Walt Disney Classics

Walt Disney Studios Classics

Background: Walt Disney Studios Classics 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 Classics name was kept until 2007. Starting in the late 1990s, the company began producing DVDs, and in 2006, they started to release Blu-ray discs. As of 2007, it is known as "Walt Disney Studios Classics".

1st Logo (December 1978-June 25, 1986)

Nicknames: "Neon Mickey", "Evil Mickey Mouse", "Mickey the Terrible", "The Many Outlines of Mickey", "Synchronized Mickey"

Logo: Here are the two standard variants of this logo:
 * December 1978-July 1984: On a black background, we see a large light blue outline of Mickey Mouse's silhouette appearing and then panning forward, leaving a trail of multiple outlines while rotating counterclockwise on its pivot. The outlines then start to change one-by-one to dark blue. 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 golden yellow (which quickly changes to light yellow) as the words "Classics", in yellow, zoom up and settle underneath. Last but not least, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to green.
 * November 1981-June 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 "CLASSICS" in a Handel Gothic-like font.

Trivia: The rotating "Neon Mickey" is a silhouetted image of the animatronic Mickey conductor that was used in the former Walt Disney World attraction "The Mickey Mouse Revue".

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 golden yellow, the screen "flips" over to another logo, which is a still shot of "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS," 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 (the outlines stay dark blue, but the outline facing us is still light blue), and the text "The magic lives on... WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" zooms in, along with a cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey (as seen on the box). An announcer says "Now available from Walt Disney Classics".
 * On some Italian tapes, we see a light blue binder on a wooden table with the "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" print logo and the cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey on it (quite possibly the way the videos were packaged there). 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 and Where the Toys Come From. On a dark blue space background that zooms away slowly, we see "MADE FOR VIDEO!", tilted, colored orange and against some stripes. It "rolls" backward, and the title logo for the special rotates into place (on Pooh Corner, it is colored lime green; on Toys it is on a sky blue square with a red outline and the title logo written on it). "Produced for" appears below, then it fades out as the title rotates away, making room for a flying Disney Channel logo (in blue) on top and a flying Walt Disney Classics logo (in red) on the bottom, with the word "and" fading in. The music is the same as the standard logo.
 * On some, if not all, of Disney's 1978 theatrical releases, this logo appeared as a solid red Mickey with purple dashed outlines surrounding it, rotating a bit faster than the home video variant. The text "Congratulating Mickey Mouse on his 50th Birthday!", in white and in a fancy font, zooms in. After a few seconds, it zooms in towards the screen until vanishing from sight, and the top and bottom halves of the 1978 "Stripes" variant of the Buena Vista logo are wiped in over the logo, opening the film. This was seen on 1978 theatrical releases such as The Cat from Outer Space and Return to Witch Mountain (it is intact on current releases of the former).

FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.

Cheesy Factor: Just about off the scale. 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. On Buena Vista's Mickey's 50th Birthday promo, it is silent. 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 (usually VHS, but some on Betamax) with white clamshell packaging and the Sorcerer Mickey print logo on the cover. The early "Home Entertainment" variant from 1978 can be found on several early 80s tapes where the Sorcerer Mickey takes up nearly half the box (with red/orange lines in the center), but many tapes that have the "CLASSICS" variant from 1981 also use this artwork style. Later copies from 1985-1986 using the "CLASSICS" variant have a smaller Sorcerer Mickey on top of the border (surrounding the cover art). 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 1985. The original releases with this logo from 1978-1979 can be seen on MCA DiscoVision releases with a print logo featuring Mickey Mouse switching on an old videodisc player with "Walt Disney Presents" underneath, but these are even harder to find than the VHS tapes! It also showed up on the earliest prints of the Classics releases of Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, and The Sword in the Stone, but some later prints prior to October 1986 replace it with the first Walt Disney Classics logo from 1984.

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 silhouetted Mickey isn't exactly that friendly-looking, either. Medium for the "MADE FOR VIDEO!" variant, especially for those who are expecting the standard "Neon Mickey" logo. Low for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant and "Mickey's 50th Birthday" promo variant.

2nd Logo (December 6, 1984-July 24, 1985)

Logo: Against a black/blue background is the "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" text with a diamond surrounding them, and underneath it is "PRESENTS", spaced out and in a serif font.

Variant: On a black background, the above WDC logo in a very light blue is seen for a few seconds, and then it fades out and "PRESENTS" is shown for a few seconds, also in the serif font but not spaced out.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availibility: Seen on Disney's DTV series of music video collections released in the period. The variant can be seen on the 1985 Pinocchio sales pitch promotional video.

