Written and Compiled by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, Kris Starring, Dan DeCosta and Sega3dmm
Logo Pictures by Eric S., V of Doom and Others
Editions by V of Doom, Bob Fish and Mr. Logo Lord


Walt Disney Home Video/Entertainment

1st Logo
(1978-October 1986)

Standard Logos

Background: The second variant of this logo was used in foreign countries around 1981.
Nicknames: "Neon Mickey", "Evil Mickey Mouse", "Neon Mouse of Doom"

Logo: Here are the two variants of this logo:

• 1978-1984: On a black background, we see a large live-action outline of Mickey Mouse, with thin blue lights lining it on the inside, appearing and then panning forward leaving a trail of outlines while rotating counterclockwise on its pivot. The outlines then start to change one-by-one to purple. As the text "Walt Disney" in yellow in a generic script fontsketches on the screen, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to red. The outlines again one-by-one change to yellow as the words "Home Entertainment" in yellow zoom up and settle underneath. Last but not least, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to green. This is on the old tapes where the Fantasia Mickey took up half the box.
• 1981 (international); 1983-1986: Nearly the same as the 1978 version, but with darker colors and smaller Mickey graphics, the "Walt Disney" text in the corporate "Disney" font, and with "HOME VIDEO" in a Handel Gothic-like font.

Variants:

• In the original 1983 series of Disney’s "Cartoon Classics," the videos featured a different variant of this logo. The animation plays as normal (the standard 1983 "Walt Disney Home Video" variant), but without any text animation, plus the music is time-compressed. Once the Mickey outlines become yellow, the screen "flips" over to another logo, which is a still shot of "Walt Disney HOME VIDEO," with "The magic lives on…” over it. The Disney text is in its corporate font in red, while the other text is light blue. The only animation in this part is the "Walt Disney" text has glitter effects all over it, and then the text "flashes" when the "Cartoon Classics" theme begins playing, and then we fade into the intro for the video series.
• On the infamous "Walt Disney and You" promo, there is a video freeze and the text WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO along WITH a cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey (as seen on the box) zoom in. An announcer says "Now available from Walt Disney Home Video".
• On some Italian tapes, we see a blue binder on a wooden table with the WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO print logo in it and then it opens to reveal the logo's animation, and the whole thing plays as normal. This is very rare.

SFX: All the animation in the logo.

Cheesy Factor: Early computer animation effects abound (probably Scanimate), and a terrible color scheme, too. Also, the script font on the first variation is ugly with a capital UGLY, and the text on the 2nd variation zooms in very cheaply.

Music: A loud orchestral fanfare, composed by Buddy Baker. The Walt Disney and You promo had the end theme playing over the regular animation before the video freeze.

Availability: Seen on Disney videos from the period. The best way to find it is to look for a Disney video with white clamshell packaging and the "Sorcerer Mickey" print logo on the cover, which takes up almost half the box. The versions on the "Cartoon Classics" series as well as the "Walt Disney and You" promo are extremely rare.

Scare Factor: Medium to high; the bad quality of the graphics as well as the loud fanfare might not sit well with people. The intimidating, somewhat monstrous live-action Mickey isn't exactly that friendly-looking, either. Low for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant.



2nd Logo
(1986-2000)

Rare Coming to Home Video variant
(Can be seen before specific trailers)

Background: This logo was used in foreign countries around 1987-1995.

Nicknames: "Sorcerer Mickey", "The Talespin Logo", "The Dinosaurs Logo"

Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed as the Sorcerer's Apprentice under a blue spotlight and holding out his right hand. As we zoom up to his hand, a spark flies out from it, and as we zoom past, we see the spark circling and writing the words "Walt Disney", in red, and in the "Disney" font. The words "HOME VIDEO", also in red, zoom out and settles underneath. The logo "shines".
Variation:

• Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, and only the spark animation plays. Sometimes, "presents", in white, fades in below with spark effects.
• On "Disney's SAS: Collection of All-Time Favorites", the opening theme plays over the logo, which is sped up to accomodate it.
• Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, leaving a blank space until the spark writes out the words.
• Sometimes, the "HOME VIDEO" text will be blacked out and either "Coming to Home Video", "Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" (only seen on 101 Dalmatians with a remix of the 1986 WDHV jingle), "Coming This Fall to Home Video" (without music; only seen on 101 Dalmatians and The Great Mouse Detective) or "Now on Home Video" replaces it. (The "Coming to Home Video" variation has the 1991 FP jingle (The Rescuers has a shortened version of the FP jingle with Mark Elliot saying "Coming soon from Walt Disney Home Video" and Beauty and the Beast has the full 1991 FP jingle with Brian Cummings saying "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video", and the "Now on Home Video" variation, which is ONLY seen on Beauty and the Beast with the 1991 FP jingle with Brian Cummings saying "Now on Walt Disney Home Video".
• On tapes released in Spanish and Italian-speaking countries, "presenta", in red, fades in below, cheaply inserted. No spark effects are seen.

SFX: The spark flying and writing, the logo "shining."

Music: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme. A few releases that use this logo before the previews have the voiceover, "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video." A slightly remixed version of the jingle was heard around 1988-1998.

Availability: Seen on home video releases of Disney shows such as "DuckTales," "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers," "TaleSpin," “Disney Singalong Songs,” "Dinosaurs," “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” classic Disney cartoon collections, "Walt Disney Mini Classics" and "Darkwing Duck." Also seen on a few Classics and Masterpiece Collection videos before the previews.

Scare Factor: Minimal; this logo is very clean and professional.




3rd Logo
(1992-2001)

Logo: On a black background, we see the golden words:

with "Walt Disney" in the corporate "signature" font. The words shine. On some video releases, the logo is on a blue background.


Variant:

• A version with the Jim Henson Video music was only seen in 1998.
• On "Gordy", as well as "Spot" tapes, the words are blue and "presents" is seen below.

SFX: The "shining".

Music: A lilting dreamy strings tune.

Availability: Seen on most (non Classics/Masterpiece) Disney video/DVD releases of the era.

Scare Factor: None; it's a clean (and BORING) logo.



4th Logo
(1995-2000)

Logo: On a black background we see the blue words:


SFX: None, this is a still logo.

Music: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Rare. Seen on home video releases from Disney from the mid to late 90s such as releases of the shows "Bonkers," "Goof Troop," "Gargoyles," "Quack Pack," and others. Also found on assorted post-1998 VHS releases (non Classics/Masterpiece).

Scare Factor: None, it's a clean (and BORING) logo.



5th Logo
(1995-2002)

Background: Although this logo was shown in the US in 2000 only, it was used in European countries from 1995 to 2001; for example, on 1995 releases of "Pocahontas", "101 Dalmatians", "One of our Dinosaurs is Missing", on 1998 releases of "Flubber", and on some "Disney Sing Along Songs" tapes.

Nicknames: "Disney Videos", "The Purple Cubes"

Logo: On a blue/green gradient background, three black balls fall from the top of the screen and bounce off the bottom. Two of the balls form the ears of Mickey Mouse and one ball forms the head. Many purple cubes fall from above to form a rectangle. A right-slanted yellow rectangle and a green square also fall from above, the rectangle slants left and settles on the left while the green square slants right and settles on the right. The balls in the Mickey Mouse logo bounce onto the green square. The red corporate font "Disney" zooms out and settles on the yellow rectangle. Below, the rectangular green banner with white text "VIDEOS" unfolds to the right.

Variant: Sometimes, the background was purple, and the square is white. This was spotted on a PAL tape of "Song of the South".
SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Music: A very short orchestral rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" (different from the version used on the Walt Disney Pictures logo). Sometimes seen silent.

Availability: Seen on assorted kid-oriented Disney videos, most of which were released outside of the U.S.

Scare Factor: None; another very nicely animated logo from Disney.



6th Logo
(2001-2008)

Nickname: "The Ring"

Logo: We see a bright flash with the "D" from the gold text "Walt Disney" (in the familiar signature font) both of which are zooming out on a blue (or black) space background. When everything is at a comfortable distance at the top of the screen, the flash forms an abstract shining star below "Walt Disney", and the light spreads out to form a glowing arc. When this is finished, "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" fades in underneath the arc in gold.

SFX/Cheesy Factor: All modern computer graphics.

Music: A short synth/orchestrational tune. In 2006, the tune was slightly redone.

Availability: No longer current, but can be found on DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases from the era.

Scare Factor: Low; the animation and music can get to some.



7th Logo
(2008-)

Nickname: "There is Only One Disney"

Logo: We see a wall of hundreds of clips from Walt Disney Pictures, both animated and live action. One by one, the words "MOVIES", "MAGIC", and "MORE" zoom in and fade out. Then all the clips come together to form the 2006 Disney Castle. "DISNEY", in the famous script, fades in below.

SFX: Everything's modern.

Music: A majestic fanfare. Sometimes an announcer will say "From the magic within our hearts, to the adventure beyond the horizon, there is only one Disney".

Availability: Current.

Scare Factor: None.
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Walt Disney Company

(1986-2002?)

Logo: Like the Walt Disney Productions in-credit disclaimer, we see a black background with the "chryoned" in-credit disclaimer in white.

SFX: None, just an in-credit disclaimer.

Music: Same as Buena Vista Television's 1st logo.

Availability: Plasters over the Walt Disney Television "rainbow castle" logo on DuckTales videos. However, this logo is usually preserved on a Spanish print of the "Disney's Golden Classics: Pluto" VHS.

Scare Factor: Low.
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International Logo

(1981-1987)

Logo: A flash. A neon face of Mickey Mouse zooms in, then we see brief clips from Disney films and shorts such as "Steamboat Willie", "Snow White", "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", "Bambi", "Alice in Wonderland", "Zorro", "Old Yeller", "Treasure Island", "The Country Bear Jamboree", and "The Absent Minded Professor". After Donald Duck's neon head zooms in, then a wall of light appears, Mary Poppins floats down, then Tinkerbell flies up. We see a picture of a castle, neon, with fireworks, in the background. We zoom into it, then we zoom in to a vector-like rendition of Epcot. After we go to a black/dark red gradient background. the Walt Disney text zooms up from the top, then HOME VIDEO is cheaply inserted below. The whole thing sparkles.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the screen flips down like a page book.
• Sometimes, "PRESENTS" will fade in below, written in the language of the country in which is was released.
• On some tapes, HOME VIDEO is omitted.
• On two tapes, the above variation is used, but with more clips and the addition of a neon Pluto head.

SFX: The whole Scanimate animation... and the clips! This was originally from the US intro of the 80's version of The Wonderful World of Disney back when it was called, quite simply, "Walt Disney".

Music: A disco version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". Extended on only 2 releases.

Availability: Was only seen on tapes released outside the United States and Canada, usually from the UK and Europe (including Italy, as uploaded in a clip by "vannux80"), but this was spotted on a few Mexican tapes of the era, so go south of the border (or across the Atlantic) if you wish to find this logo. You might even spot an Asian tape with this logo as well (like an NTSC-format tape from Japan, or in the case of YouTube user "akhenaten1881", a PAL tape from Malaysia). You might even find it on some Roadshow Home Video-distributed tapes from Australia or an AVH-distributed tape from Argentina, or even a Nu Metro Home Entertainment-distributed tape from South Africa.

Scare Factor: Low to medium, thanks to the the loud music and in-your-face animation.
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Walt Disney Classics

Background: "Walt Disney Classics" was created as a brand to release classic Disney animated features on video, though in the early 1990s it also focused on releasing current Disney animated features to video.

1st Logo
(1984-1987)

Nicknames: "Cheesy Diamond", "Early Black Diamond"

Logo: On a blue background, the red "Disney" font text "Walt Disney Home Video" flies in circular motion from the right to the left, passing by rather close to the screen, then flips and cycles back. Following closely behind it is the white text "THE CLASSICS" doing likewise. The blue background begins to slowly take on a diamond shape. A black diamond zooms up from the center of the screen at a fast pace. "THE CLASSICS" flips its way to the top of the diamond, and "Walt Disney Home Video" flips its way to the bottom. A white diamond outline zooms out and plasters itself on the black diamond. Some tapes have a still shot of this logo.

