract WB.”
Studio Logo: Completely different. On a black background, several series of lines come from the center of the screen zooming and swirling, 3 purple, one orange, with 2 of the purpleones diagonal, one of the purple ones vertical, and the orange one horizontal. The orange line moves down and up as the purple lines disappear
one-by-one and a purple abstract "WB", with the W made up of 2 triangles and the B made up of two semicircles, appears. The orange line turns into the word "PRESENTS" over the abstract WB.
Series Logo: 2 lines from the center of the screen swirl around and then slide away to reveal a strange series logo. On the top is "LOONEY TUNES" or "MERRIE MELODIES" in a weird font and on the bottom-right "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" appears in a rectangle in that same font. Below the rectangle is the word "TECHNICOLOR". On 1965-1967 releases, a bannerless WB shield was seen to the right of "TECHNICOLOR." The lines then come back, slide back into each other, wiping away the text, and then "swirl" away into the black background.
Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, this text is on a white background with no WB shield. The line animation and the studio logo are unaltered, and still appear on a black background.
Closing Title: The abstract WB appears piece-by-piece, and "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" is wiped onto the screen. When the wiping gets to the "OO" in "CARTOON", the Os turn red and "pop out" of the logo, then pop back into the logo, like two eyes doing a take. They do this action two to three times. "N" is then wiped on and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" (on Merrie Melodies) or "A VITAGRAPH RELEASE" (on Looney Tunes) appears.
FX: All the animation in the logos.
Cheesy Factor: Oh, dear-thedear, the shoddy animation was bad enough but...the initial 1962 white background version is migraine-inducing quality. The normal black background version adopted soon after, though still not easy to watch, is only slightly better. The fact that Warner Bros. had shut down its animation department and subcontracted the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts to DePatie-Freling and Format Films(and a badly-run WB animation studio by mid-1967) didn't help as by 1965 DFE was clearly putting more effort into UA's Pink Panther cartoon shorts and Warners' own The Road Runner Show than on the increasingly repetitive Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales cartoons released during this time.
Music: A weird 60's version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", arranged by William Lava. The music no longer differs to each cartoon series, and has become somewhat standardized. The end titles originally used Big Ben chiming instead of music, and then a tricycle horn honking for the OO animation. Starting in 1964, the end titles began using an abridged version of the opening theme music, with the OO animation synchronized with the theme.
Availability: Rare, mainly because Looney Tunes are practically no longer on TV. A handful of cartoons with this logo can be found on later "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVD sets, though. This logo was most commonly seen on the Speedy Gonzales and Road Runner cartoons of the era.
Scare Factor: Median, mainly due to the choppy animation, strange music, in-your-face animation and creepy-looking WB.
2nd Logo
(1967-1969)
Background: After the departure of DePatie-Freleng and Format Films in 1967, Jack Warner decided to reorganize his own animation department, with Bill Hendricks as producer and former Walter Lantz-director Alex Lovy as director. A handful of Speedy and Daffy shorts were made, along with some new characters like Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse. Originally when WB and Seven Arts merged, they basically used the Abstract WB logo and placed a Seven Arts copyright notice on the bottom. Starting with the first Cool Cat cartoon, the following logo was introduced.
Nicknames: “WB-7”, “W7,” “
Studio Logo: The same as the previous logo, but the background is now blue and the 3 purple lines are now yellow and the orange one is now pink. The 3 yellow lines now disappear at the same time, as the W7 logo "draws" itself in(see the W7 film logo), and the shield appears around it. The horizontal line animation is the same, whereas it turns into a now-pink “PRESENTS”.
Series Logo: Again, same as last time, only the WB shield is dropped, as Warner had retired it by this time due to the merge.. The rectangle is now centered and reads "A WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS CARTOON".
Closing Title: Same as last logo, although the "A WARNER BROS.- CARTOON" line is changed to add in the Seven Arts information and the abstract WB is replaced by the W7 logo, which merely pops on in the beginning of the end title without any forming animation. The OO goes up and down three times fast now.
Variants:
FX: The "lines", the wipe, the OO, the W7 trace.
Cheesy Factor: Not bad, but the cartoons could have been better. They had choppy animation, bad writing and music and seemed to resemble Hanna-Barbera or Filmation cartoons than classic WB animation.
Music: A newer variation of the same bizzare music used last time, which is less annoying.
Music Variations: Here's a listing:
Availability: Near extinction. Was seen on all Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons, as well as some of the final Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales shorts (thank goodness!) and some one-shots of the era. The Looney Tunes cartoon output was coming to a stop by this time, but it is still saved on the shorts using it whenever shown, but due to their rather unappealing appearance, it is unknown if they will be released on DVD or shown on TV again.
