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Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Logo descriptions by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, Kris Starring, WileE2005, TVBRobotnik and Sega3dmm
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and others
Editions by V of Doom, Bob Fish, Mr. Logo Lord, Nathan B., UniversalxDisney172, and betamaxtheflyer
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Background: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment began its life in 1978 as Walt Disney Home Video. Prior to 1981, their first releases were only live action films such as Pete's Dragon and The Love Bug. Starting in 1981 with Dumbo, they began releasing their animated films and cartoons on video. The Walt Disney Home Video name was kept until 2001, when it was renamed as Walt Disney Home Entertainment. Starting in the late 1990's, the company began producing DVDs, and in 2006, they started to release Blu-ray Discs. As of 2008, it is known as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
1st Logo
(December 1978-June 25, 1986) 
Nicknames: "Neon Mickey", "Evil Mickey Mouse", "Mickey the Terrible", " The reason I don't want to see the beginning of the original Disney classics" "The Many Outlines of Mickey"
Logo: Here are the two standard variants of this logo:
Variants:
Trivia: The second variant of this logo was first used in foreign countries in 1981.
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Cheesy Factor: Early computer animation effects abound (probably "Scan"-imate), and a terrible color scheme, too. Also, the script font on the first variation is ugly, with a capital UGLY to boot. The text on the 2nd variation zooms in very cheaply.
Music/Sounds: A loud orchestral fanfare, composed by Buddy Baker. In 1983, the music was slightly modified. 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 top of the cover, which usually 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, since that promo was only seen between 1982 and 1984. Some tapes that have the 1981 logo have a smaller version of the Fantasia Mickey and "Walt Disney HOME VIDEO" text on the packaging, however this was used until the late 80s.
Scare Factor: Medium to NIGHTMARE; the bad quality of the "Scan"-imated graphics as well as the loud fanfare might not sit well with some people. The intimidating, somewhat monstrous CGI Mickey isn't exactly that friendly-looking, either. Low for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant. But for those who aren't afraid of it, none to minimal.
2nd Logo
(October 14, 1986-July 11, 2000)
Nickname: "Sorcerer Mickey"
Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit like on Fantasia, standing on a blue spotlight on a black background. The camera slowly begins zooming up to his hand, as the stars and crescent moon on his hat flash one-by-one, and then a magic spark flashes and appears above Mickey’s hand. We zoom past Mickey as the spark begins swirling around and begins to write “Walt Disney” in the corporate Disney font in red. As we zoom out, the words "HOME VIDEO", also in red, zoom out and settle underneath "Walt Disney". The logo "shines".
Variants:
FX/SFX: The spark flying and writing, the logo shining. The animation was produced by Hal Miles.
Music/Sounds: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme.
Availability: Quite common. Seen on home video releases of Disney shows such as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Disney's Sing Along 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 as well as the 1991 and late 1994 prints of The Brave Little Toaster. It also shows up on the 2006 DVD release of My Dog the Thief, which is most likely due to the DVD using a circa-1990s VHS tape master of the film. The variant with "presents" can be found various tapes, including the 1991 and early 1994 VHS of The Brave Little Toaster, the 1986 release of A Tiger Walks, Canine Commando, The Unsinkable Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the mid 90s Schoolhouse Rock tapes. The Mickey-less variant (without the blank space) can be seen on various early-mid 90s releases, including Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree and Frankenweenie (early-mid 1990s rerelease).
Scare Factor: Minimal; this logo is very clean and professional, compared with the predecessor. However, the deep synthesized chord at the beginning may be frightening to some.
3rd Logo (Australia)
(1982-1989)
Logo: Against a white BG, we see the usual Walt Disney Home Video text from before in blue, with "HOME VIDEO" in a Century Gothic-esque font. "distributed by" appears below in very small print. It then cuts to one of the two Roadshow Home Video logos used during the 80's. For tapes that were released from 1982-1986, the "Aussie Light Trails" logo is used; tapes from 1986-1989 used "The Other V of Doom".
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Seen on some Aussie and New Zealand PAL tapes of Disney material that was distributed through Roadshow Home Video.
Scare Factor: None by itself. However, it cuts rather jarringly to the Roadshow logo, especially when "The Other V of Doom" is used; that logo has a high scare factor in the first place.
4th Logo
(November 15, 1991-May 1, 2001)
Nickanme: "Boring Logo" "SHINY THING!"
Logo: On a black background, we see the golden words:
with "Walt Disney" in the corporate "signature" font. The words shine.
Variants:
FX/SFX:The "shining"....
Cheesy Factor: ....which looks like it's been recycled from the 2nd logo. (and probably is)
Music/Sounds: A lilting dreamy strings tune.
Availability: Fairly common. Seen on most (non Classics/Masterpiece) Disney video/DVD releases of the era. Most 1998 prints of Masterpiece titles have this logo instead of the Masterpiece Collection logo.
Scare Factor: Low, the music may turn some people off; otherwise, it's a clean (and BORING) logo.
5th Logo
(January 31, 1995-November 1, 2003)
Nicknames: "Disney Videos", "The Purple Cubes", "Cheap Logo"
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 yellow 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 text "Disney", in the corporate font, zooms out and settles on the yellow rectangle. Below, a rectangular green banner with the white word "VIDEOS" unfolds to the right.
Variant: On releases from the UK, the background is purple (so the purple cubes don't appear), and the square is white. Also, the font for ''VIDEOS'' is slightly different. This was spotted on a PAL tape of Song of the South. There was also a Japanese version of this logo where the gradiant background is purple.
Trivia: Although this logo was shown in the U.S. in 2000 only, it was used in international countries from the beginning of 1995 to circa 2003; for example, on 1995 releases of Pocahontas, 101 Dalmatians, and One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, on 1998 releases of Flubber, and on some Disney's Sing Along Songs tapes. On early releases in some countries, this logo was used concurrently with the 2nd logo, then again with the "Ring" logo on early 2000's releases until 2003 in Venezuela.
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Cheesy Factor: The logo and animation look way too simple and cheap. The European variant looks even cheaper than the American variant, though.