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo (October 14, 1986-November 6, 2001, January 3-January 16, 2006)

Nickname: "The Black Diamond", "Sorcerer Mickey"

Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit from 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 dark blue, and a black diamond with metallic edges fades in from a far point and begins to slowly zoom in, as “CLASSICS”, in a fancy metallic white Lo-Type font, 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:
 * Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, leaving a blank space until the spark writes out the words. This was seen on the 1990 VHS release of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
 * Sometimes, "presents" in white, or in all-caps "PRESENTS" in 3D yellow, fades in below. The "presents" version has it fading in with spark effects, while the "PRESENTS" variant has it simply fading in without sparks. On some rare occasions, this is seen blacked out or covered with a gray box on some tapes. The former variant appears on early tapes with this logo, as well as on Wonderworks episodes and several tapes of The Adventures of Spot. The 'PRESENTS' variant appears with a different font on the UK rental VHS of The Hunted.
 * 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 "CLASSICS" text will be blacked out and either "Coming to Home Video", "Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" (only seen during the "Coming to Home Video" variation on the later 1992 video reprints of 101 Dalmatians), "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/Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" variation, from 101 Dalmatians has Mark Elliot saying "Stay tuned for a preview of two new Disney classics coming to home video. Coming on videocassette this summer...", with a remix of the 1986 WDHV jingle. The "Coming to Home Video" variation later reappears on the 1992 prints of The Rescuers and Beauty and the Beast, with the 1989 Feature Presentation jingle. The Rescuers has a shortened version of the FP jingle with Mark Elliot saying "Coming soon from Walt Disney Classics", while Beauty and the Beast has both the "Coming to Home Video" variation with the full 1989 FP jingle and Brian Cummings saying "Coming from Walt Disney Classics", and the "Now on Home Video" variation, with Brian Cummings saying "Now on Walt Disney Classics."
 * On tapes released in Spanish-speaking and Italian-speaking countries, "presenta", in red, fades in below, cheaply inserted. No spark effects are seen. The same thing happens on Swedish tapes with "présenterar" and on French tapes with "présente".
 * Sometimes, just the end of the logo is shown. On the 1992 print of The Rescuers, Mark Elliot says, "And available now on videocassette..." while the 1989 FP jingle plays. On the 1992 print of So Dear to My Heart, Mark Elliot says, "Now available on videocassette..." with the same FP jingle.
 * 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. The text appears in a different font on the rental release of The Hunted.
 * Wonderworks episodes, including the 1987 VHS of Anne of Green Gables, had the tail end of this logo (with "presents") segue into the Wonderworks logo.
 * There is a variant at the end of some Disney international 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.
 * On the 1991 VHS of Three Men and a Little Lady, we see the logo with the yellow words "ALSO FROM" on top, connecting at a fast speed. During this, Brian Cummings says "Coming from Walt Disney Classics".
 * On some tapes, the Mickey part is replaced with the spark swirling around in slow-mo until the regular animation plays. This was seen on a VHS release of Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree.
 * At the end of some early 90s Disney VHS tapes from the UK such as A Walt Disney Christmas and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, there is yellow text above the logo which reads "LOOK OUT FOR FUTURE RELEASES FROM". A male voice-over says "Look out for future releases from Walt Disney Home Video."
 * In 1992, starting with 101 Dalmatians, the logo had brighter colors with the diamond in bright blue (possibly due to deterioration of the master), and the logo fades out earlier than before. Sometimes the logo begins abruptly (this mostly happened on 1992 releases.)
 * From 1986 to 1989, there is a prototype version had the background as a dark to light blue gradient, a more shiny, silver, metallic diamond, and rougher animation. This has been seen on Cinderella (retail copies only, demo tapes had the previous logo), 1992 laserdisc and demo tape of The Rescuers, the later Canadian print of The Rescuers Down Under, the later Canadian/USA print of Robin Hood (albeit off-center), early Disney Mini-Cassics titles, and other titles. It also shows up at the beginning of the videotape Fantasia: The Making of a Masterpiece (which was included as part of a "Deluxe Collectors' Edition" box set of the movie).
 * On several prints of the 1991 video release of Robin Hood, the Mickey scene is cut, and the logo starts off with the spark writing the words.
 * Another short version on the Robin Hood VHS has Brian Cummings saying, "Look for these animated Disney classics on videocassette." This is shown before a preview for The Jungle Book, which is also shown with this variant on the 1991 VHS of The Brave Little Toaster.
 * On the 1991 video release of The Rescuers Down Under, just the end of the logo is shown. There is no music and Brian Cummings says, "Don't miss this timeless Disney animated feature from Walt Disney Classics." This was shown during the beginning of The Jungle Book preview from the Robin Hood VHS.
 * The shortened version seen on Robin Hood was also seen at the beginning of a UK promo for The Great Mouse Detective (ironically, this promo was found on the 1992 UK VHS release of Robin Hood, as well as on the UK video releases of The Prince & the Pauper, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), except in this version, the 1992 variant is used. Also, at the end of the logo, an announcer says "From Walt Disney Classics", before cutting to the promo.
 * On the US version of the promo, as seen on the 1992 prints of So Dear to My Heart and The Rescuers, the end of the 1992 variant is shown (with the music from The Great Mouse Detective playing in the background) and Mark Elliot provides the voice-over.