Scare Factor: Low.
3rd Logo
(2003-2004)
Background: In 1986, Warner Bros. Animation finally re-opened its doors, originally geared to make TV specials starring the Looney Tunes gang. A few newer theatrical shorts were also made to be released with re-issues of a few classic WB movies. However, in the early 2000s, the company began to focus less on Looney Tunes and more on action-adventure cartoons, usually starring the Justice League characters, as well as remakes of the Scooby-Doo and "Tom and Jerry" franchises. In 2003, as a cross-promotion with the upcoming big-budget feature film "Looney Tunes: Back in Action", Warner Bros. commissioned their animation studio to make nearly thirty all-new Looney Tunes cartoon shorts for theatrical release with their newer movies. People who worked for various popular animated TV programs worked on the shorts, with contributions from the current WB Animation staff. The resulting product was, unfortunately, extremely bad. When "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" failed in its theatrical release, Warner Bros. decided to not release the six cartoons they have completed, and canceled production on the rest of the shorts.
Nicknames: "The Ugly Shield," "The Zooming Bullseye"
Studio Logo: On a black background, green center zooms up as some red rings zoom out one-by-one and arrange themselves into the famous "bullseye" backdrop. Then a large, metallic, ugly-looking red-and-gold WB shield comes from
the center of the screen, zooms up to a huge size, overshooting its mark and then backs up to its usual spot on the bullseye. Then over it, "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" "wipes" onscreen over the shield in an ugly font, and underneath is "PRESENTS" in the same font.
Series Logo: Above the "bullseye" and on the same background is "LOONEY TUNES" in its trademark font, and underneath the center is "PRODUCED BY LARRY DOYLE." In the center, we see classic clips featuring the character in the cartoon that is about to begin, such as Foghorn Leghorn, the Coyote and the Road Runner, Porky Pig, etc. It then fades to a third card featuring a background with outlines of Daffy, Bugs, Sylvester and Tweety, and the other main cartoon staff appears in front of the background.
Closing Title: The same concentric circles background as before, but with "LOONEY TUNES" above the center of the rings and "That's all, Folks!" tracing itself on the bottom of the bullseye. Porky Pig appears in the center and stutters, "Bee-ba-da-ba-bee-da, That's all, folks!"
SFX: All the animation in these logos.
Cheesy Factor: Really choppy animation on the zooming shield and bullseye, a very ugly font for the tex and rather poor-quality design on Porky from the Sander Schwartz-led Warner Bros. Animation unit. Porky's voice is also pretty bad.
Music: A remixed version of "Merrily We Roll Along."
Availability: Only one cartoon featuring this logo was released on DVD in America, on the "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" DVD release. All the other cartoons using this logo were never released theatrically or shown on TV or released on video in the USA, probably due to how bad they are. The rest of the cartoons, however, do show up on the Australian DVD release of "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." These cartoons can also be seen on TV in Canada.
Scare Factor: Median, mainly due to the awkward animation and design on the WB shield and studio logo.
Edited by Eric S., Wile_E2005 and V of Doom
Logo Pictures by Eric S. and Wile_E2005
Looney Tunes
1st Logo
(1930-1932)
Nicknames: “Bosko titles 1.”
Studio Logo: On a gray background, the words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." appeared, and below that "& THE VITAPHONE CORP." appears in a much smaller font, with the "VITAPHONE" using "electric" style letters. Below that is a very small WB shield, and in script, "Present". Behind it there is the drawing of a flag, "waving" so it looks like it is in 3 sections. On the first one, "WARNER BROS." Appears, followed by the electric-letter "VITAPHONE" logo and on section 3, "PICTURES". Below that is the copyright information.
Series Logo: A white sign in the middle has the words "LOONEY TUNES" and in black, "A HUGH HARMA
N-RUDOLF ISING PRODUCTION" below that. Below the sign in small letters are the words "LEON SCHLESINGER, PRODUCER". Holding up the sign is Bosko, a Mickey Mouse-type character who was WB's current star at the time. Poking out from behind the sign and standing around the logo are stereotypical 30s cartoon animals.Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, it is altogether in one card. Under “Looney Tunes,” it reads “A Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising Musical Cartoon.” “Producer” also was back then as “Associate Producer.” Above the sign is the WB and Vitaphone text without the WB shield.
Closing Title: Bosko stands in front of a sign saying "A LOONEY TUNE" and says "That’s all, Folks!" Below it, in black, are the words "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING PRODUCTION" (or “MUSICAL CARTOON” earlier), and "Licensed under BRAY-HURD patents".
FX: No animation except for the closing.
Music: "A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight" by Theodore Metz is the series theme.
