Logo description by The Admiester
Logo Pictures by Eric S.
Editions by V of Doom, grf450 and Wyraachur


Background: This is James L. Brooks' vanity company.


(1987-)



Nicknames: "Shhh!", "The Dark Cinema", "Shush Guy", "Cinema Of Doom", "The Scream and Organ on Halloween Simpsons"

Logo: We start off in a cinema, with lots of chattering going on. Then, after a few seconds, a silhouette that is close to us lifts its finger and shushes. Then the chattering goes away, the lights dim and the projector comes on and casts a blue light to the screen, and then these words in white appear:


Variants: The Simpsons has featured many alternate variations of the logo over the years, with different music, sound effects, and/or dialogue. One recurring variation is on Halloween episodes, where a woman screaming is heard followed by a creepy pipe organ playing the theme. For a comprehensive list of variations, see The Simpsons Archive's Alternate Credits Guide. The PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/PC game The Simpsons: Hit & Run uses what looks like a smoother, flash based recreation with the screen being light blue.

The Simpsons Movie has this logo appear at the very end of it, but it looks like a slightly rushed attempt at recreating the logo, as the BG of the lit up screen room(apart from the "shush man") appears to be a photo still of the original logo, which fades into a flash-esque animation with a darker blue light and a smoother font. The Simpsons Game also has this variation of the logo (alongside the 2007 20th Century Fox Television logo) at the beginning of the game on most formats (I'm unsure if this appears animated or static on the Nintendo DS version)

FX: The hand raising, the lights dimming, and the company name fading in.

Music: A shushing sound effect followed by a 9 -note electric piano theme composed by Jeffrey Townsend. The tune is very similar to the refrain of "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, but since this logo predates that song, this is most likely a coincidence. In the "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" screen, a thunderclap is heard on those early 90s episodes of "The Simpsons". On Halloween episodes of The Simpsons, a scream replaces "Shhhh!" and that same tune played on a creepy organ that fits Halloween.

Cheesy Factor: Very cheesy indeed. I don't even think this logo uses CGI, which became very popular around 1985.

Availability: Can be seen commonly on all episodes of The Simpsons and The Critic, as well as The Simpsons Movie and the Simpsons Hit and Run video game, ironically. It was also seen on The Tracey Ullman Show. It also be seen in The Simpsons Game as well as the short-lived ABC sitcom What About Joan.

Scare Factor: Low to high. Generally, it all depends on what you think of the sudden darkness and the woman shushing. In addition, the logo is usually followed by an "In Association With" screen which may unnerve some viewers, along with the early 90s thunderclap. High to NIGHTMARE for the Halloween version, the Halloween version can have nightmare-inducing levels, mainly due to the scream and creepy organ, that will be scary to younger kids, while older ones will have less problem (though screaming through this is allowed on Halloween). Some of the other alternate versions may also catch you off guard if you're not expecting to see them.