Trivia: This logo was used in foreign countries from April 1987 to early 1995. Some of the last titles to have this logo were the Spanish-language version of Disney's Sing Along Songs: Friend Like Me, a rental tape of Man of the House from the UK, and a Brazilian VHS print of The Lion King. Also, in North America, while this logo was primarily used from 1986-1992, this became an alternate logo beginning in 1991 with the next logo until 2001, usually reserved for tapes of Disney's Sing Along Songs or releases of some television shows such as Doug. This is also an animated version of the WDC print logo from 1984 until 1995.

FX/SFX: The spark flying and writing, the logo shining. The animation was produced by Hal Miles.

Music/Sounds: A majestic, gradually rising synthesizer fanfare with a "sizzling" noise as the comet circles behind the diamond.
 * 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". This can be seen on a handful of early 90s re-releases, including Something Wicked This Way Comes and Babes in Toyland. An even rarer long version without the "dings" can be found on a few international releases.
 * Some UK tapes overlay whooshing and sparkling sounds over the music.
 * Starting with the 1992 VHS release of The Rescuers, the music became distorted and heavier on bass as the result of a video processing error.
 * A few releases that use this logo before the previews have Brian Cummings saying "Coming from Walt Disney Classics." This would be used for the short version on the 1991 video release of The Jungle Book, and for the long version on DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp and early prints of Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.
 * On some UK releases, an announcer says "A world of magic which can be yours to treasure for a lifetime, from Walt Disney Classics."
 * 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.
 * On an Australian PAL release of Pete's Dragon and on a demo VHS of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the logo is silent.

Availability: Quite common. Seen on home video releases of Disney shows such as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Disney's Sing Along Songs, Dinosaurs, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, classic Disney cartoon collections, and Walt Disney Mini Classics. Also seen on a few Classics (including Robin Hood and The Rescuers Down Under) and Masterpiece Collection (including Melody Time) 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, along with the 2006 DVD release of Disney's Sing Along Songs: You Can Fly at the beginning of the program (the 6th logo appears before the DVD previews). The variant with "presents" can be found on 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 re-release). This logo was last seen on a late 2001 re-print of Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas. Some tapes that have a smaller version of the Sorcerer Mickey packaging use this logo instead of the 1st logo, like A Tiger Walks. Earlier prints of the first 10 Masterpiece Collection titles like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Mary Poppins use this logo instead of the Masterpiece Collection logo (however, prints from early September 1994-onwards use the Masterpiece Collection logo). Also seen on prints of Disney's Favorite Stories. The high-pitched variant can be seen on the UK rental release of Hocus Pocus.

Scare Factor: Minimal; this logo is very clean and professional, compared with the predecessor. However, the deep synthesized chord at the beginning may get to some.

4th Logo (Late 1991-October 8, 2002)

Nicknames: "Boring Logo", "SHINY THING!", "Shock Gold", "The Black Diamond II"

Logo: On a black-dark blue gradient background, we see the silver words: WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS

with "WALT DiSNEY" in the corporate "signature" font and the wording "CLASSICS" in the same style as before surrounded by a black diamond with a silver outline. 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 golden tint to the diamond’s edges. The words shine.

Trivia: Like the previous logos, this is an animated version of the 1984 to 2002 Walt Disney Classics print logo.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, a dark blue-light blue gradient background would be used instead. It has been seen on the video releases of Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, The Santa Clause, A Goofy Movie, Air Bud, James and the Giant Peach, The Spirit of Mickey, and the 1994 print of Disney's Sing Along Songs: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
 * A version with the Jim Henson Video (which itself, is already a slower version of this logo's music) music was used around 1993-1998, on tapes like The Mighty Ducks.
 * On The Spirit of Mickey, only the animation fade at the beginning of the opening theme.
 * On Gordy, as well as Spot and Bill Nye the Science Guy tapes, the words are light blue and "presents" is seen below over a black background. This was seen from 1993-1997.
 * On the VHS promo for The Big Green, the background is a black-green gradient color.
 * On the "Bright Beginners" promo from 1994, the background is a sliding rainbow 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 Return to Snowy River, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken and The Rocketeer.
 * There is a silent, still variant seen at the beginning of the Jungle 2 Jungle video trailer.
 * At the beginning of the home video trailer for Doug's 1st Movie, the first note of the music is perfectly synchronized with the pixie dust and the first "shine" of the logo.
 * On the DVD release of Recess: School's Out, the music is played at a lower volume. The VHS, however, uses the 6th logo.
 * On the VHS release of Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, the logo was shown at the very end.
 * On TV spots for the VHS release of Tarzan, the logo is superimposed over a scene from the movie.