Music/Sounds: A very short orchestral rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" (different from the version used on the Walt Disney Pictures logo) ending with an orchestral hit. On some Swedish Disney VHS tapes, there is a Swedish V/O saying "From Walt Disney Video, we get a fantastic world to come back to. Over and over again!" over the music. The variant with the purple BG and the white square had a V/O saying ''Watch out for future releases from Disney Videos''. Sometimes, the logo is 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. However, it is annoying for those who like the older logos.
6th Logo
(August 1, 1995-March 20, 2001)
Nicknames: "The Very Boring Logo", "Blue Letters on a Black Background", "They Seriously Used This?!" "The Logo of No Animation"
Logo: On a black background, we see the blue words:
Variant: There is a variant with smaller text and a slightly different font.
FX/SFX: None.
Cheesy Factor: The whole logo looks lazy. There is no animation, and the text isn't even in the corporate font.
Music/Sounds: Same as the Walt Disney Home Video logo from 1992-2001.
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, Timon and Pumbaa and others, as well as some movies, including Inspector Gadget. Also found on assorted post-1998 VHS releases (non Classics/Masterpiece). It ended with the 2001 VHS release of Remember the Titans. A shorter version can be found at the beginning of some trailers on certain tapes.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the 1992 logo's music, but in all seriousness, this logo is even more boring than that logo. But some people may hate it, since this cuts to the Feature Presentation bumper they used at the time, which has a high scare factor in itself.
7th Logo
(October 9, 2001-April 30, 2008)
Nicknames: "The Ring", "Ring in Space"
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.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: All modern computer graphics. The logo has an 80's "retro" feel to it, however.
Music/Sounds: A short synth/orchestral tune. In 2006, the tune was modified.
Availability: Extinct on VHS, but can be found on DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases from the era. Some are still in print. The blue background one is on animated movies, while the black background is reserved for live action movies.
Scare Factor: None to low; the animation and music may get to some, but this is one of the best home video logos ever!
8th Logo
(2007- )
Nicknames: "The Beautiful Disney Castle"
Logo: We start out with clips from movies of the following order: Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, The Princess Diaries, Toy Story, WALL-E, until we reveal a wall of hundreds of clips from Walt Disney movies, both animated and live action, both old and new. One by one, the words "MOVIES", "MAGIC", and "MORE" zoom out and fade out. Then all the clips come together to form the 2006 Disney Castle. The ring gets drawn around the castle, as usual, then "Disney", in the famous script, fades in below.
Variant:
FX/SFX: All modern and beautiful effects.
Music/Sounds: The majestic American Masters fanfare. Most of the time, an announcer will say "From the magic within our hearts, to the adventure beyond the horizon, there is only one Disney." On the short variant, just the end of the majestic fanfare.
Availability: Current.
Scare Factor: None, a very beautiful logo.
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Walt Disney Company
(October 14, 1986-August 15, 2002)
Logo: Like the Walt Disney Productions in-credit text, we see a black background with the "chryoned" in-credit
disclaimer in white. Sometimes, it is superimposed over the end credits.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The theme from the Walt Disney Television "Rainbow Castle" logo. Sometimes, it is the closing theme of the show, or none.
Availability: Rare; can be seen on Disney's Sing-Along-Songs, Jiminy Cricket's Christmas, some 1990 Disney Halloween videos, and the Spanish VHS release of Walt Disney's Golden Classics: Pluto. It also plasters over the Walt Disney Television logo on the VHS releases of DuckTales, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin.
Scare Factor: Medium to High; the twinkling sound from the Buena Vista TV logo may startle you.
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Walt Disney Home Video International
(1981-1987)
Logo: A flash occurs. The face of Mickey Mouse in his then current drawing style zooms in, which quickly turns neon, 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. Donald Duck's neon head zooms in, then a wall of light appears, Mary Poppins floats down with her parasol, then Tinkerbell flies up with sparkles forming. We see a picture of a neon castle with fireworks in the background. We zoom into it, then we zoom in to a vector-like rendition of Epcot. Afterwards, we go to a black/dark red gradient background. The "Walt Disney" text zooms up from the top, then "HOME VIDEO" appears below, cheaply inserted. The whole thing sparkles.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The whole Scanimate animation... and the clips! This was originally from the US intro of the '80s version of The Wonderful World of Disney back when it was called, quite simply, Walt Disney.
Music/Sounds: A powerful disco version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". Extended on only 2 releases and the first showings of the TV series. The ''HOME VIDEO''-less variation has a slightly different end.
Availability: Was only seen on tapes released outside the United States and Canada, usually from the UK and Europe, but this was spotted on a few Mexican (including Wini Pu y el arbol de miel) and Venezuelan (including El abismo negro) 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. Also seen on the TV series mentioned, sans the "Home Video".
Scare Factor: Low to medium, thanks to the the loud music and in-your-face animation such as the neon Versions of Mickey and Donald, and the flashing effects . But if you are very familiar with the 1980s version of The Wonderful World of Disney and its intro, then it isn't much of a problem.
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Walt Disney Classics
Background: "Walt Disney Classics" (nicknamed by Disney video collectors as the “Black Diamond Classics”) was created in 1984 to release the animated features from the Disney Animated Features canon. The first release from the line was Robin Hood in 1984, and more soon followed, including Pinocchio, Dumbo, The Sword in the Stone, Alice in Wonderland, and more. In 1990, due to the wild success of The Little Mermaid, the Classics line released that film to video and began releasing the more contemporary new animated releases of the time from Disney. In 1994, after the video release of The Fox and the Hound, the Classics series was canceled and replaced with a newer series, labeled as the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection.
1st Logo
(December 6, 1984-October 6, 1987)
Nicknames: "Cheesy Diamond", "Early Black Diamond", "Navy Blue Diamond" "Flip Flip Stop Background Morph TADA!"
Logo: On a blue background, the text “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” (with “Walt Disney” in its famous “signature” font created in the early 1980s), in red, swirls in from the upper-left corner of the screen, rotating clockwise as it does so, passes by quite close to the screen, then flips and begins cycling to the lower-left corner. A few seconds after the “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” text appears, “THE CLASSICS”, in a slightly-ugly white font, also comes from the upper-left side of the screen and begins slowly spinning, too, nearly following the same path as the WDHV text does. As this happens, the background begins to slowly “morph” into a large, blurry diamond shape on a black background. A large, dark bluish-black diamond then zooms in from the center of the screen at a slightly fast pace, before stopping at a huge size. As the diamond zooms up, “THE CLASSICS” flips over to the top of the diamond and settles there, while “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” lands on the bottom of the diamond. A white, simple diamond outline zooms out and plasters itself onto the edges of the diamond.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The swirling text, the background change, the zooming diamonds.
Cheesy Factor: The “flipping” of the words and the zooming animations are outdated, even for 1984.
Music/Sounds: A bouncy, Medieval-style synth-horn fanfare. It sounds like it was produced on a Moog synthesizer.
Availability: Rare, it was only used for a short period of time. Seen on 1984-1987 video prints of Disney animated features including the original video releases of The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. Usually it is in clamshell packaging (originally in big, black, heavy clamshells with the artwork printed directly onto the case, but switching over to the lightweight, white clamshells we are familiar with today in 1986), with the cover featuring a black flap on the lower right corner reading "The Original Animated Classic!", and often has the diamond print logo on the spine (without WDHV text) and on the videotape label (with WDHV text). The last video to use this logo was Lady and the Tramp. This logo has also been spotted on some post-1987 prints, including a 1993 reprint of The Sword in the Stone, and the mid-1988 demo tape of Cinderella.
Scare Factor: Median; it may unnerve several people with its cheesy effects, in-your-face animation and Moog synthesizer music, but it is mostly annoying.
2nd Logo
(October 4, 1988-March 4, 1994, February 28, 1996)
Nicknames: "The Black Diamond", "Sorcerer Mickey II" "Hi again, Mickey!"
Logo: We start with the opening animation of the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video logo, with Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit like on Fantasia, standing on a blue spotlight on a black background. The camera slowly begins zooming up to his hand as the stars and crescent moon on his hat flash one-by-one, and then a magic spark flashes and appears above Mickey’s hand. We zoom past Mickey as the spark begins swirling around and begins to write “Walt Disney” in the corporate Disney font, except it is metallic white. As we zoom out, the background begins to change to blue, and a black diamond with metallic edges fades in from a far point and begins to slowly zoom in, as “CLASSICS”, in metallic white, begins zooming out from the bottom of the screen, before that and “Walt Disney” settle on the diamond, which has zoomed up to a comfortable distance. The edges begin to glow white, and then a magic comet swishes into view from the bottom left of the screen, circles behind the diamond, then flies out from the top right and passes in front of the diamond before flying offscreen, leaving a trail of pixie dust that changes the “Walt Disney CLASSICS” text to gold, and adds a purple tint to the diamond’s edges The logo “shines”.
Variants:
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: A majestic, gradually rising synthesizer fanfare. Starting with the 1992 VHS release of The Rescuers, the music became distorted as the result of a video processing error.
Availability: Seen on 1988-1994 Disney video releases of their feature films with the text "A Walt Disney CLASSIC" or "Walt Disney's CLASSIC" on top and the diamond print logo on the clamshell spine. The first two releases with this logo, Cinderella and Bambi, feature the diamond print logo (with WDHV text) on the label like the last logo. These videos can often be found on eBay and used video stores. The most common Disney Classics tapes featuring this logo are Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (both with the distorted music). The 1992 version of the logo with the original (clean) music only appeared on 101 Dalmatians and The Great Mouse Detective. Surprisingly, the 1989 version of this logo appears on very early printings of the 1996 Masterpiece Collection release of Pocahontas.
Scare Factor: Minimal, the distorted version of the fanfare can cause more than a few scares, but this is probably one of the best home video logos ever. The animation and music mix very well.
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Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection
Background: "Masterpiece Collection" replaced the "Classics" brand in 1994. It released some films that never made it to the Classics line (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Aristocats, The Black Cauldron), reissued many of the Disney movies that were previously released as Black Diamond Classic videos, and covered video releases of the 1994-1998 animated Disney features.
(October 28, 1994-July 13, 1999)
Nicknames: "The Emblem", "The Tinkerbell Logo"
Logo: We start on a black background, with “Walt Disney” beginning to sketch itself on screen in gold, with the text arced a bit. As we zoom out, “MASTERPIECE” and “COLLECTION” zoom out, with “MASTERPIECE” going left and “COLLECTION” going right. They then settle under the “Walt Disney” text, spaced a bit against each other. Now Tinkerbell (from Disney’s Peter Pan) comes out from behind the word “MASTERPIECE,” hovers in front for a bit as she waves her magic wand, and then a bright flash appears, and when it clears, the finished logo appears: the text is now in a purple arc (slightly shaped like the Sesame Street sign), with “Walt Disney” on top and “MASTERPIECE COLLECTION” on the bottom, with a small gray oval with the silver Disney Castle logo between "MASTERPIECE" and "COLLECTION". Tinkerbell flies off to the left of the screen, leaving a trail of pixie dust to dissolve a little slowly. The logo "shines."
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Cheesy Factor: Some of the CGI elements seem a bit more cheesy than its predecessor.
Music/Sounds: A fast-paced, synth/orchestrated remix of the 1988 Walt Disney Classics jingle. Sometimes an announcer will say, “And now, our feature presentation”. This can be spotted on The Aristocats and Oliver & Company.
Variant: A few early releases like So Dear to My Heart and others used a cut-short version of the 1988 Walt Disney Classics music (1992 variant) playing underneath, and the logo shines twice at the end. This can also be found on the 1998 DVD release of Mary Poppins (the only DVD to use any form of the Masterpiece Collection logo.)
Availability: Seen on VHS releases of Disney feature films in clamshell packaging with the text “A Walt Disney MASTERPIECE” or "Walt Disney's MASTERPIECE" on the 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 the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, 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. Strangely, the original VHS of The Lion King has the logo on its spine, but not on the tape. Some early prints of the 1999 VHS release of Pinocchio feature this logo, while later prints don't. It is also absent on the 1998 release of The Little Mermaid. It also unusually shows up on the original 1997 VHS release of Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, which is strange since it is a direct-to-video movie, and the print logo is nowhere to be found on the box. It also unusually appeared on the 1997 VHS of Old Yeller, which was part of the Film Classics Collection.
Scare Factor: None to low; the remix and fast pacing may surprise some, but 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 "package" Disney films such as Peter and the Wolf and The Wind in the Willows, and the four classic Winnie the Pooh featurettes.