Availability: Near extinction as Bosko shorts are rarely rerun due to their "ethnic offensiveness".
Scare Factor: None
2nd Logo
(1932-1933)
Nicknames: “Bosko titles 2.”
Studio Logo: Same as LT logo 1
Series Logo: Same as LT Logo 1, but this time the only animal is a bird, and helping Bosko hold up the sign is his girlfriend Honey.
Closing Title: Same as LT logo 1 except the lettering on the sign is in a different font and the "BRAY-HURD" text is in italics, and it is later changed into “DISTRIBUTED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC.”
FX: Not enough animation
Music: The first two cartoons with this logo used the same music as the previous logo. After that, the theme was "Whistle And Blow Your Blues Away" composed by Carmen Lombardo & Joseph Young.
Availability: Again, very rare due to the reason listed above.
Scare Factor: None
3rd Logo
(1933-1935)
Nicknames: “The Buddy Logo.”
Studio Logo: Again, same as LT logos 1 and 2.
Series Logo: On a curtain backdrop to the right, WB's newest (and admittedly crappiest) cartoon star, Buddy, appears, holding his left hand up Vanna White-style. On the upper left side of the screen the words "LOONEY TUNES" appear and below Buddy and the curtain the words "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" appear.
Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, “LOONEY TUNES” is on a sign on a fence with birds on it and on the left, Buddy stands there, and on the right, his girlfriend named Cookie stands there in a sexy pose. Under that is the Leon Schlesinger credit.
Closing Title: Same as the Series Logo except Buddy is animated saying "That’s all, Folks" and below the Leon Schlesinger credit the words "Distributed by WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC."
Early Variant: Same as the early series logo except with Buddy jumping from behind the fence saying “That’s all, Folks!” with an iris out on the logo.
FX: As with LT Logos 1 and 2, there's not much animation. However, that was soon to change
Music: Same as last logo until 1934, when the theme was switched to "Beauty And The Beast" by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.
Availability: Rare again, but thankfully so as these cartoons are among the dullest in existence.
Scare Factor: None
4th Logo
(1935-1936)
Nicknames: “The Beans Gang Titles”, “The Zooming WB Shield.”
Studio Logo: At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info.The background is similar to a ship's porthole. And the WB Shield's most famous role is cemented-it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.
Variant: For the very first cartoons using the "porthole", a logo similar to LT logo 1 appears, but the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." With "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& The Vitaphone Corporation" line.
Series Logo: Using the same porthole background, in the center, "LOONEY TUNES" appears. The Beans Gang, WB's current stars, which consists of (going counterclockwise starting at the top right) Beans, his girlfriend, Oliver Owl, and Porky Pig, appear around it. Below "LOONEY TUNES","PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" appears.
Closing Title: A black screen with "LOONEY TUNES" curved at the top-left with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" on the bottom-right. "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP." is at the very bottom, and at the center, the world-famous "That's All Folks!" logo writes itself on.
Early Variant: The first cartoons with this logo feature an end title similar to the last logo, but with Beans saying “That’s all, Folks!” to the ending of the cartoon’s theme.
FX: The "writing on" of the "That's All Folks!", the infamous "zooming shield".
Music: The music used for the previous logo was used at the beginning.
Availability: Can be seen on a few Beans' Gang LT shorts and the early Porky shorts if ever rerun. It’s usually colorized, except for DVD releases.
Scare Factor: None really, the "zooming" shield didn't pose a possible problem until later on.
5th Logo
(1936-1937)
Nicknames: “The Zooming Shield,” “Fat Porky Pig.”
Studio Logo: Against a background of musical notes, the WB shield zooms in with "VITAPHONE" above and "PRESENTS" below.
Series Logo: "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top, with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig’s head is in the center.
Closing Title: The same black screen as above.
Music: Same as logo 4 until a new theme by M.K. Jerome known as the "Porky Signature" is used. In mid 1937, the shield has its sound effect-the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown.
FX: The "zooming shield".
Availability: Seen on Porky Pig cartoons from the period, though mostly colorized.
Scare Factor: Low. The zooming noise can scare some, but this logo is pretty tame.
6th Logo
(1937-1942)
Nicknames: “Zooming Shield,” “Porky in a Drum.”
Studio Logo: Same as last time. Later on, "VITAPHONE" is changed to "WARNER BROS." And "Presents" is changed to "Present".
Series Logo: "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top, with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig does the following poses listed.
- (1937-1938) Porky is on the right side facing left.
- (1938-1939) Porky is in the center facing right.
- (1939-1940) Porky is holding a hat.
- (1940-1941) Porky is seen sitting in an open drum.
- (1941-1942) Porky is sitting on a fence.
