Alliance Atlantis

Credits

Descriptions by
MiaFan2010, Nicholas Aczel and Sean Beard

Captures by
Eric S., V of Doom, Subzero917, Pygmalion X and TheRealMarcel2000

Editions by
TheRealMarcel2000, Henrynguye5 and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
EnormousRat, Broken Saw, ClosingLogosHD and others

Background

Alliance Atlantis was founded in 1998 as a merger of Alliance Entertainment Corporation and Atlantis Communications, which were founded in 1984 and 1978, respectively. The company operated both an English and French-Canadian division, the latter under the name "Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm" (formerly "Vivafilm Ltée").

Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs in 2007. The company's specialty television services were sold to Canwest in 2008 (absorbed into Shaw Media in 2010, then Corus Entertainment in 2016), while its international operations were transferred to Echo Bridge Entertainment. The movie business was relaunched independently as Alliance Films, which was eventually acquired by Entertainment One six years later. However, the Alliance brand name survived in the form of Alliance Cinemas until 2021, when it was rebranded into Cineplex Entertainment.

1st Logo (placeholder logo) (October 1998-December 1, 1999)

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Visuals: On a black background, the words "ALLIANCE" and "ATLANTIS" in Times New Roman font rotate and fold into view while spreading apart from each other. A red line draws in, giving off a red glow on the text before dying down.

Variants:

• A filmed variant exists where the line doesn't give off a glow on the text.
• On TV shows, the logo is usually abridged and has the URL addresses "www.atlantis.ca" or "www.allianceatlantis.com" appear under the logo.
• An early version is said to exist where the logo just had "ATLANTIS" with no red line, but there's no video proof currently online yet, as the video said to have it is long deleted, and the only photo is a doctored recreation. This was said to have been used mid-Season 4 of the 1995 revival of The Outer Limits. The rest of the season used a sped-up variant.
• On eXistenZ, the logo and music are in slow-motion; it's also shot on film instead of video.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A brass fanfare, with a reversed cymbal clash and a timpani hit when the line came into view. Composed by Sylvain Jacob.

Audio Variant: Otherwise, none.

Availability: This was a placeholder logo and was mostly used on television shows.

• It appeared on later episodes of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, the final season of Beast Wars: Transformers, the first season of The Famous Jett Jackson, NightMan, the fifth season of the 1995 version of The Outer Limits (kept on Comet) and the 1999 film eXistenZ among others.

2nd Logo (1999-2000)

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Visuals: Same as the 1991 Alliance logo, but with the word "A T L A N T I S" appearing below "A L L I A N C E".

Variant: On French-language theatrical films, "V I V A F I L M" appears under the rest of the text.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The audio from the 1991 Alliance logo, composed by Sylvain Jacob.

Availability: Seen on Canadian prints of some movies.

• Examples include the 1999 Canadian VHS Releases of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, the 2000 Canadian VHS release of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and is also said to have been found on the 1999 Canadian VHS release of The Care Bears Adventures in Wonderland.
• It may also appear on some Alliance Atlantis distributed DVDs such as Friday.
• The logo shows up on FilmRise's print of Frostfire.

3rd Logo (November 6, 1999-2005)

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Visuals: There is a cloudy gray sky with snow-capped mountains, panning southwest to a batch of clear gemstones below, complete with rainbow lights reflecting off them. Two of the gemstones streak into the air, positioning themselves to the shape of a long isosceles triangle, in a nod to the Alliance logo. The image fades into the boomerang-shaped Alliance "Metallic A" but with the bottom left gold and the top right black. The text "A L L I A N C E A T L A N T I S" in Wide Latin is seen below. A spark flies from the bottom to the top, as flashes of lightning can be seen in the clouds.

Variants:

• This logo exists in many screen sizes: 4:3, 16:9, scope, or open-matte.
• A shorter version exists where the "Gold-Black A" and the name are already seen and bigger.
• The company's website address "www.allianceatlantis.com" is sometimes below the name, mostly in the short version.
• On French-language theatrical films, the word "V I V A F I L M" in the same font appears under the rest of the text.
• An early filmed variant exists, where the colors are darker, and the final result looks a little more realistic.
• Later films had a legal disclaimer appear below the logo (accompanied by an asterisk above the registered trademark symbol next to the logo).
• A middle-length version exists, which starts in the middle of the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral tune. It is composed by Robert Duncan and Lou Natale.

Audio Trivia: The music samples "Glorious Finale" by Peter Siedlaczek from the Orchestral Colors library, which can be found on a bundle called the Complete Orchestral Collection, which was also sampled by Tyne Tees Television for their 1996 Channel 3 North East logo and the 1998 TTTV ident, respectively, and by Fox Movie Channel (now FXM) for its 2000-2005 music package.