(October 13, 1987-February 26, 1993)
Nickname: "The Mini-Classics Shield"
Logo: On a black background, yellow neon lines begin drawing a fancy shield outline, with scrolls and more. As the background turns blue, the words "Walt Disney", in metallic white, zoom out and plaster onto the top of the shield outline, which is still tracing itself onscreen. 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".
Variants:
FX/SFX: All the CG animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: A bright, musical synthesizer theme, which matches up with the animation in the logo.
Availability: Rare; seen on Disney Mini Classics videos from 1987 to 1993, which are in slipcover packaging, and feature the Mini Classics print logo on top. This logo usually followed the 1986 "Sorcerer Mickey" Walt Disney Home Video logo on these videos. It ended with the 1993 reprint of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, and these videos immediately went out of print, in contrast to a newer series created in 1993 entitled "Disney's Favorite Stories".
Scare Factor: Minimal; this is a cute logo with neat animation and music.
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Walt Disney Gold Classics Collection
(January 11, 2000-March 20, 2001)
Nicknames: "Disney Christmas", "It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas" , "Boring Logo Redux" "TOO MUCH GOLDEN"
Logo: On a blue background filled with gold glitter effects, the gold words "Walt Disney", in the corporate font, are seen. Below the words 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".
FX/SFX: The glitter, the "shining"...
Cheesy Factor: ...which are rather cheesy CGI effects; not up to par with other recent Disney Video logos.
Music/Sounds: Same as Walt Disney Home Video’s 4th logo, the lilting dreamy strings tune.
Availability: Although it was only used for a year, several Disney DVD prints dating back to 2000 such as Hercules and A Goofy Movie are still available, so it’s an easy find. A few Gold Classic Collection DVDs use the 1992 WDHV logo instead of this one.
Scare Factor: None to low because of the 4th logo's music, but otherwise, it's pretty nice to look at.
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Disney DVD
1st Logo
(October 9, 2001-May 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 its corporate 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, who smiles at us and takes off, leaving a trail of fairy dust that dissolves a moment later.
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Music/Sounds: 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 to minimal. This is definitely low for first-time viewers because of the swooping sound, but this is one of the best logos ever.
2nd Logo
(June 2006-)
Nicknames:
Logo: Starts with the "D" in "Disney" being formed, uncomfortably close to the screen. A spark flies by in tune with the music. When the "Disney" text is formed, it flies out, and "DVD" does so as well, one letter at a time. An explosion of pixie dust forms an arc around the text, completing the logo. More pixie dust forms a white bar with the text "Movies, Magic & More" (same as above in the native language of the country in which it was released). Tinkerbell flies up to the screen momentarily before exiting (reused from the 2002 logo). Starting in 2007, the logo was given an enhanced look, and Tinkerbell is in traditional-style 2D animation.
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: 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 such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Cars, WALL-E, and Tinker Bell, among others.
Scare Factor: None, this is a very beautiful logo.
Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and others
Editions by V of Doom, Bob Fish, Mr. Logo Lord, Nathan B., UniversalxDisney172, and betamaxtheflyer
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Background: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment began its life in 1978 as Walt Disney Home Video. Prior to 1981, their first releases were only live action films such as Pete's Dragon and The Love Bug. Starting in 1981 with Dumbo, they began releasing their animated films and cartoons on video. The Walt Disney Home Video name was kept until 2001, when it was renamed as Walt Disney Home Entertainment. Starting in the late 1990's, the company began producing DVDs, and in 2006, they started to release Blu-ray Discs. As of 2008, it is known as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
1st Logo
(December 1978-June 25, 1986)
Nicknames: "Neon Mickey", "Evil Mickey Mouse", "Mickey the Terrible", " The reason I don't want to see the beginning of the original Disney classics" "The Many Outlines of Mickey"
Logo: Here are the two standard variants of this logo:
- 1978-1984: On a black background, we see a large CGI 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 the original Disney signature script, as used on The Wonderful World of Disney) sketches on the screen in yellow, 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 mainly on the old tapes where the Fantasia Mickey took up nearly half the box.
- 1981-1986: 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:
- On 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 1981 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, which has glitter effects all over it, and then the text flashes when the Cartoon Classics theme begins playing. Then we fade into the intro for the video series.
- On the Walt Disney and You promo, there is a video freeze, and the text "Walt Disney HOME VIDEO'' zooms in, along with a cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey (as seen on the box). 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 on it. Then it opens to reveal the logo's animation, and the whole thing plays as normal. This is very rare.
- There's an even rarer variant found on Welcome to Pooh Corner: Too Smart for Strangers-- on a dark blue space background that zooms away slowly, we see "MADE FOR VIDEO!", tilted, and against some stripes. It "rolls" backward, and the title logo for the special rotates into place, colored green. "Produced for" appears below, then it fades out as the title rotates away, making room for a flying Disney Channel logo on top and a flying Walt Disney Home Video logo on the bottom, with the word "and" fading in. The music is the same as the standard logo.
Trivia: The second variant of this logo was first used in foreign countries in 1981.
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Cheesy Factor: Early computer animation effects abound (probably "Scan"-imate), and a terrible color scheme, too. Also, the script font on the first variation is ugly, with a capital UGLY to boot. The text on the 2nd variation zooms in very cheaply.
Music/Sounds: A loud orchestral fanfare, composed by Buddy Baker. In 1983, the music was slightly modified. 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 top of the cover, which usually 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, since that promo was only seen between 1982 and 1984. Some tapes that have the 1981 logo have a smaller version of the Fantasia Mickey and "Walt Disney HOME VIDEO" text on the packaging, however this was used until the late 80s.
Scare Factor: Medium to NIGHTMARE; the bad quality of the "Scan"-imated graphics as well as the loud fanfare might not sit well with some people. The intimidating, somewhat monstrous CGI Mickey isn't exactly that friendly-looking, either. Low for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant. But for those who aren't afraid of it, none to minimal.
2nd Logo
(October 14, 1986-July 11, 2000)
Middle: Standard logos
Bottom: The variants, including UK variations
Nickname: "Sorcerer Mickey"
Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit like on Fantasia, standing on a blue spotlight on a black background. The camera slowly begins zooming up to his hand, as the stars and crescent moon on his hat flash one-by-one, and then a magic spark flashes and appears above Mickey’s hand. We zoom past Mickey as the spark begins swirling around and begins to write “Walt Disney” in the corporate Disney font in red. As we zoom out, the words "HOME VIDEO", also in red, zoom out and settle underneath "Walt Disney". The logo "shines".