Closing Title: Bob Clampett redesigned Porky Pig by this period. Afterwards, his place in world history is assured as he breaks out of a drum saying his famous "T-T-T-Th-Th-Th-That's All Folks!" line. On the top of the drum is "LOONEY TUNES" and below it is "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER". At the bottom is "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES". Behind the drum is a curtain background.
Music: The distinctive Looney Tunes theme, "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is introduced, composed by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, and arranged by Carl Stalling. An abridged version at a different key is also used for the closing theme.
Music Variations:
- October 1937-November 1938: Most well-known version of the theme.
- November 1938-March 1941: Heavily modified opening theme. Closing theme is the same as the 1937 theme.
- March 1941: Specially-modified version for a one-shot cartoon called "Joe Glow the Firefly," with a different key in the first section of the opening theme.
- March 1941-June 1945: Heavily modified opening and closing themes.
FX: The "zooming shield".
Availability: Seen on many 30s and early 40s Porky Pig cartoons, though mostly colorized.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the zooming noise.
7th Logo
(1942-1964)
Nicknames: “The Bullseye,” “The Concerted Circles,” “The Zooming Shield.”
Studio Logo: Similar to the previous logos, only now the famous "Circles/Bullseye" backdrop that has become a trademark of Warner Bros. Is in place. In 1944, below the "WARNER BROS.", "PICTURES INC." is added.
Series Logo: Above the "bullseye" and on the same background, "LOONEY TUNES" appears in its now-distinctive font. Below it appears "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER." In 1944, this was changed to “PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS” and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON". On color cartoons with this logo, it says (1942-1945) “IN TECHNICOLOR,” (1945-1956) “COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR,” or (1956-1964) “TECHNICOLOR.”
Closing Titles: Until 1946, the "Porky In A Drum" closing was used on a red background, however on some 1946 Bugs Bunny cartoons a variant was used where Bugs broke the drum and said "And That's The End!" while sitting in the open drum and munching on a carrot. Starting in 1944, the "LEON SCHLESINGER" text was changed to "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON". In 1945, a new closing was used on the non-Porky Pig cartoons. It started with the "That's All, Folks!" script being written out, and then "LOONEY TUNES" appearing at the top, curved as in the "black screen" logo. Near the bottom, either the Leon Schlesinger text/Released by WB combo was used (1943-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1944-1963) was used. From 1960-1964, the titles bore an additional legend: “A VITAGRAPH RELEASE.” The background was the circles/bullseye used in the Studio Logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here. Instead, check out Dave Mackey's site here.
Variations: There were many variations to this logo, and here are some of them:
- The most famous one of these, with Bugs Bunny relaxing on top of the shield as it zooms in. He chomps on his carrot for a few seconds, looks angry at the "camera", and then pulls down (like a window shade) the next logo, the Looney Tunes logo.
- The shield fades into a face (usually oversized, jaw open) of the featured characterincharacter in the cartoon it's used in. This was used mostly on Bugs Bunny cartoons, although Daffy was sometimes used as well.but Sometimes,sometimes, it would have Porky, Daffy, or both of their heads on the series logo.
- Some Looney Tunes were re-released as "Blue Ribbon" Merrie Melodies and lost their title cards. These re-releases kept the Looney Tunes music (first at the closing titles only and then the full opening sequence as well) so it is painfully easy to spot former LTs that were reissued as Merrie Melodies. Examples include "A Bear For Punishment" and "House-Hunting Mice."
- Used on "Lumberjack Rabbit" only, the shield zooms in like normal, but overshoots its mark, almost crashing into the screen, before settling into the usual position. The reason for this was that the cartoon was originally produced in 3D, and this was Warner's most effective (and pretty much only, as the film made no good use of the 3D effect) use of the medium. This device was also borrowed for the 10th Looney Tunes logo.
- A few 1946 cartoons, such as "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," do not have the WB shield zoom up, and have it already in place when the logo fades up.
FX: The "zooming shield", the "That's All Folks" closing animation.
Cheesy Factor: During the 1947-1953 years, the WB shield looked rather off-model after it had zoomed up.
Music: "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is still used during this period. In 1945, this theme is shortened somewhat.
Music Variations: Many. Here's a listing:
- March 1941-March 1945: Same as the version first used on the 1940-1941 intro and outro.
- May 1945-July 1946: Abridged opening theme, same closing theme as April 1941.
- July 1946-June 1955: Heavily modified opening and closing themes done in a "goofy" manner. Was still used for the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released up to 1955.
- May 1955-July 1964: Heavily modified opening and closing themes. Sparsely used for Blue Ribbon reissues.
Availability: Surprisingly becoming rarer than ever, especially since Cartoon Network and Boomerang no longer air Looney Tunes. It can be found on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVDs from Warner Home Video. This logo was used on over a hundred classic Looney Tunes shorts.
