Logo Joke: Difference between revisions

Line 4:

Some studios have [[Vanity Plate|vanity plates]] that are [[Iconic Logo|recognized everywhere]]. The moment you see a ring of stars swirling into place above a serene-looking mountain, for example, you know you're looking at a [[Paramount]] production. That little kid who tosses a fishing line into the water while sitting in the crook of the moon is instantly recognizable as [[DreamWorks]]. Such logos, once they climb to a certain point of universal recognition (no pun intended for those people who are watching a globe spin on their movie screens), are a sure fire form of brand name recognition.

Every once in a while, though, a creator will have fun with it. The [[Vanity Plate]] will be changed in some way, just enough to put a new spin on it. [[Match Cut~~|Match Cuts~~]] are also a common form of this.

Every once in a while, though, a creator will have fun with it. The [[Vanity Plate]] will be changed in some way, just enough to put a new spin on it. [[Match Cut]]s are also a common form of this.

A very specific type of inside joke. A subtrope of [[Special Edition Title]]. More examples in the IMDb's [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/CrazyCredits/ Crazy Credits] section, or at the [http://www.closinglogos.com/page/Logo+Variations Closing Logos Group Wiki]

Line 141:

== MTM Productions/Enterprises ==

{{quote|Mary Tyler Moore's film company, MTM, uses a logo that is a parody of the MGM logo, using a meowing [[Cute Kitten|kitten]] (owned by Moore and named "Mimsie") instead of a roaring lion. (Sometimes Mimsie is shown as a still image, as seen on ''[[Lou Grant]]'', ''Paris'', the theatrical release ''Just Between Friends'' and the pilot for ''Three For The Road''). MTM has used variations of its own logo for various shows produced by them over the years.}}

* For [[Christmas Episode~~|Christmas Episodes~~]], such as those on ''[[The Bob Newhart Show]]'', Mimsie was shown encircled by a Christmas wreath in place of the usual gold ribbon.

* For [[Christmas Episode]]s, such as those on ''[[The Bob Newhart Show]]'', Mimsie was shown encircled by a Christmas wreath in place of the usual gold ribbon.

** BUT, the original ribbon appears for a split-second, possibly due to an editing error.

* At the end of the "Put on a Happy Face" episode of ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'', Mary Tyler Moore herself appeared in place of Mimsie and mouthed the words "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"

Line 150:

* ''The Graham Kerr Show'': As befits a [[Cooking Show]], the kitten wore a chef's hat.

* Similarly, on ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'', the kitten wore a policeman's hat.

* ''[[Newhart]]'': Bob Newhart's voice says "Meow" ~~-- except~~ for the first episode, where she meows normally, and the last episode, where Darryl and Darryl scream "QUIET!".

* ''[[Newhart]]'': Bob Newhart's voice says "Meow"—except for the first episode, where she meows normally, and the last episode, where Darryl and Darryl scream "QUIET!".

* ''The New WKRP in Cincinnati'': Instead of a meow, you hear Les Nessman saying "Ooooh!". There is no sight of a [[YouTube]] video with this variant, yet.

* For ''[[Remington Steele]]'' the cat wears a [[Sherlock Holmes]] deerstalker cap and has a meerschaum pipe in its mouth; when it meows, the pipe falls and lands in front of the word "Productions".

Line 189:

** And there's the gag before the fade, as the mountain itself is not of the contemporary design: all Indy movies use the one from the 1950s.

* ''[[Team America: World Police]]:'' The Paramount logo animation runs backward.

* In ''[[Coming to America]]'', the camera zooms in to the ~~mountain -- and~~ then ''over'' it, until it reaches the fictional African country.

* In ''[[Coming to America]]'', the camera zooms in to the mountain—and then ''over'' it, until it reaches the fictional African country.

* In ''[[South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut]]'', the mountain changes into a construction-paper mountain in the skyline of South Park, Colorado.

** This one was ruined when Warner Bros. took over the European distribution of the film.

Line 360:

* In the Lakeshore Entertainment title card for ''[[Underworld (film)|Underworld]]'', the normally sunlit sky turns dark, and a full moon comes out.

* ''[[National Treasure]]'', The [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] production company had lightning striking a tree as its logo. The thunder sounds accompanying the logo faded into the thunder sounds of the storm in the first scene.

** Even the "single bolt of lightning" is a reference in itself. The original logo was two lightning bolts striking in the same place from different parts of the ~~screen -- being~~ the logo for Don Simpson ''and'' Jerry Bruckheimer's company. After Don Simpson's death, Bruckheimer altered the logo to the single bolt of lightning it presently is.

** Even the "single bolt of lightning" is a reference in itself. The original logo was two lightning bolts striking in the same place from different parts of the screen—being the logo for Don Simpson ''and'' Jerry Bruckheimer's company. After Don Simpson's death, Bruckheimer altered the logo to the single bolt of lightning it presently is.

** Two other Bruckheimer Productions logo jokes: Hurely from ''[[G-Force]]'' runs on the road and flees offscreen when the lighting strikes, and before ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]'' the lighting bolts make the same sound that the Tesla coil lighting makes in the film.

** For ''[[Gone in Sixty Seconds]]'', after the logo frames the lightning tree road, it zooms through the frame and resumes running up the road.

** ''[[Déjà Vu (film)|Deja Vu]]'' has the normal strike, then it rewinds and strikes again.

* Another [[ITV]] company who went along with the [[Logo Joke]] idea was Yorkshire Television - perhaps the best remembered example was their chevron logo zooming off like a firework in the titles to game show ''3-2-1''.

* Another [[ITV]] company who went along with the Logo Joke idea was Yorkshire Television - perhaps the best remembered example was their chevron logo zooming off like a firework in the titles to game show ''3-2-1''.

* Early editions of ''[[Tiswas]]'' featured the ATV logo running backward. It was eventually stopped.

* LWT's adaptation of ''[[Just William]]'' featured the titular character smashing the logo with a catpult after it had formed up. The endboard after the credits rolled showed it being held together with duct tape.

Line 378:

* At the start of the 2nd series of the original ''[[Life On Mars]]'', [[BBC|BBC1]] replaced its usual idents with a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIOGuLXtwno&feature=related recreation of the mirror-globe ident] used in the early '70s (the show's setting). BBC Wales opted out of this, choosing instead to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PceKfRb4Vc&feature=related use their actual model], replete with [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|bilingual Cymru/Wales branding, and an original BBC Wales announcer]].

** Promos for the American ''Life On Mars'' featured a 1970s ABC logo and an Ernie Anderson soundalike.

* The [[Marvel Comics]] "Flipping Pages" logo changes with each film, with the pages shown being altered to the series the film is based ~~on -- So~~ the [[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] films featured images from the [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] comics, and so on. Some films, such as [[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]] also alter the color of the Marvel logo from the traditional red to a color more suited to the series.

* The [[Marvel Comics]] "Flipping Pages" logo changes with each film, with the pages shown being altered to the series the film is based on—So the [[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] films featured images from the [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] comics, and so on. Some films, such as [[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]] also alter the color of the Marvel logo from the traditional red to a color more suited to the series.

* In a movie-oriented skit, ''[[Monty Python]]'' did a Terry Gilliam animated logo for "20th Century Vole" pictures, with a small furry rodent rising into the MGM crest with a squeak.

** In ''And Now For Something Completely Different'', it got changed to "20th Century Frog" along with a croaking frog in the crest. Either done because it sounded better or because it was assumed [[Viewers are Morons|international moviegoers wouldn't know what a vole is]].