SFX: The text "flipping," the zooming diamonds.

Cheesy Factor: Primitve 1980's computer SFX standards used in the flipping text and formation of the diamond.

Music: A bouncy Medieval-style moog synthesizer fanfare.

Availability: Has rare written all over it, only used for a short period of time. Seen mainly on old mid-80s video prints of Disney animated features including the original video releases of "Dumbo" and "Lady and the Tramp." Usually it is in clamshell packaging with the cover featuring a black flap in the lower right corner reading "The Original Animated Classic!", the back has the print version of the diamond logo, and it usually has a plain “Walt Disney’s” heading above the title as well.

Scare Factor: Medium; the moog synthesizers and in-your-face animation can scare many people, but it's mostly just annoying.



2nd Logo
(1988-1994)

Nicknames: "The Black Diamond," "The CGI Diamond," "The Diamond," "Sorcerer Mickey"

Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed as the Sorcerer's Apprentice under a blue spotlight and holding out his right hand (reused from the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video logo). As we zoom up to his hand, a spark flies out from it, and as we zoom past, we see the spark circling and starting to write words "Walt Disney" in metallic white in the "Disney" font. As this is being done, the background changes to blue, the "Walt Disney" text zooms out as a black diamond with a metallic white outline slowly zooms up and the metallic white text "CLASSICS" in a fancy font zooms out from the bottom of the screen. "Walt Disney" settles itself on top of the diamond and "CLASSICS" on the bottom. A spark flies from the left, circles behind the diamond, flies out from the top right and in front of the diamond, leaving a trail of pixie dust that changes the "Walt Disney" and "CLASSICS" to gold and adds a purple tint to the diamond outline. The logo “shines.”

Variants:

• On several prints of the 1991 video release of "Robin Hood," the Mickey scene is cut, and only the spark/diamond animation plays.
• The original 1988 prototype version seen on "Cinderella" (and later prints of "Robin Hood" and "The Rescuers Down Under") had the background as a dark-to-light blue gradient, a more shiny, metallic diamond, and rougher animation.
• In 1992, the logo had brighter colors and a slight bluish tint, and faded out earlier than it usually does.

SFX: All the animation in the logo.

Music: A majestic synthesizer fanfare. Muffled on later tapes due to a video processing error.

Availability: Rare, seen on late 1980s/early 1990s Disney video releases of their feature films with the text "(A) WALT DISNEY('S) CLASSIC" on top and the diamond print logo on the clamshell spine and the label. These videos can easily be found on eBay and used video stores. It was first used on the original "Cinderella" video release, and "The Fox and the Hound" was the last film from the Walt Disney Classics series.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the fanfare and light effects might startle some here and there, but this is one of the best home video logos ever; the music and animation mix very, very well.
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Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection

Background: "Masterpiece Collection" replaced the "Classics" brand in 1994.

(1994-1999)

Nickname: "The Emblem"

Logo: On a black background, a spark of light sketches the gold "Disney" font words "Walt Disney" in an arc formation as the screen gradually zooms away. The gold text "MASTERPIECE" zooms out from the bottom of the screen and settles underneath on the far left, followed by the gold text "COLLECTION" which settles underneath on the far right. Tinkerbell flies out from behind "MASTERPIECE," flies to the top right of the logo, and waves her wand. A flash of light and the logo is surrounded by a purple canvas with a gold, black, and white frame and a light blue circle with the "Disney Castle" logo in between the "MASTERPIECE" and "COLLECTION." Tinkerbell exits to the left of the screen, leaving a trail of pixie dust to dissolve. The logo "shines."

Variant: A few releases like "Dumbo" and others had the 1992 Walt Disney Classics jingle playing underneath and logo shines twice at the end.

SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Cheesy Factor: The music and some of the CGI elements seem a bit cheesy than its predecessor.

Music: A fast-paced remix of the fanfare used in Disney Classics Logo #2. Sometimes an announcer will say, “And now our feature presentation.” This can be spotted on "The Aristocats" and "Oliver & Company," as well as some prints of "The Black Cauldron."