Scare Factor: Low. This is a very famous and well-liked logo, but the "twanging" sound the shield makes can get to some.
Merrie Melodies
1st Logo
(1931-1932)
Logo: (To be announced)
2nd Logo
(1932-1933)
Logo: (To be announced)
3rd Logo
(1933-1934)
Nicknames: "B&W Titles", "Cinecolor Titles".
Logo: TBA
4th Logo
(1934-1935)
Nickname: "The Curtains"
Logo: (To be announced)
5th Logo
(1936-1964)
Nicknames: "Zooming Shield," "The Merrie Melodies Bullseye," "The Merrie Melodies Concentric Circles"
Studio Logo: At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info. The background is the famous "bullseye." And the WB Shield's most famous role is now cemented--it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.
Variations: For the very first cartoons using the "bullseye," a logo similar to MM logo #1 appears, but the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." with "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& the Vitaphone Corporation" line. Also, starting in 1939, "VITAPHONE" was changed to "WARNER BROS.," and "Presents" was changed to "Present." From 1944 on (after Leon Schlesinger's retirement from the studio), it bore the additional legend "PICTURES, INC."
Series Logo: In the middle of the "bullseye" and on the same background, "MERRIE MELODIES" again appears in its curved, musical note font. It was changed in 1937 to look more square-cut, and by late 1940 was now in its famed distinctive font. Below it appears "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER." In 1944, this was changed to "PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, INC." and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON." All cartoons from this era are in color, and thus would bear the additional legend "IN TECHNICOLOR" (appearing first inside of the rings from 1936-43 and then as a separate legend from 1944-48), "IN CINECOLOR" (some 1947-49 cartoons only), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1948-56), or "TECHNICOLOR" (1956-64).
Blue Ribbon Reissues: The Blue Ribbon program began in late 1943 with about 13 classic Merrie Melodies being recycled each release season for another go-round. These reissues featured revised title cards that shorn them of their production numbers and screen credits. The Blue Ribbon series logo consisted of a red background with a blue ribbon on the left (hence the name) and the Grand Shorts award on the right. In the middle of the screen was the 1940-style Merrie Melodies logo, and below that appeared either "produced by LEON SCHLESINGER" (1943-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1945-61) as well as the following additional legends: "IN TECHNICOLOR" (1943-49), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1949-58), "PRINT BY TECHNICOLOR" (seen on 1955-58 reprints of Cinecolor issues) or "TECHNICOLOR" (1958-61). It would then fade into either the title of the cartoon (1943-57) replete with MPPDA/MPAA and Cartoonists' union bugs below, or cut to the original screen credits (1957-61). Early reissues had the cartoon title fade-in on a dark background.
Closing Titles: Starts with the "That's all Folks!" script being written out, and then "MERRIE MELODIES" appearing at the top, curved as in the 3rd logo (and later refined). Near the bottom, either the Leon Schlesinger (or Warner Bros. Cartoons) text/Distributed (or Released) by WB combo (1936-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1944-64) was used. From 1960-64, the titles bore the additional legend: "A VITAPHONE RELEASE." The background was the circles/bullseye used in the Studio Logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here. Instead, check out Dave Mackey's site on classic WB cartoons.
Variations: There were many variations to this logo, and here are some of them:
- The most famous one of these, with Bugs Bunny relaxing on top of the shield as it zooms in. He chomps on his carrot for a few seconds, looks "angry" at the "camera," and then pulls down (like a window shade) the next logo, the Merrie Melodies logo. The 1941-1945 variation has Bugs merely chomping on his carrot and then giving us an annoyed look, as it then fades to the Merrie Melodies logo.
- The shield fades into the character featured in the coming short. This was used only on Bugs Bunny cartoons.
- Some older Merrie Melodies were re-released as part of the "Blue Ribbon" series, and lost their title cards as a result. The re-releases of the pre-1941 cartoons kept whatever music variation it had at the end (except for the 1935 cartoons that originally ended with the jester's sign-off), and any cartoon re-released before 1945 would retain its original end title as well. Most of the pre-1948 cartoons had the long version of the "Merrily" opening theme. The re-releases of the post-1948 cartoons had the short version at the open and retained their full credits. Oddly enough, however, one pre-1948 Merrie Melody from 1940 (which was reissued in 1953-54), "Mighty Hunters," retained its original screen credits.
- On "The Old Grey Hare" (1944), an ending gag involving a stick of dynamite had a still "That's All, Folks!" title card fading up a the fuse was heard sizzling, and then the logo shakes violently to the sound of the dynamite exploding.
