Walt Disney Pictures Logo Variations: An Evolution
If your family is like ours, the exploration of each new Disney film begins as soon as the “Walt Disney Pictures” (or “Disney”) logo appears. And there are squeals of delight at each new change or nuance.
Apparently, we’re not alone in that, as there’s a YouTube video on just that topic.
Shocking, I know!
YouTube’s “TheDeadlySquid” teased:
Every single variation of the Walt Disney Pictures logo, starting from 1985’s The Black Cauldron and going all the way until 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns. I was able to find some of the ones I had forgotten before much easier. Enjoy!
I’m reminded that I’m due a re-watch of John Carter (it’s better than you heard). But I digress…
The AV Club’s Gwen Ihnat wrote:
The Disney empire definitely has its fans, but devout viewer TheDeadlySquid has compiled a video that features “every single variation of the Walt Disney Pictures logo, starting from 1985’s The Black Cauldron and going all the way until 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns.” The logo usually kicks things off with the Cinderella castle—stamped with Walt Disney’s signature—and a shooting star that, in olden times, used to be a spark from Tinkerbell’s wand.
The above video shows that the Disney creators enjoyed playing with the simple logo, no matter the theme of the film—see the robotic version used for Inspector Gadget or the countrified ones for The Country Bears and Home On The Range. Sometimes the logo change focuses on color, as in the neon version before The Lizzie Maguire Movie, or sounds, like the puppy barks in the background of 101 Dalmatians II. But as time passes, the logo gets more high-tech. It lands on a Christmas ornament in Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas and turns into a doghouse-like structure for The Shaggy Dog.
The clip also notes that Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the first film to use the all-CGI intro, turning the castle into a three-dimensional, heavily detailed structure surrounded by fireworks. That version went on to appear in films like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and High School Musical 3. In 2011, The Muppets became the first all-CGI intro to change the title from Walt Disney Productions to the simpler “Disney.”
My favorites are Tomorrowland, Tron: Legacy, Incredibles 2, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (in that order):
How cool is Frank and the jetpack!?
If they could somehow replicate this at the opening of the new Tron attraction…
So unique. Love this complete re-work.
Jack Sparrow’s flag and the mermaids. Awesome. BTW: The lost lovers storyline in this movie was so cool. Sad to see it slip away.
Anyway, that’s Walt-style plussing, no? Each of them with a slight (or significant) deviation makes for a nice appetizer before the actual movie. No? And, it very much centers the Disney experience — in the parks and in the theater — in a similar space.
What’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments.