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Touchstone Pictures
Logo descriptions by Matt Williams, Kris Starring, and JuniorFan88
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and Others
Editions by V of Doom, Bob Fish,and betamaxtheflyer
Video captures courtesy of Tlogos and IdentsandLogos
Background: Touchstone Pictures (formerly Touchstone Films) was established by the Walt Disney Company in 1983 to produce and distribute more adult-oriented films.
1st Logo
(March 9, 1984)
Nicknames: "Thunderball", "Thunderball of Boredom"
Logo: Just a static logo under a salmon background with navy blue text and the typical blue/navy blue thunderball.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Generally, the static logos are certainly cheap, and the background definitely is cheesy because nobody uses any shade of pink anymore.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Knowing this is the first logo, Touchstone made their first movie, Splash, in March 1984. The logo is extremely rare to find, as Splash was the only film to have this logo, and it was likely a placeholder logo. It is seen on TV airings, video prints, and recent DVD issues of the said film, however (though some late-80s issues plaster it with the early version of the "Snake" logo).
Scare Factor: None; after all, it's a placeholder.
2nd Logo
(September 1984-August 1985)
Nickname: "Thunderball Shattering Light"
Logo: It starts out as a blue ball heading for the dark background. After it heads toward the background, it flashes and turns into the typical thunderball, and the whole background lights up with Touchstone Films at the bottom in Navy Blue text.
Variant: For Touchstone releases in pan-and-scan format, as the films were originally in anamorphic widescreen, the logo was squeezed to fit the TV aspect ratio, so the circle became an oval.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The only thing cheesy about the logo is the CGI animation for the blue ball at the beginning, but other than that, it's an OK logo.
Music/Sounds: A "wind-blowing" sound followed by a "chime" during the flash part of the animation. In other cases, it's silent.
Availability: More common than the previous logo; it appeared on two films, Country and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. Recent DVD releases should keep the logo intact.
Scare Factor: Low; the sound effects used may catch a viewer unaware.
3rd Logo
(August 1985-2003)
Nicknames: "The Snake", "Thunderball Snake"
Logo: We see a blue streak on a black BG that moves from right to left with the text "TOUCHSTONE PICTURES". After the streak turns into a blue ball and the text is in the camera shot, the text shines through the letters from right to left and hits the ball to make the logo complete with a gold lightning bolt at the top.
Variants:
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The logo wasn't that bad when it made it debut back in the mid-1980s, but in the later years of the logo's use, the logo looked pretty cheap, and reeked of early computer graphics.
Music/Sounds: A tune that begins with synthesized bells ending in a "twang" when the circle and thunder meet. In other cases, it used the opening/closing theme of the movie, or it's silent. (On some films, such as The Color of Money and The Waterboy, the film's opening score is deliberately meant to sync up with the logo's animation.)
Availability: Common; found on many movies produced by the company during this time, and considering its long period of use. Notable films with this logo include Ed Wood, Ernest Scared Stupid, Double Take and more.
Scare Factor: None for the films that use their music for this logo, but it is elevated to low, bordering on medium, as the synth-bell theme may creep out a few, not to mention the dark and ominous nature of the logo.
4th Logo
(March 2003- )
Nickname: "CGI Golden-Light Thunderball"
Logo: This logo begins with the circle shrouded in darkness. The logo's animation starts with the light hitting the dark ball. Once the ball hits, the ''TOUCHSTONE
PICTURES'' text appears below. Compared to the previous logo, this one actually has 3D CGI.
FX/SFX: Great CGI; a notable successor to the rather simple, outdated "Snake" logo.
Cheesy Factor: None, but the music and this logo really clash with each other.
Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo. Sometimes it uses the film's music or silence.
Availability: Currently in use.
Scare Factor: Minimal for the silent and film music versions, and low to medium for the version with the 3rd logo's music.