- A still variation of the end title as seen on the 1953-54 season re-releases of the pre-1948 cartoons (with the early 1300 series production #s) had the phrase "THE END" (in the Mixolydian font) in place of the "That's all Folks!" script with the original closing music from whatever short's end title was originally there.
- Another still variation of the end title, this time with the usual "That's all Folks!" script, was spotted on the 1954-55 season re-release of the last 2-strip Technicolor-processed MM short, "The Cat Came Back" (Blue Ribbon #1361, originally released in 1936).
- On the 1961 short "Nelly's Folly," this cartoon had a different end card, in which after the cartoon faded out with the title "THE END," it fades up to the Merrie Melodes text in purple, with "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" underneath it, on a black background. There was no music used here.
SFX: The "zooming shield."
Music: "I Think You're Ducky" from January-September 1936. Starting in late 1936, the music changed to "Merrily We Roll Along," arranged by Carl Stalling, first heard during Eddie Cantor's scenes in the 1935 short "Billboard Frolics." In mid 1937, the WB shield has its sound effect--the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown. In 1945, this theme (the opening version) was shortened somewhat. The long version of the opening theme was used up through the Blue Ribbon reissues of the pre-1948 cartoons. Oddly enough, however, one Merrie Melodies short, "Horton Hatches the Egg" (originally from 1942) did air in syndication (at one time) with the Looney Tunes sig "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing at the end, which is standard for Merrie Melodies re-issued as Looney Tunes.
Closing Title Music: Until 1937, the last piece of score music heard during a certain short from the Merrie Melodies library played over in the end title. Starting in mid 1937, an abridged version of the famous "Merrily We Roll Along" theme (first used as the main title music beginning with the short "Boulevardier from the Bronx" released Oct. 10, 1936) was heard in the end title.
Music Variations: Many. Here's a listing: October 1936-January 1937: Fast-paced opening theme, which can be scary to some.
- March-early July 1937: Slower-paced version of opening theme.
- Late July-early September 1937: Opening theme now begins with the aforementioned (yet famous) 'twang' sound. The closing theme version also makes its debut, on "Plenty of Money and You," which also begins with the 'twang' sound.
- Late September 1937-early January 1938: Opening theme now has a largely woodwind-dominated arrangement, same went for the closing theme.
- Late January-July 1938: Opening theme sparsely modified, same closing theme version as late September 1937.
- August 1938-early January 1939: Opening theme now dominated by brass and strings. Closing theme is also adapted from the opening version beginning in November 1938.
- Late January 1939-early September 1940: Opening theme sparsely modified, again. Same closing theme as November 1938 version.
- Late September 1940-March 1941: Opening theme modified somewhat, which sounds like a hybrid of the August 1938 and late January 1939 versions. Same closing theme as November 1938 version.
- April 1941-March 1945: Heavily modified opening and closing themes. The long version continued use through the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released prior to December 1948.
- May 1945-June 1955: Abridged opening theme, same closing theme as April 1941. Was still used for the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released up to 1955.
- May 1955-July 1964: Heavily modified opening and closing themes. Sparsely used for Blue Ribbon reissues.
Availability: Rare, due to these cartoons not being rerun on television. It was used on over a hundred Merrie Melodies shorts. They can be found on the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVD sets.
Scare Factor: Low, it's a popular logo. However, it could be worse for some (esp. the "twanging" sound of the WB shield) who have heard this music playing in the AAP logo (referring to that company's reprints of the cartoons mentioned here) before the Merrie Melodies main title appears.
_______________________________________________________________
Generic WB Cartoon Logos
1st Logo
(1962-1967)
Background: In 1962, when Warner Bros. Animation was nearing the end of its classic run of Looney Tunes, famed WB cartoon director Chuck Jones created his ultimate one-shot cartoon, "Now Hear This," which was done in a very artistic, abstract and stylized manner. Chuck Jones also designed new, modern opening and closing titles intended for this cartoon only that fit with the cartoon. However, Termite Terrace also wound up using this logo on their other one-shot cartoons afterward, which were also done in a somewhat stylized manner. In 1963, Warner Bros. Animation shut down, and former staff members David H. Depatie and Friz Freleng opened their own animation studio where Termite Terrace was originally housed. In 1964, they began producing Looney Tunes cartoons for WB to continue the series, and made the following opening/closing titles the permanent logos for the classic WB cartoons.
Nickname: “The Abstract WB.”
