Walt Disney Home Video (Parent Company IDs)
Written and Compiled by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, Kris Starring and Dan DeCosta

Walt Disney Home Video
1^st Logo
(1978-1987)

Nickname: "Neon Mickey"

Logo: On a black background, we see a blue outline of Mickey Mouse 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 the corporate "Disney" font sketches 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 VIDEO" in yellow zoom up and settle underneath. Last but not least, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to green.

Very early WDHV releases have the same logo with brighter colors, a different script for "Walt Disney," and the words "Home Entertainment" in lowercase under them. This is on the old tapes where the Fantasia Mickey took up half the box. This was used until 1982 or 1983.

SFX/Cheesy Factor: Early computer animation effects abound, and a terrible color scheme, too.

Music: A loud synthesized horn fanfare.

Availability: A pretty tough find. 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.

Scare Factor: Median to high, the bad quality of the graphics and the loud fanfare might not sit well with people.

2^nd Logo
(Early 1988-1998)

Nickname: "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. 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 in the "Disney" font. The words "HOME VIDEO" in red zooms forward and settles underneath. The logo "shines."

Variation: Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, and only the spark animation plays.

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

Music: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme. A few releases have the voiceover, "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video."

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

Scare Factor: None. This logo is very clean and professional.

3^rd Logo
(1993-2001)

Logo: On a black background we see the gold words
WALT DISNEY
HOME VIDEO

with "Walt Disney" in the corporate "signature" font. The words shine.

On some video releases, the logo is on a blue background.

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.

Alternate Logo #1
(1990s)

Logo: On a black background we see the blue words
WALT DISNEY
HOME VIDEO

SFX: None, this is a still logo.

Music: A lilting dreamy strings tune.

Availability: 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.

4^th Logo
(2000-2002)

Nickname: "Disney Videos"

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,

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).

Availability: Seen on assorted kid-oriented Disney videos.

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

5^th Logo
(2002-)

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 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: All modern computer graphics. The logo has an 80's "retro" feel to it, however.

Music: A short synth/orchestrational tune.

Availability: Seen on all home video releases of Walt Disney material. The "Pirates Of The Caribbean" DVD has this logo.

Scare Factor: Low

Walt Disney Classics
1^st Logo
(1984-1987)

"Walt Disney Classics" was created as a brand to release classic Disney animated features on video.

Nickname: "Cheesy 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, then flips and cycles back. Following closely behind it is the white text "THE CLASSICS" doing likewise. A black diamond zooms up from the center of the screen. "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.

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

Cheesy Factor: 80s computer SFX standards used in the flipping text and formation of the diamond.

Music: A bouncy 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 pre-1998 video release of “Lady and the Tramp.” Kinda hard to find, but it is easy if you are a hard-core Disney video collector: 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.

Availability Note: Disney Black Diamond Classic videos are now out-of-print and collectors’ items, and they are very hard to find nowadays (including ones with the 2nd logo.) They distinct from current Disney releases with the best cover art with on-model characters, and they usually have the same uniform design (the Black Diamond on the spine, for instance).

Scare Factor: Median, the moog synthesizers and cheesy animation can scare many people, but it's mostly just annoying. However it is well-liked by Disney fans.

2^nd Logo
(1988-Spring 1994)

Nickname: "Black Diamond," "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. 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 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.”

SFX: The sparks flying, the logo "shining."

Music: A majestic synthesizer fanfare.

Availability: It’s getting quite rare nowadays, as noted in the last logo. Seen on video releases of Disney animated feature films, also in clamshell cases, with the text "(A) Walt Disney(‘s) Classic" on the cover, particularly the original VHS prints of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” However the diamond print logo also shows up on the cover’s spine. The 1990s “Fantasia” and “Pinocchio” prints contain this logo on the tape, but, however, read “Walt Disney’s Masterpiece” on the cover with NO mention of Classics or Masterpiece Collection on it. This site has more info, though. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/blackdiamonds.html

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.

Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection
(Fall 1994-1999)

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

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."

SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Cheesy Factor: The music and some of the CGI elements seem a bit cheesy than its predecessor. Also, this may be a gripe, but why should they make a logo called “Masterpiece Collection?” I mean, come on! They overused the word “masterpiece” on films that weren’t really considered masterpieces, including the good-to-mediocre new Disney films of this era! The term “Masterpiece” is a very arguable word, even for Disney!

Music: A remix of the fanfare used in Disney Classics Logo #2, which is a bit more fast-paced than the original version. Sometimes an announcer will say, “And now, our feature presentation.”

Availability: Seen on VHS releases of Disney feature films in clamshell packaging with the text “A Walt Disney Masterpiece” and/or the "Masterpiece Collection" print logo on the cover, starting with “Snow White.” These videos are now out of print, though, but they may still be easy to find. In 1999, the "Masterpiece Collection" brand was dropped and all new Disney products were released with the "Walt Disney Home Video" or "Disney Videos" logo.

Scare Factor: Low, this is yet another very nicely animated logo. The remix may surprise some.

Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection
(2000)

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 3^rd 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.

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

Buena Vista Home Video
1^st Logo
(1989-1994)

Buena Vista Home Video was created in 1989 to release non-Disney related videos not covered by the other Disney units, such as concerts, documentaries, Jay Ward cartoons, and English-dubbed anime.

Nicknames: "The Castle," "Magic Kingdom"

Logo: On a black background, we see a blue stylized, segmented castle with a circular line drawn over the castle. The text

BUENA VISTA
HOME VIDEO

is seen below in blue. The logo "shines."

SFX: The logo "shining."

Cheesy Factor: Somewhat primitive CGI.

Music: A five-note chime tune.

Availability: A pretty tough find. Seen on Buena Vista Home Video releases of the time, including Andrew Solt-directed compilations like the first two volumes of "Elvis: The Great Performances."

Scare Factor: Low, the music may surprise some.

2^nd Logo
(1994-1998)

Logo: On a black background, we see the blue text

BUENA VISTA
HOME VIDEO

in the same font as the previous logo. The logo "shines" twice.

SFX: The logo "shining."

Cheesy Factor: (sigh) Cheap CGI again, plus the logo is too plain.

Music: A synthesizer tune consisting of a WHOOSH and a staccato synth chord.

Availability: Another tough find, only used for a short time, again, look for non-Disney related video releases from the period.

Scare Factor: Low, see first logo.

3^rd Logo
(1998-2002)

Logo: On a blue CGI background, a silver stylized V zooms out from a right angle, which turns out to be part of the text "Buena Vista Home Video." The logo settles on the background and "shines."

SFX: It's all just very nice CGI.

Music: A remix of the tune used in the first logo.

Availability: Common, among other non-Disney related releases, seen on English-dubbed video and DVD releases of Hayao Miyazaki-directed anime like "My Neighbor Totoro," "Princess Mononoke," and "Kiki's Delivery Service."

Scare Factor: None, this is a great logo.

4^th Logo
(2002-)

Nicknames: "The Restored Castle," "Magic Kingdom 2002," "3-D Castle"

Logo: On a blue/black gradient background, we see a blue 3D segmented castle at an angle shining, and emitting rays of light. The castle zooms out and turns to face us. As this happens, the text "Buena Vista Home Entertainment" appears in silver aligned with the castle, and thus also zooms out. An arch zooms out and places itself over the castle and the text stops at the bottom of the screen. The words shine.

SFX: Better CGI than the previous logo.

Music: A choir/orchestrational tune.

Availability: Common, appears on non-Disney or non-Touchstone videos from the parent company.

Scare Factor: Low, the choir may give some bad memories of Simitar or DIC '87, but this is the best Buena Vista Home Entertainment logo as of yet.