FX/SFX:The "shining", and the comet streaking...

Cheesy Factor: ...which looks like it's been recycled from the 2nd logo (and probably is). The logo is also quite simple compared to the other logos. The logo does, however, look shinier, which may impress some.

Music/Sounds: A lilting, dreamy strings tune. It sounds somewhat like the 1989 Feature Presentation Bumper from these tapes.

Availability: Fairly common. It was first seen on TV spots for the 1991 Classics release of The Rescuers Down Under. It was seen on most (non Classics/Masterpiece) Disney video/DVD releases of the era, including most (if not all) Gold Classic Collection DVDs. Some of these DVDs are still in print. Most 1998 and 1999prints of Masterpiece titles have this logo instead of the Masterpiece Collection logo, or with the Masterpiece logo, including The Black Cauldron (some later printings use the Masterpiece logo with this, while earlier ones, surprisingly enough, use the "Feature Program" version of the 1992 Black-Blue FP Bumper.). Among the last releases to use this logo were the DVD of Recess: School's Out (the VHS used the 6th logo), the first four Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets, and the 2002 DVD of Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. This logo can also be found on the 1998 printings of The Brave Little Toaster and its sequel The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.

Scare Factor: None to low. The music may turn some people off; otherwise, it's a clean (and BORING) logo.

5th Logo (January 31, 1995-June 14, 2005)

Nicknames: "Disney Classic Videotapes", "The Purple Cubes"

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 "CLASSIC VIDEOTAPES" unfolds to the right.

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 mid-2005; 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. It was last seen on a Mexican Tarzan VHS tape from 2005, which did NOT have "The Ring" logo.

Variants:
 * On tapes from the UK, the background is solid purple and the green square is white. An announcer is often heard. The logo was remade, maybe due to the purple cubes not appearing in here. This was spotted on a PAL tape of Song of the South, and many other tapes from the mid-90s right through to 2001.
 * There was also a Japanese version of this logo where the gradient background is purple/lavender.
 * A variant was seen with the gradient background being light gray/white.
 * Some German tapes have "BEGEISTERN EIN LEBEN LANG" (loosely translated, "Enthusiasm for a Lifetime") appearing below.
 * There is also a different variant on promos from Australia where the "CLASSIC VIDEOTAPES" banner is glowing in white, and there is a sparkle on the Mickey Mouse logo and on "DiSNEY, and it has darker shadows and brighter colors.
 * A rare variant has the "S" part of the "VIDEOTAPES" banner cut off, leaving only "VIDEOTAPE".
 * A different variant was spotted on a Mexican tape: the background is purple with a "DiSNEY" wallpaper. We see the Mickey Mouse balls floating around, then, many yellow pieces fall from the top of the screen and form an oval. The words "DiSNEY" and "CLASSIC VIDEOTAPES" zoom out and place themselves on the oval while the Mickey Mouse logo move to the top of the oval.

FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Cheesy Factor: The logo and animation look way too simple and cheap. The UK variant looks even cheaper than the American variant, though.

Music/Sounds: A very short orchestral rendition of the 1986 logo theme ending with an orchestral hit. On some Swedish Disney VHS tapes, there is a Swedish voice-over saying "From Walt Disney Classics, we get a fantastic world to come back to. Over and over again!" over the music. The variant with the purple background and the white square often had an announcer (see below). Sometimes, the logo is seen silent.

Music/Sounds Variants: On tapes from the UK, the logo was often used as a bumper with one of the following said by a voiceover:
 * Also available from Disney Classic Videotapes
 * Coming soon from Disney Classic Videotapes
 * Available now from Disney Classic Videotapes
 * Watch out for future releases from Disney Clasisc Videos

Availability: Seen on assorted kid-oriented Disney videos, and some DVDs (like the 2000 release of Lady and The Tramp) most of which were released outside of the U.S.

Scare Factor: None.