Variants:
- Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, and only the spark animation plays.
- Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, and starts off with the spark writing the words.
- Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, leaving a blank space until the spark writes out the words.
- Sometimes, "presents", in white or 3D red, fades in below with spark effects. On some rare occasions, this is seen blacked out or covered with a gray box on some tapes.
- On Disney's SAS: Collection of All-Time Favorites, the opening theme plays over the logo, which is sped up to accomodate it.
- Sometimes, the "HOME VIDEO" text will be blacked out and either "Coming to Home Video", "Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" (only seen on the later 1992 video reprints of 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", in the Laser font, 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-speaking and Italian-speaking countries, "presenta", in red, fades in below, cheaply inserted. No spark effects are seen.
- On some UK releases, the short version was used and shifted down in order to make room for "COMING SOON/ALSO AVAILABLE FROM". This has also been seen on the long version a couple of times as well.
- There is a variant at the end of some Disney Italian promos where the logo shines twice.
- There is a variant where the shining plays backwards after playing normally.
- Sometimes, the logo fades out earlier than usual.
- Sometimes the logo incorporates a computer-generated fade-out.
FX/SFX: The spark flying and writing, the logo shining. The animation was produced by Hal Miles.
Music/Sounds: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme.
- In its early years, the music was more synthesized.
- There is an extremely rare short version with a different synth theme which incorporates "dings" that are perfectly synchronized with the logo "sparkling".
- Some UK tapes overlay whooshing and sparkling sounds over the music.
- A few releases that use this logo before the previews have an announcer saying "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video."
- On some UK releases, an announcer says "A world of magic which can be yours to treasure for a lifetime, from Walt Disney Home Video."
- Also, on some PAL tapes, there's a high pitch that also exists. Some tapes in the UK use this version in tandem with the standard version, even on the same tape.
Availability: Quite common. Seen on home video releases of Disney shows such as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Disney's Sing Along 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 as well as the 1991 and late 1994 prints of The Brave Little Toaster. It also shows up on the 2006 DVD release of My Dog the Thief, which is most likely due to the DVD using a circa-1990s VHS tape master of the film. The variant with "presents" can be found various tapes, including the 1991 and early 1994 VHS of The Brave Little Toaster, the 1986 release of A Tiger Walks, Canine Commando, The Unsinkable Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the mid 90s Schoolhouse Rock tapes. The Mickey-less variant (without the blank space) can be seen on various early-mid 90s releases, including Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree and Frankenweenie (early-mid 1990s rerelease).
Scare Factor: Minimal; this logo is very clean and professional, compared with the predecessor. However, the deep synthesized chord at the beginning may be frightening to some.
3rd Logo (Australia)
(1982-1989)
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Seen on some Aussie and New Zealand PAL tapes of Disney material that was distributed through Roadshow Home Video.
Scare Factor: None by itself. However, it cuts rather jarringly to the Roadshow logo, especially when "The Other V of Doom" is used; that logo has a high scare factor in the first place.
4th Logo
(November 15, 1991-May 1, 2001)
Nickanme: "Boring Logo" "SHINY THING!"
Logo: On a black background, we see the golden words:
Walt Disney
HOME VIDEO
HOME VIDEO
with "Walt Disney" in the corporate "signature" font. The words shine.
Variants:
- Sometimes, a blue background would be used instead.
- A version with the Jim Henson Video music was used around 1993-1998.
- On The Spirit of Mickey, only the words fade at the beginning of the opening theme.
- On Gordy, as well as Spot tapes, the words are blue and "presents" is seen below. This was seen from 1993-1997.
- On the VHS promo for The Big Green, the background is green.
- On the "Bright Beginners" promo from 1994, the background is a red-blue gradient and ''PRESENTS'' is chyroned in below.
- There is a variation with "NOW YOU CAN OWN THESE HIT TITLES..." above in a Times New Roman Font with the 1989 FP jingle seen on 1992 re-prints such as The Rocketeer.
- There is a silent, still variant in the beginning of the Jungle 2 Jungle video trailer.
FX/SFX:The "shining"....
Cheesy Factor: ....which looks like it's been recycled from the 2nd logo. (and probably is)
Music/Sounds: A lilting dreamy strings tune.
Availability: Fairly common. Seen on most (non Classics/Masterpiece) Disney video/DVD releases of the era. Most 1998 prints of Masterpiece titles have this logo instead of the Masterpiece Collection logo.
Scare Factor: Low, the music may turn some people off; otherwise, it's a clean (and BORING) logo.
5th Logo
(January 31, 1995-November 1, 2003)
Nicknames: "Disney Videos", "The Purple Cubes", "Cheap Logo"
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 yellow 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 text "Disney", in the corporate font, zooms out and settles on the yellow rectangle. Below, a rectangular green banner with the white word "VIDEOS" unfolds to the right.
Variant: On releases from the UK, the background is purple (so the purple cubes don't appear), and the square is white. Also, the font for ''VIDEOS'' is slightly different. This was spotted on a PAL tape of Song of the South. There was also a Japanese version of this logo where the gradiant background is purple.
Trivia: Although this logo was shown in the U.S. in 2000 only, it was used in international countries from the beginning of 1995 to circa 2003; for example, on 1995 releases of Pocahontas, 101 Dalmatians, and One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, on 1998 releases of Flubber, and on some Disney's Sing Along Songs tapes. On early releases in some countries, this logo was used concurrently with the 2nd logo, then again with the "Ring" logo on early 2000's releases until 2003 in Venezuela.
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Cheesy Factor: The logo and animation look way too simple and cheap. The European variant looks even cheaper than the American variant, though.
Music/Sounds: A very short orchestral rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" (different from the version used on the Walt Disney Pictures logo) ending with an orchestral hit. On some Swedish Disney VHS tapes, there is a Swedish V/O saying "From Walt Disney Video, we get a fantastic world to come back to. Over and over again!" over the music. The variant with the purple BG and the white square had a V/O saying ''Watch out for future releases from Disney Videos''. Sometimes, the logo is 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. However, it is annoying for those who like the older logos.