Studio Logo: Completely different. On a black background, several series of lines come from the center of the screen zooming and swirling, 3 purple, one orange, with 2 of the purpleones diagonal, one of the purple ones vertical, and the orange one horizontal. The orange line moves down and up as the purple lines disappear
one-by-one and a purple abstract "WB", with the W made up of 2 triangles and the B made up of two semicircles, appears. The orange line turns into the word "PRESENTS" over the abstract WB.Series Logo: 2 lines from the center of the screen swirl around and then slide away to reveal a strange series logo. On the top is "LOONEY TUNES" or "MERRIE MELODIES" in a weird font and on the bottom-right "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" appears in a rectangle in that same font. Below the rectangle is the word "TECHNICOLOR". On 1965-1967 releases, a bannerless WB shield was seen to the right of "TECHNICOLOR." The lines then come back, slide back into each other, wiping away the text, and then "swirl" away into the black background.
Early Variant: For the first cartoons with this logo, this text is on a white background with no WB shield. The line animation and the studio logo are unaltered, and still appear on a black background.
Closing Title: The abstract WB appears piece-by-piece, and "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" is wiped onto the screen. When the wiping gets to the "OO" in "CARTOON", the Os turn red and "pop out" of the logo, then pop back into the logo, like two eyes doing a take. They do this action two to three times. "N" is then wiped on and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" (on Merrie Melodies) or "A VITAGRAPH RELEASE" (on Looney Tunes) appears.
FX: All the animation in the logos.
Cheesy Factor: Oh, dear-thedear, the shoddy animation was bad enough but...the initial 1962 white background version is migraine-inducing quality. The normal black background version adopted soon after, though still not easy to watch, is only slightly better. The fact that Warner Bros. had shut down its animation department and subcontracted the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts to DePatie-Freling and Format Films(and a badly-run WB animation studio by mid-1967) didn't help as by 1965 DFE was clearly putting more effort into UA's Pink Panther cartoon shorts and Warners' own The Road Runner Show than on the increasingly repetitive Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales cartoons released during this time.
Music: A weird 60's version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", arranged by William Lava. The music no longer differs to each cartoon series, and has become somewhat standardized. The end titles originally used Big Ben chiming instead of music, and then a tricycle horn honking for the OO animation. Starting in 1964, the end titles began using an abridged version of the opening theme music, with the OO animation synchronized with the theme.
Availability: Rare, mainly because Looney Tunes are practically no longer on TV. A handful of cartoons with this logo can be found on later "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVD sets, though. This logo was most commonly seen on the Speedy Gonzales and Road Runner cartoons of the era.
Scare Factor: Median, mainly due to the choppy animation, strange music, in-your-face animation and creepy-looking WB.
2nd Logo
(1967-1969)
Background: After the departure of DePatie-Freleng and Format Films in 1967, Jack Warner decided to reorganize his own animation department, with Bill Hendricks as producer and former Walter Lantz-director Alex Lovy as director. A handful of Speedy and Daffy shorts were made, along with some new characters like Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse. Originally when WB and Seven Arts merged, they basically used the Abstract WB logo and placed a Seven Arts copyright notice on the bottom. Starting with the first Cool Cat cartoon, the following logo was introduced.
Nicknames: “WB-7”, “W7,” “
Studio Logo: The same as the previous logo, but the background is now blue and the 3 purple lines are now yellow and the orange one is now pink. The 3 yellow lines now disappear at the same time, as the W7 logo "draws" itself in(see the W7 film logo), and the shield appears around it. The horizontal line animation is the same, whereas it turns into a now-pink “PRESENTS”.
Series Logo: Again, same as last time, only the WB shield is dropped, as Warner had retired it by this time due to the merge.. The rectangle is now centered and reads "A WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS CARTOON".
Closing Title: Same as last logo, although the "A WARNER BROS.- CARTOON" line is changed to add in the Seven Arts information and the abstract WB is replaced by the W7 logo, which merely pops on in the beginning of the end title without any forming animation. The OO goes up and down three times fast now.
Variants:
- For the first cartoons with this logo, it reuses the colors of the “Abstract WB” logo, with a black background and purple W7 shield.
- The 1969 short "Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too" had bad film detoriation to it on TV reruns in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the opening/closing logos had a dark-red tint to them as a result.
- On the 1968 short "Norman Normal" (based off the Paul Stookey song of the same name), the series logo is modified so on the top it has a rectangle reading "A WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS" and underneath the rectangle is "CARTOON SPECIAL" in the LT/MM font. Underneath that is the "TECHNICOLOR" rectangle. The opening to the cartoon's theme music (Paul Stookey's "Norman Normal") plays under this logo instead of having its own music, and at the end, the "Norman Normal" song also plays over the closing animation, which is unchanged.
