Touchstone Pictures
Written and Compiled by Matt Williams and Kris Starring
1st Logo
(1984-1986)
Nickname: "The Shrinking Circle"
Logo: A blue screen appears, and then begins to shrink into a blue circle (on a black background), taking position near the top of the screen. The circle then "flashes" and "lightning" appears on the top-right of the circle. The background turns into a "spotlight" formation, centered on the circle. Below the logo, the words "TOUCHSTONE FILMS" fade in.
Prototype: Touchstone didn't use the real logo on Splash, Touchstone's very first movie. Instead, the logo and text were still, but the background was all salmon.
Variation: For Touchstone releases in pan-and-scan format, as the films were originally in anamorphic widescreen, the logo was squeezed to fit the TV aspect ratio, so the circle became an oval.
SFX/Cheesy Factor: The "shrinking" of the circle, the flash.
Music: A "wind-blowing" sound followed by a "chime" during the flash part of the animation.
Availability: Extinct, only used for a short period of time. The only movies with this logo were Country, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend and My Science Project. Most newer prints of those three movies, especially Splash now use the Touchstone Films variation of the 2nd logo. Look at old mom-and-pop video stores for those three movies!
Scare Factor: Low, the abrupt flash and "chimes" may catch a few off-guard.
2nd Logo
(1986-2002)
Nickname: "The Snake"
Logo: On a black screen, half of a blue "elongated" circle comes in from the right on the bottom of the screen, leaving the rest off-screen. The second half follows, followed by "TOUCHSTONE" and "PICTURES" in smaller letters under the logo to the left. When the circle is no longer elongated and is now a regular circle, yellow "electricity" flows across the text until it reaches the circle. When it reaches the circle, it flashes to reveal "lightning" on top.
Variants:
Cheesy Factor/SFX: The "flash" and the "electricity", but otherwise pretty good 2d animation.
Music: A synthesized scale of bells culminating in a twang-like sound.
Availability: Common.
Scare Factor: Minimal, the twang and flash might get to people, as well as the relatively dark level of the logo.
3rd
Logo
(2002-)
Nicknames: "Flash", "CGI Thunderball"
Logo: On a black background, we see a bright flash. The
flash begins to grow, and we begin to see that the light is
forming an object. The flash then condenses, leaving behind the
familiar gold stone as seen in logos 1 & 2. The stone glows
as it settles itself in the front of a blue/gray gradient sphere,
and the dark gray words
TOUCHSTONE
P I C T U
R E S
in a Times New Roman-like font zoom out under the logo. The text
turns silver after this.
SFX: Great CGI, a notable successor to the rather simple,
outdated "Snake" logo.
Music: Usually silent or the opening music to the movie.
On occasion though, this logo has been known to use the music
from the "Snake" logo, this was spotted on Calendar
Girls.
Availability: Even though this logo is current, this is
NOT as common as Disney has just started using this logo. The
logo appeared as a stunt on the movie The Signs, but the
logo became more prominent on post-2003 Touchstone movies (they
briefly used the previous logo during movies made in the fall of
'02).
Scare Factor: Minimal. Although the music seems quite
outdated, please see the previous logo.
Touchstone Home
Video
1st Logo
(1986-87)
Logo: At the bottom of the screen is a circle beside the words "TOUCHSTONE HOME VIDEO", all made out in 80s computer effects. The text "shimmers" twice, and at the end of the second "shimmer", the circle flashes and the lightning appears on top.
SFX/Cheesy Factor: The 80s computer effects, the "shimmer"
Music: Same as the movie logo
Availability: Rare, only seen on 1986-87 Touchstone videos.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
2nd Logo
(1988-2003)
Logo: Same as the movie logo, only "HOME VIDEO" replaces "PICTURES".
Variants:
SFX: Same as the movie logo.
Music: Again, same as the movie logo.
Availability: Common, seen on most Touchstone releases
Scare Factor: The ominous nature of the logo might get to people, as well as the twang and electricity effects.
3rd Logo
(2003-)
Logo: Same as the 2002 "Flash" movie logo, only "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "PICTURES".
SFX: Same as the movie logo.
Music: Again, same as the movie logo (aka "the Snake music").
Availability: Starting to appear on the most recent Touchstone releases
Scare Factor: The dark colors, the flash on the black background combined with the Snake music may get to some.
HOLLYWOOD
PICTURES
(1990-1999)
Nickname: "The Sphinx That Stinks" (courtesy Kevin Smith)
Logo: On a black background, a blue moon glows behind an object, as the glow line increases to reveal the object as the famous Egyptian sphinx. The light dies down to a circle behind the logo, as three lines fade in below the logo, and below them the text "HOLLYWOOD PICTURES".
Variation: There is an earlier version of the logo, where a box appears around the sphinx logo, with "HOLLYWOOD" above it and "PICTURES" below. Also adapted for Hollywood Pictures Home Video, with slightly smoother and cheesier animation and the presence of "HOME VIDEO".
SFX: The glowing of the light behind the sphinx, not much animation .
Cheesy Factor: OK, there is a major problem with this logo. That being that it has nothing to do with the name of the company! What does a sphinx, a symbol of Egypt, have to do with a company called "HOLLYWOOD PICTURES"?! It just defies logic here...
Music: An orchestral fanfare by Danny Elfman, composer of the Batman flicks.
Availability: Disney no longer produces films as "Hollywood Pictures", but this logo was used for several high-profile films during the 1990s.
Scare Factor: Very unpopular, as the concept is questionable, the animation line is minimal, and the fanfare is uninspired. However, it isn't scary.