6th Logo
(August 1, 1995-March 20, 2001)
Nicknames: "The Very Boring Logo", "Blue Letters on a Black Background", "They Seriously Used This?!" "The Logo of No Animation"
Logo: On a black background, we see the blue words:
WALT DISNEY
HOME VIDEO
HOME VIDEO
Variant: There is a variant with smaller text and a slightly different font.
FX/SFX: None.
Cheesy Factor: The whole logo looks lazy. There is no animation, and the text isn't even in the corporate font.
Music/Sounds: Same as the Walt Disney Home Video logo from 1992-2001.
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, Timon and Pumbaa and others, as well as some movies, including Inspector Gadget. Also found on assorted post-1998 VHS releases (non Classics/Masterpiece). It ended with the 2001 VHS release of Remember the Titans. A shorter version can be found at the beginning of some trailers on certain tapes.
Scare Factor: Low, because of the 1992 logo's music, but in all seriousness, this logo is even more boring than that logo. But some people may hate it, since this cuts to the Feature Presentation bumper they used at the time, which has a high scare factor in itself.
7th Logo
(October 9, 2001-April 30, 2008)
Nicknames: "The Ring", "Ring in Space"
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.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: All modern computer graphics. The logo has an 80's "retro" feel to it, however.
Music/Sounds: A short synth/orchestral tune. In 2006, the tune was modified.
Availability: Extinct on VHS, but can be found on DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases from the era. Some are still in print. The blue background one is on animated movies, while the black background is reserved for live action movies.
Scare Factor: None to low; the animation and music may get to some, but this is one of the best home video logos ever!
8th Logo
(2007- )
Nicknames: "The Beautiful Disney Castle"
Logo: We start out with clips from movies of the following order: Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, The Princess Diaries, Toy Story, WALL-E, until we reveal a wall of hundreds of clips from Walt Disney movies, both animated and live action, both old and new. One by one, the words "MOVIES", "MAGIC", and "MORE" zoom out and fade out. Then all the clips come together to form the 2006 Disney Castle. The ring gets drawn around the castle, as usual, then "Disney", in the famous script, fades in below.
Variant:
- On some UK DVDs, there is a shorter version, which starts off at the part when the castle is formed. Starting in 2009, this logo is cut-short and shown on all current Disney releases.
FX/SFX: All modern and beautiful effects.
Music/Sounds: The majestic American Masters fanfare. Most of the time, an announcer will say "From the magic within our hearts, to the adventure beyond the horizon, there is only one Disney." On the short variant, just the end of the majestic fanfare.
Availability: Current.
Scare Factor: None, a very beautiful logo.
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Walt Disney Company
(October 14, 1986-August 15, 2002)
Logo: Like the Walt Disney Productions in-credit text, we see a black background with the "chryoned" in-credit
disclaimer in white. Sometimes, it is superimposed over the end credits. FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The theme from the Walt Disney Television "Rainbow Castle" logo. Sometimes, it is the closing theme of the show, or none.
Availability: Rare; can be seen on Disney's Sing-Along-Songs, Jiminy Cricket's Christmas, some 1990 Disney Halloween videos, and the Spanish VHS release of Walt Disney's Golden Classics: Pluto. It also plasters over the Walt Disney Television logo on the VHS releases of DuckTales, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin.
Scare Factor: Medium to High; the twinkling sound from the Buena Vista TV logo may startle you.
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Walt Disney Home Video International
(1981-1987)
Logo: A flash occurs. The face of Mickey Mouse in his then current drawing style zooms in, which quickly turns neon, 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. Donald Duck's neon head zooms in, then a wall of light appears, Mary Poppins floats down with her parasol, then Tinkerbell flies up with sparkles forming. We see a picture of a neon castle with fireworks in the background. We zoom into it, then we zoom in to a vector-like rendition of Epcot. Afterwards, we go to a black/dark red gradient background. The "Walt Disney" text zooms up from the top, then "HOME VIDEO" appears below, cheaply inserted. The whole thing sparkles.
Variants:
- Sometimes, the screen flips down like if you were turning a page in a book.
- Sometimes, "PRESENTS" will fade in below, written in the language of the country in which is was released (e.g., "PRESENTA" in Spain and Italy, "präsentiert" in Germany, and "presenterar" in Sweden).
- On some tapes, "HOME VIDEO" is omitted. This variation also has different clips.
- On two tapes and the first airings of The Wonderful World of Disney, the above variation is used, but with more clips and the addition of a neon Pluto head.
FX/SFX: The whole Scanimate animation... and the clips! This was originally from the US intro of the '80s version of The Wonderful World of Disney back when it was called, quite simply, Walt Disney.
Music/Sounds: A powerful disco version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". Extended on only 2 releases and the first showings of the TV series. The ''HOME VIDEO''-less variation has a slightly different end.
Availability: Was only seen on tapes released outside the United States and Canada, usually from the UK and Europe, but this was spotted on a few Mexican (including Wini Pu y el arbol de miel) and Venezuelan (including El abismo negro) 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. Also seen on the TV series mentioned, sans the "Home Video".
Scare Factor: Low to medium, thanks to the the loud music and in-your-face animation such as the neon Versions of Mickey and Donald, and the flashing effects . But if you are very familiar with the 1980s version of The Wonderful World of Disney and its intro, then it isn't much of a problem.
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Walt Disney Classics
Background: "Walt Disney Classics" (nicknamed by Disney video collectors as the “Black Diamond Classics”) was created in 1984 to release the animated features from the Disney Animated Features canon. The first release from the line was Robin Hood in 1984, and more soon followed, including Pinocchio, Dumbo, The Sword in the Stone, Alice in Wonderland, and more. In 1990, due to the wild success of The Little Mermaid, the Classics line released that film to video and began releasing the more contemporary new animated releases of the time from Disney. In 1994, after the video release of The Fox and the Hound, the Classics series was canceled and replaced with a newer series, labeled as the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection.
1st Logo
(December 6, 1984-October 6, 1987)
Nicknames: "Cheesy Diamond", "Early Black Diamond", "Navy Blue Diamond" "Flip Flip Stop Background Morph TADA!"
