Logo descriptions by Matt Williams, James Fabiano and Cameron McCaffrey
Editions by Bob Fish


1st Logo
(1982-1983)

Nicknames: "Soda Pop", "Cheesy FHE"

Logo: On a black background filled with dots/"stars" (obviously this is supposed to symbolize space), a large "sun" slowly moves towards us. After a few seconds of sizzling, it then dissolves into the words "FAMILY HOME" in probably one of the ugliest fonts ever. Then "ENTERTAINMENT" (in the same ugly font) flies from behind the text on top of the screen and settles underneath the "FAMILY HOME" text. The logos then flash and become pure white. After a few seconds the logo flies up with computer effects and we are left with only a shot of the stars before we fade out.

FX: The transformation of the star into "FAMILY HOME ENTERTAINMENT" and the "flying" effects for the logos.

Cheesy Factor: This one goes off the charts. The "sun" looks like the fakest thing in the world (and looks more like a fizzing Alka-Seltzer tablet than anything else!), the colors are gaudy, and the space background looks like it was done on an Apple II.

Music/Sounds: The space background has plopping/fizz noises. When the logo forms, a chord/whoosh sound can be heard.

Availability: Can be seen on early Gumby and Care Bears releases by FHE.

Scare Factor: Medium; the bad animation may get to some people, but the logo is probably one of the most soda-like in the world!



2nd Logo
(1983-1991)

Nicknames: "F.H.E.", "Handwriting Pad", "Cheesy Writing"

Logo: A yellow screen "flips" in, and it has one of those lines you used to practice printing letters on in kindergarten. (Two solid lines with a segmented line in the middle) One at a time, the letters "f.h.e." are drawn on the lines in a crayon-like font. They are colored, in order, red, blue, and yellow, respectively. Under that the words "Family Home Entertainment" appear, and then the picture zooms away downward toward the camera.

Variants:

• A version has been spotted where instead of the picture flipping down, it merely fades out and there is no "WHOOSH" at the end of the music. The color is also a bit faded (though that was probably unintentional).
• Some tapes have the logo on a black background with the lines fading in and the FHE text drawing itself on faster as usual. A byline for IVE is shown on the bottom. A still version can be seen on various "Transformers" promos.

FX: "Flipping" screen, drawn letters.

Cheesy Factor: The screen "flipping" is an '80s SFX standard; it is merely the image being stretched and squashed. Before 1988, there was often a jarring cut from the FBI warning to this logo. After the 1988 IVE warning replaced the other one, there was a gentle fade from the warning to this logo.

Music/Sounds: Starts with a loud zipping sound (kind of like a Jetsons flying car starting), and leads into a synthesizer theme with three different tones for the drawing of each letter. Three faster tones bring forth the periods after each initial, and a xylophone is used when the company's name appears. At the end, a "WHOOSH" is heard as the screen "flies" away.

Availability: Can be seen in early releases of home video releases of shows such as The Transformers, G.I. Joe, Inspector Gadget and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also spotted on some Rankin-Bass video releases of the time. Also spotted on the Chuck Jones releases of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Mowgli's Brothers, and The White Seal.

Scare Factor: Low to high; the loud music and "flipping" screen may get to some people, along with the FBI Warning screen on 1983-1990 releases, but this is a favorite of many. Low for the black BG variant with IVE/NCB byline.



3rd Logo
(1991-1998)

Nickname: "The Paintbrush"

Logo: On a white background, a red paintbrush draws an "f" similar to the one in the second logo then puts a red dot after it. A blue paintbrush similarly draws an "h" and a blue dot and a yellow paintbrush gets the "e" and its dot. The camera pans to each letter as it is drawn and then pulls out. Above the logo the paintbrushes "wash" on the words "Family Home Entertainment", with each word in red, blue, and yellow respectively.

Variant: On the original VHS release of "Tom and Jerry : The Movie" (1993), a still shot of this logo was seen.

FX: Impressive use of CGI from FHE, using the ability to pan in and out impressively!

Music/Sounds: Each letter has its own little tune culminating in a synthesized stinger at the end.

Availability: Can be seen on later Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (surprisingly, it appeared on 2006 and 2007 DVDs of TMNT) and Rankin-Bass releases by FHE.

Scare Factor: None; just very good CGI.



4th logo
(1998-2001)

Nickname: "Flipping Letters"

Logo: Against a black BG, a green F flips toward the screen, followed by an orange H and a purple E. A triangular orange "roof" lands on the H shortly after. The words


which are written in white, fade in below. At the same time, two white dots fade in between the letters "FHE". The words shine.

FX: The letters flipping, the roof landing on the H, and the words shining.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears on most FHE releases up until 2001.

Scare Factor: None.



5th Logo
(2001-2003)

Nickname: "Flying Letters"

Logo: On a white BG, we see the letters "FHE" flying up to the screen. Then two black dots fly in and appear between the letters. "FAMILY HOME ENTERTAINMENT" fades in under the letters. A roof is then drawn above the "H", making the whole thing look like the 4th logo.

FX: The animation in the logo.

Music/Sounds: A jingle used with many musical instruments and sound effects.

Availability: Seen on releases from 2001 to 2003.

Scare Factor: None; it's a cute logo.