6th Logo (1995-March 20, 2001)

Nicknames: "The Very Boring Logo", "Blue Letters on a Black Background", "They Seriously Used This?!", "The Logo of No Animation", "Walt Dull-sney Home Video"

Logo: On a black background, we see the Persian blue words:

WALT DISNEY CLASSICS

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. In fact it looks like a placeholder for the other logos more than anything, like the first PBS logo. Arguably the worst logo on this page.

Music/Sounds: Same as the Walt Disney Classics logo from 1991-2002.

Availability: Rare. It's seen on home video releases of films co-produced by Caravan Pictures, such as The Rocketman and 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. The smaller text variant can be seen on the aforementioned Rocketman. Also seen on some trailers, including the trailer for the home video release of Inspector Gadget, which is present on the VHS of My Favorite Martian.

Scare Factor: Low, because of the 1991 logo's music, but in all seriousness, this logo is even more boring than that logo. But some people may hate it, since on some tapes released within 1995-2000, this cuts to the "Coming Soon to Videocassette" ID they used at the time, which has a high scare factor in itself.

7th Logo (July 17, 2001-February 5, 2008, August 21, 2012)

Nicknames: "The Black Diamond III", "Black Diamond in Space", "That Nostalgic Black Diamond", "Walt Disney's Black Diamond"

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 pyramid below "WALT DiSNEY", and a glowing black diamond with a yellow outline fades in besides "WALT DISNEY". When this is finished, "CLASSICS" fades in below "WALT DiSNEY" in gold and in spaced-out letters.

Variant:There is a short version of the logo which was used on several trailers and ads from August 2001-October 2007. This was also used on VHS piracy promos from 2001-2005."WALT DiSNEY" and the pyramid are already in distance. A second later, The glowing diamond fades."CLASSICS" Fades in when the diamond is fading.

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.

Music/Sounds Variant:there is a shorter version of the short synth/orchestral tune. This short version is used on the short logo. Few DVD Releases from November 2001-August 2002 have this audio plastered on the real logo.

Availability: Can be found on DVD, UMD and Blu-ray Disc releases from the era. Some are still in print. The blue blackground one is on animated movies, while the black background is reserved for live action movies (however, the black background was seen on a House Of Mouse single episode DVD, and a trailer for Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street, which is an animated release). As for VHS, this logo appeared late in the format's life and can be seen on the first Platinum Editions, as well as on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The first video to use this logo was The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart. Strangely, it also appears on the 2012 Special Edition DVD print of The Aristocats, itself a reprint from the 2008 release.

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 (November 6, 2007-)

Nicknames: "The Beautiful Disney Castle", "Taking The Walt out of Disney", "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.

Trivia: The appearance and positioning of the "DiSNEY" text would be used to replace the "WALT DiSNEY PICTURES" text on current films starting in 2011 with The Muppets, only it would appear out of the fairy dust coming out of the castle gate, instead of simply fading in.

Variants:
 * 2008- : The logo is cut-short and starts off at the part when the castle is formed. This was found on some UK DVDs before 2009 and on the bonus discs on US DVDs since 2008.
 * 2010- : The 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo is used. This first appeared, in its original version, on the 2010 Blu-ray 3D release ofA Christmas Caroland was used as a home video logo sporadically for a time afterwards; the 2011 variant became the official home video logo starting with the DVD Release of Brave. All Pixar DVD releases since Brave will use this variant. This will also be used for Pixar related movies since the DVD of planes. This will also go for most Disney DVD's Since 2013.
 * 2011-2012: The logo is still and the text is changed to "WALT DiSNEY" (in the famous script) and "STUDIOS" underneath.
 * On Blu-ray releases, there's no text on the logo at all. Just a still of the castle with the river flowing. Only appears as a screensaver.
 * There is an uncommon closing variant seen at the end of Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, Santa Buddies and Spooky Buddies where the logo reads "WALT DiSNEY STUDIOS CLASSICS".
 * There was a Christmas variant with Christmas lights decorating the castle, a darker sky and the "DiSNEY" text glowing.
 * On 3D Blu-ray releases, the text "DiSNEY" zooms while fading in. This applies to this logo and the 2011 Walt Disney Pictures logo.

FX/SFX: All modern and beautiful effects.

Music/Sounds:
 * 2007-2009: The overture from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (also used as the theme of American Masters and the Morgan Creek logo). 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."
 * 2008-: Just the end of the majestic fanfare.
 * 2011-2012: The logo is silent.
 * 2012- : The full 2006 theme.

Availability: Current. First used on the DVD and Blu-ray release of Ratatouille. Few DVD's and blu-ray releases after Ratatouille continued to use the 2001 Walt Disney Classics logo until February 6, 2008.