Audio Variants:

• An alternative fanfare exists on some films where some of the music is replaced with a few reverberating notes in different pitches.
• On the filmed variant, an early version of the fanfare exists where some sound effects, like the formation of the "A," are louder.
• On the short version, the standard fanfare is shortened and sounds more audibly combined with the powerful climax, unlike the longer version.
• On the middle-length version and on some rare occasions, it's silent.
• Sometimes, the ending song of the show may be played. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("Who Are You" by The Who) is one example of this.
• On a print of Jungleground, this logo has the theme from the 1991 Alliance Communications logo.

Availability:

• This can be seen on older Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes on DVD, the first four seasons of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the final few seasons of The New Outer Limits, among other shows.
• It can also be seen on Canadian VHS/DVD releases from the era including Little Bear: Dreams & Make Believe, Red Scorpion 2, The Stupids, Excessive Force, Pokemon 4Ever, Animal Farm, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Rush Hour, Red Blooded American Girl, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, Scary Movie 3, Maelstrom, Waydowntown and The Barbarian Invasions, among others. Some DVDs from this company, such as The Grifters and Pokemon 4Ever, may actually be direct copies from their U.S. DVD counterparts.
• It was seen on a True Movies UK (now Sony Movies Classic) airing of the 1996 TV movie Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
• This logo plasters the 1991 Alliance logo on DejaView reruns of Due South.
• The middle-length version is only seen on Lunar Jim kiddie rides with video screens from Jolly Roger.
• On True Movies UK airings of At The End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story, this logo plastered the 1991 Alliance logo.
  • On the UK DVD Beast Wars: Transformers - Volume 1, this plasters the 1991 Alliance logo on all the episodes except for "Optimal Situation", which retains the Alliance logo.
• This logo makes an appearance at the beginning of the 1999 film Sunshine, after the 2000 Paramount Classics logo (HD releases have the 2003 Paramount Pictures logo instead).
• This logo also makes an appearance at the beginning of Ella Enchanted and Bridget Jones' Diary, whenever they air on Canadian television channels. It also appeared on a Canadian TV print of Lost in Space.
• This logo is also seen on the Platinum Disc DVD releases of Prom Night (1980) and Bullies.
• It was also spotted on Tubi's prints of The Glass Menagerie (1987), where it plasters over the Cineplex Odeon Films logo, and The Club (1994).

4th Logo (September 7, 2004-June 23, 2008)

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Visuals: On a dark cloudy background with a yellow light (a la the 2004 NBC Universal logo) with a couple yellow lines, there is the "A" logo from before in various close-ups. There is part of the text from the previous two logos rotating, and finally the screen zooms out as the logo and text rotate into place, and then turn to face the screen. A spark appears on the bottom-left, moves to the top and brightens.

Variants:

• On French-Canadian releases, the text "V I V A F I L M" appears below the text.
• A short version exists with the logo in place and shining.
• A medium version starts from when the name rotates out.
• Sometimes, a legal disclaimer appears below the logo (accompanied by an asterisk above the registered trademark symbol next to the logo).
• Open-matte versions exist.
• A filmed version exists, especially on some films with the "VIVAFILM" variant.
• Rarely, "DISTRIBUTED BY" in Optima is seen above the logo.
• On double-sided DVD releases, such as Doogal, and the French dub of The Magic Roundabout (2005) (the original unaltered version of said film), the logo would be shown in 1.33:1 on Side A, and in 1.78:1 on Side B.

Technique: CGI done by Canadian design agency ZINK.

Audio: A brass/string fanfare with drums. It may be shortened depending on the variant. Composed by Doug Pennock and performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Audio Trivia: The fanfare in this logo was carried over to the 2007 and 2012 Alliance Films logos and later to the 2010, 2015, and 2021 Entertainment One logos, when the latter company bought the film studio in 2013.

Audio Variants:

• Sometimes, the music is re-arranged to be less dramatic and much calmer, with the drumbeats replaced by simple bass beats.
• Sometimes, the ending of the show would play instead.

Availability:

• This appears on Alliance Atlantis DVD releases of the period. The eOne logo may plaster it on current prints.
• It's also seen on seasons 5-7 of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (including the first 9 episodes of season 8), all episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation from seasons 4-8, and on Dragon Booster.
• A sped-up PAL high-tone version can be found on the 2007 Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD release of Prom Night (1980), as the print used appears to be sourced from a PAL master converted into NTSC.
• It appeared on Canadian prints of The Weinstein Company DVDs from 2006 until 2007, when the Alliance Films logo started using it.
• On the French-Canadian DVD release of the French dub to The Magic Roundabout (2005), the normal variant is used instead of the French-Canadian variant. Although the trailers for Hoot, Hoodwinked, and for the film itself included in the disc would still use the French-Canadian variant.
• It was also spotted on an Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD of The Life Before This, in addition to Tubi's print of Sign 'o' the Times.

◄ Alliance Entertainment Corporation Atlantis Communications

Alliance Atlantis

Alliance Films Echo Bridge Acquisition Corp. Canwest Media ►