Logo: On a blue background, the text “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” (with “Walt Disney” in its famous “signature” font created in the early 1980s), in red, swirls in from the upper-left corner of the screen, rotating clockwise as it does so, passes by quite close to the screen, then flips and begins cycling to the lower-left corner. A few seconds after the “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” text appears, “THE CLASSICS”, in a slightly-ugly white font, also comes from the upper-left side of the screen and begins slowly spinning, too, nearly following the same path as the WDHV text does. As this happens, the background begins to slowly “morph” into a large, blurry diamond shape on a black background. A large, dark bluish-black diamond then zooms in from the center of the screen at a slightly fast pace, before stopping at a huge size. As the diamond zooms up, “THE CLASSICS” flips over to the top of the diamond and settles there, while “Walt Disney HOME VIDEO” lands on the bottom of the diamond. A white, simple diamond outline zooms out and plasters itself onto the edges of the diamond.
Variants:
- On some tapes, the logo stays onscreen for an extra ten seconds before finally fading out. This was most commonly seen around 1986, including Pinocchio, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland and The Sword in the Stone.
- The 1988 Canadian print of Alice in Wonderland has this logo staying onscreen for an extra three seconds.
FX/SFX: The swirling text, the background change, the zooming diamonds.
Cheesy Factor: The “flipping” of the words and the zooming animations are outdated, even for 1984.
Music/Sounds: A bouncy, Medieval-style synth-horn fanfare. It sounds like it was produced on a Moog synthesizer.
Availability: Rare, it was only used for a short period of time. Seen on 1984-1987 video prints of Disney animated features including the original video releases of The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. Usually it is in clamshell packaging (originally in big, black, heavy clamshells with the artwork printed directly onto the case, but switching over to the lightweight, white clamshells we are familiar with today in 1986), with the cover featuring a black flap on the lower right corner reading "The Original Animated Classic!", and often has the diamond print logo on the spine (without WDHV text) and on the videotape label (with WDHV text). The last video to use this logo was Lady and the Tramp. This logo has also been spotted on some post-1987 prints, including a 1993 reprint of The Sword in the Stone, and the mid-1988 demo tape of Cinderella.
Scare Factor: Median; it may unnerve several people with its cheesy effects, in-your-face animation and Moog synthesizer music, but it is mostly annoying.
2nd Logo
(October 4, 1988-March 4, 1994, February 28, 1996)
Nicknames: "The Black Diamond", "Sorcerer Mickey II" "Hi again, Mickey!"
Logo: We start with the opening animation of the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video logo, with Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit like on Fantasia, standing on a blue spotlight on a black background. The camera slowly begins zooming up to his hand as the stars and crescent moon on his hat flash one-by-one, and then a magic spark flashes and appears above Mickey’s hand. We zoom past Mickey as the spark begins swirling around and begins to write “Walt Disney” in the corporate Disney font, except it is metallic white. As we zoom out, the background begins to change to blue, and a black diamond with metallic edges fades in from a far point and begins to slowly zoom in, as “CLASSICS”, in metallic white, begins zooming out from the bottom of the screen, before that and “Walt Disney” settle on the diamond, which has zoomed up to a comfortable distance. The edges begin to glow white, and then a magic comet swishes into view from the bottom left of the screen, circles behind the diamond, then flies out from the top right and passes in front of the diamond before flying offscreen, leaving a trail of pixie dust that changes the “Walt Disney CLASSICS” text to gold, and adds a purple tint to the diamond’s edges The logo “shines”.
Variants:
- In 1992, starting with 101 Dalmatians, the logo had brighter colors with the diamond a bluish tint, and the logo fades out earlier than before. Sometimes the logo begins abruptly.
- On several prints of the 1991 video release of Robin Hood, the Mickey scene is cut, and only the spark/diamond animation plays. Before a preview of The Jungle Book, this version is shown with an announcer who says, "Look for these animated Disney classics on videocassette"
- The original 1988 prototype version seen on Cinderella (retail copies only, demo tapes had the previous logo) had the background as a dark to light blue gradient, a more shiny, metallic diamond, and rougher animation. This has also been seen on the 1992 laserdisc of The Rescuers , the later Canadian print of The Rescuers Down Under, and the later Canadian/USA print of Robin Hood ( albeit off center)
- On the 1991 video release of The Rescuers Down Under and at the beginning of a UK promo for The Great Mouse Detective, just the end of the logo is shown. On the UK promo mentioned, an announcer says "From Walt Disney Home Video" as the soundtrack for The Great Mouse Detective plays. On the 1991 video release mentioned, there is no music and an announcer says, "Don't miss this timeless Disney classic from Walt Disney Home Video"
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: A majestic, gradually rising synthesizer fanfare. Starting with the 1992 VHS release of The Rescuers, the music became distorted as the result of a video processing error.
Availability: Seen on 1988-1994 Disney video releases of their feature films with the text "A Walt Disney CLASSIC" or "Walt Disney's CLASSIC" on top and the diamond print logo on the clamshell spine. The first two releases with this logo, Cinderella and Bambi, feature the diamond print logo (with WDHV text) on the label like the last logo. These videos can often be found on eBay and used video stores. The most common Disney Classics tapes featuring this logo are Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (both with the distorted music). The 1992 version of the logo with the original (clean) music only appeared on 101 Dalmatians and The Great Mouse Detective. Surprisingly, the 1989 version of this logo appears on very early printings of the 1996 Masterpiece Collection release of Pocahontas.
Scare Factor: Minimal, the distorted version of the fanfare can cause more than a few scares, but this is probably one of the best home video logos ever. The animation and music mix very well.
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Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection
Background: "Masterpiece Collection" replaced the "Classics" brand in 1994. It released some films that never made it to the Classics line (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Aristocats, The Black Cauldron), reissued many of the Disney movies that were previously released as Black Diamond Classic videos, and covered video releases of the 1994-1998 animated Disney features.
(October 28, 1994-July 13, 1999)
Nicknames: "The Emblem", "The Tinkerbell Logo"
Logo: We start on a black background, with “Walt Disney” beginning to sketch itself on screen in gold, with the text arced a bit. As we zoom out, “MASTERPIECE” and “COLLECTION” zoom out, with “MASTERPIECE” going left and “COLLECTION” going right. They then settle under the “Walt Disney” text, spaced a bit against each other. Now Tinkerbell (from Disney’s Peter Pan) comes out from behind the word “MASTERPIECE,” hovers in front for a bit as she waves her magic wand, and then a bright flash appears, and when it clears, the finished logo appears: the text is now in a purple arc (slightly shaped like the Sesame Street sign), with “Walt Disney” on top and “MASTERPIECE COLLECTION” on the bottom, with a small gray oval with the silver Disney Castle logo between "MASTERPIECE" and "COLLECTION". Tinkerbell flies off to the left of the screen, leaving a trail of pixie dust to dissolve a little slowly. The logo "shines."
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Cheesy Factor: Some of the CGI elements seem a bit more cheesy than its predecessor.
Music/Sounds: A fast-paced, synth/orchestrated remix of the 1988 Walt Disney Classics jingle. Sometimes an announcer will say, “And now, our feature presentation”. This can be spotted on The Aristocats and Oliver & Company.
Variant: A few early releases like So Dear to My Heart and others used a cut-short version of the 1988 Walt Disney Classics music (1992 variant) playing underneath, and the logo shines twice at the end. This can also be found on the 1998 DVD release of Mary Poppins (the only DVD to use any form of the Masterpiece Collection logo.)
Availability: Seen on VHS releases of Disney feature films in clamshell packaging with the text “A Walt Disney MASTERPIECE” or "Walt Disney's MASTERPIECE" on the 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 the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, 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. Strangely, the original VHS of The Lion King has the logo on its spine, but not on the tape. Some early prints of the 1999 VHS release of Pinocchio feature this logo, while later prints don't. It is also absent on the 1998 release of The Little Mermaid. It also unusually shows up on the original 1997 VHS release of Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, which is strange since it is a direct-to-video movie, and the print logo is nowhere to be found on the box. It also unusually appeared on the 1997 VHS of Old Yeller, which was part of the Film Classics Collection.
Scare Factor: None to low; the remix and fast pacing may surprise some, but 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 "package" Disney films such as Peter and the Wolf and The Wind in the Willows, and the four classic Winnie the Pooh featurettes.
(October 13, 1987-February 26, 1993)
Nickname: "The Mini-Classics Shield"
Logo: On a black background, yellow neon lines begin drawing a fancy shield outline, with scrolls and more. As the background turns blue, the words "Walt Disney", in metallic white, zoom out and plaster onto the top of the shield outline, which is still tracing itself onscreen. 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".
Variants:
- Later versions have stars added to the blue blackground.
- Some videotapes have the logo staying onscreen for an extra ten seconds.
FX/SFX: All the CG animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: A bright, musical synthesizer theme, which matches up with the animation in the logo.
Availability: Rare; seen on Disney Mini Classics videos from 1987 to 1993, which are in slipcover packaging, and feature the Mini Classics print logo on top. This logo usually followed the 1986 "Sorcerer Mickey" Walt Disney Home Video logo on these videos. It ended with the 1993 reprint of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, and these videos immediately went out of print, in contrast to a newer series created in 1993 entitled "Disney's Favorite Stories".
Scare Factor: Minimal; this is a cute logo with neat animation and music.
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Walt Disney Gold Classics Collection
(January 11, 2000-March 20, 2001)
Nicknames: "Disney Christmas", "It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas" , "Boring Logo Redux" "TOO MUCH GOLDEN"
Logo: On a blue background filled with gold glitter effects, the gold words "Walt Disney", in the corporate font, are seen. Below the words 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".
FX/SFX: The glitter, the "shining"...
Cheesy Factor: ...which are rather cheesy CGI effects; not up to par with other recent Disney Video logos.
Music/Sounds: Same as Walt Disney Home Video’s 4th logo, the lilting dreamy strings tune.
Availability: Although it was only used for a year, several Disney DVD prints dating back to 2000 such as Hercules and A Goofy Movie are still available, so it’s an easy find. A few Gold Classic Collection DVDs use the 1992 WDHV logo instead of this one.
Scare Factor: None to low because of the 4th logo's music, but otherwise, it's pretty nice to look at.
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Disney DVD
1st Logo
(October 9, 2001-May 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 its corporate 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, who smiles at us and takes off, leaving a trail of fairy dust that dissolves a moment later.
FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.
Music/Sounds: 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 to minimal. This is definitely low for first-time viewers because of the swooping sound, but this is one of the best logos ever.
2nd Logo
(June 2006-)
Nicknames:
- 2006-2007: "CGI Tinkerbell Redux"
- 2007- : "2-D Tinkerbell"
Logo: Starts with the "D" in "Disney" being formed, uncomfortably close to the screen. A spark flies by in tune with the music. When the "Disney" text is formed, it flies out, and "DVD" does so as well, one letter at a time. An explosion of pixie dust forms an arc around the text, completing the logo. More pixie dust forms a white bar with the text "Movies, Magic & More" (same as above in the native language of the country in which it was released). Tinkerbell flies up to the screen momentarily before exiting (reused from the 2002 logo). Starting in 2007, the logo was given an enhanced look, and Tinkerbell is in traditional-style 2D animation.
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.
Music/Sounds: 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 such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Cars, WALL-E, and Tinker Bell, among others.
Scare Factor: None, this is a very beautiful logo.
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Latest page update: made by DaffyDuckScrewball
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Keyword tags:
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| CNViewer2006 | Silent version of 90s logo | 0 | Monday, 2:51 AM EDT by CNViewer2006 | ||
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Thread started: Monday, 2:51 AM EDT
Watch
I remember seeing a silent version of the 90s WDHV logo on my DVD of "Air Bud".
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| johnkentthomas | Walt Disney Home Video 1991 | 0 | Aug 2 2010, 6:19 PM EDT by johnkentthomas | ||
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Thread started: Aug 2 2010, 6:19 PM EDT
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That's It
1
out of
1 found this valuable.
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| MrServoRetro | Another Variation for the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video Logo | 0 | May 31 2010, 5:19 PM EDT by MrServoRetro | ||
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Thread started: May 31 2010, 5:19 PM EDT
Watch
On the 1988 release of "Something Wicked This Way Comes", an alternate jingle is played, as well as the logo starting with a brief but fast animation of the spark. The logo shines twice afterwards.
Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04znX7Sf9zM
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