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 (usually due to this replacing said logo). Sometimes, it is the closing theme of the show, or none.

Availability: Rare. It 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. None for the silent version.

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Walt Disney Classics International

1st Logo (December 1981-March 1987)

Nicknames: "SHINY BLUE THING!", "Walt Disco Classics," "The Wonderful World of Disney Classics"

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. Afterward, we go to a black/dark red gradient background. The "WALT DiSNEY" text in blue zooms up from the top, then "CLASSICS", also in blue, appears below, cheaply inserted. The whole thing sparkles and glows a little bit.

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 it was released. These were found: "PRESENTA" in Spain and Italy, "präsentiert" in Germany, "presenterar" in Sweden, "præsenterer" in Denmark and "PRESENTERIANIS" in Portugal. A version including "presents" in English was announced to have appeared in tapes from Australia and the United Kingdom (and most likely New Zealand and South Africa as well).
 * On some tapes, "CLASSICS" is omitted. This variation has some clips at the end replaced by other clips. It was used on the airings of the TV series from 1981 to 1983. A version of this one has more clips and a neon Pluto head added. This one appeared on two tapes and on the 80's version of the TV series.

FX/SFX: The whole Scanimate animation... and the clips! This was originally from the US intro of the early '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 two releases and the first showings of the Walt Disney TV series. The CLASSICS-less variation's music's end is slightly different.

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 Winnie the Pooh y el árbol de miel) and Venezuelan (including The Black Hole) 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 "HOME VIDEO". (Explaining why "HOME VIDEO" is "cheaply inserted", as mentioned above.)

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.

2nd Logo (April 1982-1989)

Logo: Against a white background, we see the usual Walt Disney Classics text from before in blue, with "CLASSICS" in a Century Gothic-esque font. "distributed by" appears below in very small print. It then cuts to one of the two Roadshows 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: 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.

3rd Logo (April 1987-December 1988)

Logo: We see clips from the 1983 opening of the Disney Channel, Walt Disney anthology series and Disney films, including Fantasia, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Black Cauldron, Sleeping Beauty, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Black Hole, Dumbo, Condorman, Return to Oz, and Tron. After a brief clip of Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia, we see the 2nd domestic logo starting with the spark animation.

FX/SFX: The archive footage and spark animation.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized instrumental of "Casey Jr."

Availability: Again, only seen outside the United States and Canada, mainly in Europe (including Italy and Germany) and Australia (where Roadshow Home Video distributed tapes with this logo).

Scare Factor: Minimal to low, for those who aren't familiar with this logo and were expecting to see the 2nd domestic logo instead of this one.

4th Logo (1992-2000s)

Nicknames: "The Korean Castle", "Magic Kingdom", "Disney Logo of Korea"

Logo: On a blue background, the stylized, segmented Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty Castle appears. Through the main gate of the castle, a white ball of light forms, then extends out to form the words "WALT DiSNEY" in the familiar corporate "Disney" logo font. The words "Walt Disney Classics" in Korean appear under the logo.

Trivia: This logo is the South Korean equivalent of the 3rd logo used from 1991-2001.

FX/SFX: The "flash".

Cheesy Factor: Just like its domestic counterpart, the "flash" in the animation is rather outdated.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Available only in South Korea. It appeared at the end of Korean imports of Disney VHS tapes since 1992, then also began appearing at the beginning of Disney tapes since 1994.

Scare Factor: None.

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Walt Disney Animated Classics

Background: "Walt Disney Animated 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 discontinued and replaced with a newer series, labeled as the Walt Disney Animated Masterpiece Collection.

1st Logo (December 6, 1984-October 6, 1987)

Nicknames: "Cheesy Diamond", "Early Black Diamond", "Navy Blue Diamond", "THE CLASSICS!!!!!" "Finest American Cheddar"

Logo: On a blue background, the text "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" (with "WALT DiSNEY" in its famous “signature” font created in the early 1980s), in yellow, 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 CLASSICS" text appears, “THE ANIMATED CLASSICS”, in a rather 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 Prussian blue 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 ANIMATED CLASSICS” flips over to the top of the diamond and settles there, while "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" 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 and Alice in Wonderland, as well as later prints of the black clamshell release of The Sword in the Stone.
 * Various Portuguese tapes have the "THE ANIMATED CLASSICS" text replaced by "OS CLÁSSICOS ANIMADOS".
 * On a rare Disney promo sales tape from 1985 promoting the VHS release of Pinocchio, this logo is included as part of the program's opening sequence, with an announcer (Brian Cummings) saying "The Disney Animated Classics: Landmark animation made available for the first time from Walt Disney Classics!"