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and Others
Editions by V of Doom, Bob Fish,and betamaxtheflyer
Video captures courtesy of Tlogos and IdentsandLogos
Background: Touchstone Pictures (formerly Touchstone Films) was established by the Walt Disney Company in 1983 to produce and distribute more adult-oriented films.
1st Logo
(March 9, 1984)
Nicknames: "Thunderball", "Thunderball of Boredom"
Logo: Just a static logo under a salmon background with navy blue text and the typical blue/navy blue thunderball.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Generally, the static logos are certainly cheap, and the background definitely is cheesy because nobody uses any shade of pink anymore.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Knowing this is the first logo, Touchstone made their first movie, Splash, in March 1984. The logo is extremely rare to find, as Splash was the only film to have this logo, and it was likely a placeholder logo. It is seen on TV airings, video prints, and recent DVD issues of the said film, however (though some late-80s issues plaster it with the early version of the "Snake" logo).
Scare Factor: None; after all, it's a placeholder.
2nd Logo
(September 1984-August 1985)
Nickname: "Thunderball Shattering Light"
Logo: It starts out as a blue ball heading for the dark background. After it heads toward the background, it flashes and turns into the typical thunderball, and the whole background lights up with Touchstone Films at the bottom in Navy Blue text.
Variant: For Touchstone releases in pan-and-scan format, as the films were originally in anamorphic widescreen, the logo was squeezed to fit the TV aspect ratio, so the circle became an oval.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The only thing cheesy about the logo is the CGI animation for the blue ball at the beginning, but other than that, it's an OK logo.
Music/Sounds: A "wind-blowing" sound followed by a "chime" during the flash part of the animation. In other cases, it's silent.
Availability: More common than the previous logo; it appeared on two films, Country and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. Recent DVD releases should keep the logo intact.
Scare Factor: Low; the sound effects used may catch a viewer unaware.
3rd Logo
(August 1985-2003)
Nicknames: "The Snake", "Thunderball Snake"
Logo: We see a blue streak on a black BG that moves from right to left with the text "TOUCHSTONE PICTURES". After the streak turns into a blue ball and the text is in the camera shot, the text shines through the letters from right to left and hits the ball to make the logo complete with a gold lightning bolt at the top.
Variants:
- For the first two years of this logo's use, 'FILMS' was seen instead of 'PICTURES'. This version appeared on My Science Project, Off Beat, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People and The Color of Money.
- There is a black and white version of the logo seen on the films Dick Tracy (1990), Ransom (1996) and Ed Wood (1994).
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The logo wasn't that bad when it made it debut back in the mid-1980s, but in the later years of the logo's use, the logo looked pretty cheap, and reeked of early computer graphics.
Music/Sounds: A tune that begins with synthesized bells ending in a "twang" when the circle and thunder meet. In other cases, it used the opening/closing theme of the movie, or it's silent. (On some films, such as The Color of Money and The Waterboy, the film's opening score is deliberately meant to sync up with the logo's animation.)
Availability: Common; found on many movies produced by the company during this time, and considering its long period of use. Notable films with this logo include Ed Wood, Ernest Scared Stupid, Double Take and more.
Scare Factor: None for the films that use their music for this logo, but it is elevated to low, bordering on medium, as the synth-bell theme may creep out a few, not to mention the dark and ominous nature of the logo.
4th Logo
(March 2003- )
Nickname: "CGI Golden-Light Thunderball"
Logo: This logo begins with the circle shrouded in darkness. The logo's animation starts with the light hitting the dark ball. Once the ball hits, the ''TOUCHSTONE
PICTURES'' text appears below. Compared to the previous logo, this one actually has 3D CGI.FX/SFX: Great CGI; a notable successor to the rather simple, outdated "Snake" logo.
Cheesy Factor: None, but the music and this logo really clash with each other.
Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo. Sometimes it uses the film's music or silence.
Availability: Currently in use.
Scare Factor: Minimal for the silent and film music versions, and low to medium for the version with the 3rd logo's music.
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, Mar 9 2010, 5:36 PM EST
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