Availability: Seen on VHS releases of Disney feature films in clamshell packaging with the text “(A) WALT DISNEY('S) MASTERPIECE” on front and the "Masterpiece Collection" print logo on the top of the spine (sometimes the print logo is on the front as well), starting with “Snow White” and "Dumbo" and "Robin Hood," among others. The last video released under the series was "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad." These videos are now out of print, though, but they may still be easy to find at used video stores. In 1999, the "Masterpiece Collection" brand was dropped and all new Disney products were released with the "Walt Disney Home Video" or "Walt Disney Home Entertainment" logo.

Scare Factor: Low; this is yet another very nicely animated logo.
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Walt Disney Mini Classics

Background: "Walt Disney Mini Classics" was created, due to the success of the Black Diamond Classic series, as a brand to release Disney animated featurettes on video. It included special featurettes such as "Ben and Me" and "Mickey’s Christmas Carol," excerpts from the 40s "packaged" Disney films such as "Peter and the Wolf" and "The Wind in the Willows" and the four classic Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes.

(1987-1993)

Nickname: "The Mini-Classics Shield"

Logo: On a black background, yellow neon lines begin drawing a fancy shield outline, with scrolls and more, and as the background turns blue, the words "Walt Disney" in metallic white zoom out and plaster onto the top of the shield outline, still tracing itself onscreen, and then, as the shield is finished "drawing," "MINI" in gold appears letter by letter and zooms out onto the shield. Then a gold bar with "CLASSICS" on it in black zooms out and plasters itself in the center above "MINI." Suddenly the shield outline background fills with rainbow colors as glitter effects fly from the now-completed logo, which "shines".

FX: All the animation in the logo.

Music: A bright, musical synthesizer theme, which is synchronized with the animation in the logo.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Disney Mini Classics videos from 1987 to 1993, which are in slipcover packaging, and featuring the Mini Classics print logo on top. This logo always followed the 1986 "Sorcerer Mickey" Walt Disney Home Video logo on these videos. It ended with "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too", and these videos immediately went out of print, in contrast to a newer series created in 1993 entitled "Walt Disney Favorite Stories."

Scare Factor: Minimal; this is a cute logo.
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Walt Disney Gold Classics Collection

(2000-2001)

Logo: On a blue background filled with gold glitter effects, the gold words in corporate font "Walt Disney" is seen and below it is a gold ribbon with the red words GOLD COLLECTION, separated by a red (gold outlined) circle with the Disney castle and the word "CLASSIC" below, both etched in gold. The logo "shines."

SFX: The glitter, the "shining"...

Cheesy Factor: ...which are rather cheesy CGI effects; not up to par with other recent Disney Video logos.

Music: Same as Walt Disney Home Video’s 3rd logo, the lilting dreamy strings tune.

Availability: Only used for a year, but several Disney DVD prints dating back to 2000 are still available, so it’s an easy find. A few Gold Classic Collection DVDs use the 1993 WDHV logo instead of this one.

Scare Factor: None; it’s nice to look at, but little else.
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Disney DVD

1st Logo
(2001-2006)

Nickname: "CGI Tinkerbell"

Logo: On a night-sky background, a spark shoots at the middle of the screen forming a "D". It comes again forming a "V" this time, next to the "D" and for the third time forming another "D". A curved line is drawn and "Disney" in that famous font goes on top of "DVD". The spark goes across the bottom forming "Pure Digital Magic" (in the native language of the country in which it was released) and that spark appears to be a CGI Tinkerbell whom smiles at us and takes off.

FX: All the animation in this logo.

Music: An orchestral tune, with a few "swoops" when the sparks fly in.

Availability: Seen on pre-2006 Disney DVD releases. Several of them are still in print.

Scare Factor: None.



2nd Logo
(2006- )

Nickname: "CGI Tinkerbell Redux"

Logo: Identical to the previous logo, but now we see longer animation of the "Disney" logo and current line and the "DVD" letters fly underneath at the same time, and the byline is now "Movies, Magic & More". The animation of Tinkerbell is the same.

FX: All the animation in the logo.

Music: Same as the previous logo, with more whooshing sounds added when the "DVD" letters fly in.

Availability: Current; can be seen on any Disney DVD made since 2006.

Scare Factor: None.