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, almost looking like it was produced on Adobe Flash (even before that medium existed!) The Portuguese variant in particular also looks incredibly cheap, since you can tell that the "OS CLÀSSICOS ANIMADOS" text is obviously plastered on top of the original "THE ANIMATED CLASSICS" text.

Music/Sounds: A bouncy, Medieval-style synth-horn fanfare with a held-out synth-flute at the end. 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 Pinocchio 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 officially 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. On black clamshell tapes of Dumbo, as well as very early prints of the black clamshell release of The Sword in the Stone and earlier prints of the mid-1986 slipcover release of Alice in Wonderland, the 1981 Neon Mickey logo shows up (the latter had the 1984 Classics logo replace the Neon Mickey logo on prints from circa late April 1986).

Scare Factor: Medium. 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, 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 "ANIMATED CLASSICS", also in red, zoom out and settle underneath "WALT DiSNEY". The logo "shines". The text may vary from a magenta color (which seems more common) to a regular red color (as in picture #1) or a vermilion color (as in the "ALSO FROM" variant picture). The diamond surrounding the borders then fades in.

Variant: Japanese tapes use a still variant for promos featuring the diamond reading "THE ANIMATED CLASSICS" on a starry sky with a thicker, more glass-like frame.

FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo.

Music/Sounds: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme with a held-out synthesized tuba note at the beginning.

Availability: Seen on 1988-1994 Disney video releases of their feature films with the text "A Walt Disney ANIMATED CLASSIC" or "Walt Disney's ANIMATED 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 WDC text) on the label like the last logo, though some later releases using an alternate sticker label instead of a white ink label (like some copies of The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book and The Rescuers Down Under). The most common Disney Classics tapes featuring this logo are Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (both with the muffled bass-heavy 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 (from before mid-December 1995) of the 1996 Masterpiece Collection release of Pocahontas. This was not found on UK releases from the early to mid-90's released under the label "Walt Disney Classics"; they just used the 3rd WDC logo, which would also be used on Classics LaserDiscs (since 1992) and Spanish-language tapes. The last video to use this logo was the 1994 Classics release of The Fox and the Hound.

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. Most people might not be able to tell the difference between the distorted and normal variants, which in that case, drops the scare factor.

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Walt Disney Cartoon Masterpiece Collection

Background: "Cartoon Masterpiece Collection" replaced the "Classics" brand in 1994, and lasted until 1999. It released some films that never made it to the Classics line (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Aristocats and The Black Cauldron, among others), 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 pinkish-gold, with the text arced a bit. As we zoom out, "CARTOON MASTERPIECE" and "COLLECTION" zoom out, with "CARTOON 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 "CARTOON 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 "CARTOON MASTERPIECE COLLECTION" on the bottom, with a small gray oval with the silver Disney Castle logo between "CARTOON 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.

Variant: Some countries have the "CARTOON MASTERPIECE COLLECTION" text of the logo written in their native language. In Australia, it is replaced with "ANIMATED CLASSICS COLLECTION." These were found: "COLECCIÓN DE DIBUJOS ANIMADOS OBRA MAESTRA" (OBRA MAESTRA in spaced-out letters) on Spanish tapes and "COLLECTION DE BANDES DESSINÉES CHEF-D'ŒUVRE" (CHEFS-D'ŒUVRE in narrow letters) on French Canadian tapes.

FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo, which seems to be a mix of computer animation and traditional animation.

Cheesy Factor: Some of the CGI elements seem a bit more cheesy than its predecessor, and the video quality does not look as good at times. After the emblem initially appears, it shifts down a tiny bit after a few seconds, right as Tinkerbell flies away.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced, synth/orchestrated remix of the 1988 Walt Disney Animated Classics jingle, accompanied by synthesized whooshes as the words fly into place.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Sometimes an announcer (who, in this case, is Beau Weaver) will say, “And now, our feature presentation”. This can be spotted on The Aristocats and Oliver & Company. The voiceover for the former is heard after the finished logo is formed, while the latter has the voiceover starting just after Tinkerbell appears.
 * A few 1995-1996 printings of the early releases like So Dear to My Heart and others used a cut-short version of the 1988 Walt Disney Animated Classics music playing underneath, and the logo shines twice at the end. This can also be found on some mid-to-late 90s releases on CAV/CLV Laserdisc (such as Peter Pan and Hercules), and on the 1998 DVD release of Mary Poppins (the only DVD to use any form of the Cartoon Masterpiece Collection logo). It was also seen on a French-Canadian VHS of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
 * The main theme is also heard under the 1996-2000 Walt Disney Company intro seen on many VHS releases of the period before the previews, as an announcer says "You can always count on something new and exciting from Disney." On 1999-2000 releases, it is replaced with the 1988 Walt Disney Animated Classics theme.