- In 1968, 78 Looney Tunes shorts from the 1930s and early 1940s were colorized by a rather crude process via tracing the film cells of the original black-and-white shorts onto animation cels, colorizing them and re-making the original backgrounds. The results were very un-professional and sometimes rather bad. When packaged for TV in 1968-1970, the shorts had a variation of this logo plastered onto the beginning, where it does not have the "TECHNICOLOR" rectangle on the bottom and has the second half of one of the 1935-1943 Looney Tunes opening themes playing under it, which does not fit with the logo at all. The ending has the Seven Arts closing plastered on, with either the ending of the cartoon's theme playing underneath (1935-1937) or the 1937-1943 closing theme, with Porky's "T-th-th-that's all folks!" line heard. The redrawn print of "Porky's Road Race" with these logos use the 1967 opening theme music with the logo and the 1964 closing theme during the end titles.
FX: The "lines", the wipe, the OO, the W7 trace.
Cheesy Factor: Not bad, but the cartoons could have been better. They had choppy animation, bad writing and music and seemed to resemble Hanna-Barbera or Filmation cartoons than classic WB animation.
Music: A newer variation of the same bizzare music used last time, which is less annoying.
Music Variations: Here's a listing:
- October 1967-September 1969: Small amount of instruments and rather cheap-sounding guitar "twangs" during the line animation. The closing music is the same as the 1964 version.
- June 1968-August 1968: Heavily modified opening theme with guitar, horn and piano combo on the zooming line animation. Closing music is unchanged.
- March 1969-May 1969: Opening theme sparsely modified, sounding like a hybrid of the October 1967 and June 1968 themes. Closing music is unchanged.
Availability: Near extinction. Was seen on all Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons, as well as some of the final Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales shorts (thank goodness!) and some one-shots of the era. The Looney Tunes cartoon output was coming to a stop by this time, but it is still saved on the shorts using it whenever shown, but due to their rather unappealing appearance, it is unknown if they will be released on DVD or shown on TV again.
Scare Factor: Low.
3rd Logo
(2003-2004)
Background: In 1986, Warner Bros. Animation finally re-opened its doors, originally geared to make TV specials starring the Looney Tunes gang. A few newer theatrical shorts were also made to be released with re-issues of a few classic WB movies. However, in the early 2000s, the company began to focus less on Looney Tunes and more on action-adventure cartoons, usually starring the Justice League characters, as well as remakes of the Scooby-Doo and "Tom and Jerry" franchises. In 2003, as a cross-promotion with the upcoming big-budget feature film "Looney Tunes: Back in Action", Warner Bros. commissioned their animation studio to make nearly thirty all-new Looney Tunes cartoon shorts for theatrical release with their newer movies. People who worked for various popular animated TV programs worked on the shorts, with contributions from the current WB Animation staff. The resulting product was, unfortunately, extremely bad. When "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" failed in its theatrical release, Warner Bros. decided to not release the six cartoons they have completed, and canceled production on the rest of the shorts.
Nicknames: "The Ugly Shield," "The Zooming Bullseye"
Studio Logo: On a black background, green center zooms up as some red rings zoom out one-by-one and arrange themselves into the famous "bullseye" backdrop. Then a large, metallic, ugly-looking red-and-gold WB shield comes from
the center of the screen, zooms up to a huge size, overshooting its mark and then backs up to its usual spot on the bullseye. Then over it, "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" "wipes" onscreen over the shield in an ugly font, and underneath is "PRESENTS" in the same font.Series Logo: Above the "bullseye" and on the same background is "LOONEY TUNES" in its trademark font, and underneath the center is "PRODUCED BY LARRY DOYLE." In the center, we see classic clips featuring the character in the cartoon that is about to begin, such as Foghorn Leghorn, the Coyote and the Road Runner, Porky Pig, etc. It then fades to a third card featuring a background with outlines of Daffy, Bugs, Sylvester and Tweety, and the other main cartoon staff appears in front of the background.
Closing Title: The same concentric circles background as before, but with "LOONEY TUNES" above the center of the rings and "That's all, Folks!" tracing itself on the bottom of the bullseye. Porky Pig appears in the center and stutters, "Bee-ba-da-ba-bee-da, That's all, folks!"
SFX: All the animation in these logos.
Cheesy Factor: Really choppy animation on the zooming shield and bullseye, a very ugly font for the tex and rather poor-quality design on Porky from the Sander Schwartz-led Warner Bros. Animation unit. Porky's voice is also pretty bad.
Music: A remixed version of "Merrily We Roll Along."
Availability: Only one cartoon featuring this logo was released on DVD in America, on the "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" DVD release. All the other cartoons using this logo were never released theatrically or shown on TV or released on video in the USA, probably due to how bad they are. The rest of the cartoons, however, do show up on the Australian DVD release of "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." These cartoons can also be seen on TV in Canada.
Scare Factor: Median, mainly due to the awkward animation and design on the WB shield and studio logo.