Availability: Seen on VHS releases of Disney feature films in clamshell packaging with the text “A Walt Disney ANIMATED MASTERPIECE” or "Walt Disney's ANIMATED 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 wherever used videos are sold. Strangely, the original VHS releases of The Lion King and Mulan have the logo on their spines, but not on the tapes (though it does appear on the LaserDisc release of The Lion King). Some early prints of the 1999 VHS release of Pinocchio feature this logo (presumably because the film was originally intended to be included in the line), while later prints don't. It is also absent on the 1998 release of The Little Mermaid and the 1999 release of 101 Dalmatians. 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, as well as the 1995 Spanish-language Classics release of Aladdin.

Scare Factor: None to low. The remix and fast pacing may surprise some, but this is yet another very nicely animated logo.

_______________________________________________________________ Walt Disney Mini Animated Classics

Background: "Walt Disney Mini Animated Classics" was created, due to the success of the "Black Diamond Animated Classic" series, as a brand to release Disney animated featurettes on video. It included special featurettes (both classic and contemporary) such as Ben and Me and Mickey’s Christmas Carol, excerpts from the '40s "package" Disney films such as Peter and the Wolf, Mickey and the Beanstalk 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 "ANIMATED CLASSICS" on it, in black, zooms out and plasters itself in the center below "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 three seconds.
 * On the 1990 VHS of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, the logo stays onscreen for fifteen seconds after the music is finished, then cuts to black.
 * On Latin American releases, "ANIMATED CLASSICS" is replaced with "CLÁSSICOS ANIMADOS".

FX/SFX: All the CG animation in the logo.

Music/Sounds: A bright, musical synthesizer theme with synth-organ/flute sounds throughout, which matches up with the animation in the logo.

Availability: Rare. It's seen on Disney Mini Animated 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 Classics logo on these videos. It ended with the 1993 reprints of the four Winnie the Pooh featurettes, and these videos immediately were discontinued, in favor of a newer series created in late 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 Toon Classic 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 "TOON 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 except for the 1997 Disney DVD logo and 2001 WDHE logo (The text in its corporate font).

Music/Sounds: Same as Walt Disney Home Video’s 4th logo, the lilting dreamy strings fanfare.

Availability: Very rare; it was only used for a year, and only on some VHS releases such as A Bug's Life, Mulan, Alice in Wonderland, and Toy Story, among others. Nearly all Gold Classic Collection DVDs (and other VHS releases in the line) used the 1991-2001 WDHV logo instead of this one, including releases still in print.

Scare Factor: None to low because of the 4th logo's music, but otherwise, it's pretty nice to look at, though some may still find it boring.

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Disney DVD

1st Logo (October 9, 2001-2006, 2010) Nicknames: "CGI Tinkerbell", "Pure Digital Magic"

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: A whimsical flageolet solo, followed by 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. The logo makes a surprise appearance on the Baby Einstein Discovery Kits.

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 DVD logos ever.

2nd Logo (2005-) Nicknames: 2005-2007: "CGI Tinkerbell Redux" 2007- : "Classic 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 2001 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 2005 such as Herbie: Fully Loaded, Chicken Little, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Wild, Cars, Underdog, WALL-E, Up, and Tinker Bell, among others.

Scare Factor: None; this is a very beautiful logo.

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Disney Blu-ray Disc

Background: In 2006, Walt Disney Studios Classics (then known as Walt Disney Classics) began releasing movies on Blu-ray Disc. Its first titles were The Wild, The Haunted Mansion, Glory Road, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Dinosaur, Sky High and Eight Below.

(September 19, 2006-) Nicknames: "Disney Fireworks", "CGI Disney Castle", "The Beautiful Disney Castle"

Logo: On a starry sky background, we see several colorful fireworks, in the same vein as the current Walt Disney Pictures logo, exploding. Then we see the animation of the CGI Disney castle from the movie logo, which zooms away, and "DiSNEY", in the corporate signature font, zooms out from the bottom of the screen. A few seconds later, smaller text is written near the bottom of the screen, which reads "Blu-ray Disc", then two blue boomerangs appear. The slogan "MAGIC IN HIGH DEFINITION" fades in under it.

FX/SFX: CGI animation with an animation from the current Walt Disney Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds: The sound of fireworks exploding, whistling, and cracking. At the end, there is a low synthesized chord.

Availability: Seen on Disney movies released on Blu-ray starting with The Wild and Glory Road, among others.

Scare Factor: Low to minimal. This is definitely medium for first-time viewers due to the loud fireworks.