Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, Kris Starring, Dan DeCosta, thestudioghiblifan, KyleJaker1988, and others

Captures by
Eric S., wisp2007, Curiousgeorge60, VPJHuk and ENunn

Editions by
wisp2007, iheartparamount, Bob Fish, V of Doom, DreamMechanic, Nathan B., Optimus Prime 2000, ENunn, Frozen Hater, Unnepad, WetPaintLogo1993, Bree, VPJHuk, BaldiBasicsFan and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
Matthew Baylis, BrerJake90, bigvoice313, EnormousRat, - VPJLogo - and ENunn

Background

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (formerly Buena Vista Home Video) was created in 1984 to release non-Disney-related videos not covered by the other Disney units, primarily third-party product licensed to them for home release, including concerts, documentaries, Jay Ward (Rocky & Bullwinkle) and Bagdasarian (Alvin and the Chipmunks) cartoons, and English-dubbed anime, as well as programming from the likes of U.S. Television Office, Weiss Global Enterprises, and Dargaud Films. It became the incorporated name for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment in 1987. Also, they covered the Jim Henson Video brand starting in 1990 after the Muppet Video brand and its US distributor, Playhouse Video, were shut down. Disney semi-retired the brand in 2009. However, the name is still being used since it is the incorporated name for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and it was still used in some international countries, such as for French Studio Ghibli releases, until 2020.

1st Logo (1984-1988)

Visuals: On a white background, there is the following text in a blue font:

BUENA VISTA
HOME VIDEO

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appeared on the small range of non-Disney content released at the time.

• Seen on tapes of Steve Allen’s Music Hall, early Hopalong Cassidy tapes such as Silent Conflict and The Marauder, and classic films issued by the company under the "50s THEATRE" banner.
• This was also seen on the 1985 VHS release of the film Midnight Madness (produced by Disney, but without their name) and early compilations of The Ray Bradbury Theater (later releases of that show came from HBO Video and were reprinted in turn by Congress Video).
• These early Buena Vista releases were packaged in the same white clamshells as tapes from Walt Disney Home Video.

2nd Logo (1988-1992)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is the blue text "BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO" in the same font as the previous logo. The logo "shines" twice.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the text "PRESENTS" in blue fades in.
• Before trailers, the text "COMING SOON FROM" in blue fades in above the company name.
• One French variant of this logo has the word "présente" in a different blue/white font.
• At the end of Australian releases distributed by Roadshow Home Video, "DISTRIBUTED BY" appears below the "HOME VIDEO" text. Then, it cuts to the Roadshow logo.
• On Greek releases, "ΠΡΟΣΕΧΩΣ" fades in above the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A synthesizer tune consisting of a whoosh and an echoing staccato synth chord. Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability: It was mostly used outside North America.

• It appeared on an Australian VHS release of Earth Star Voyager.
• Also appeared on a UK VHS release of Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken.
• The "PRESENTS" variant appears on a few UK releases, mainly rentals, such as White Fang and The Maid.
  • It usually appeared before trailers for Europudding films from The Movie Group.
• In the US, this exclusively appeared on a few 1992 VHS releases, including select printings of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Rockin' with the Chipmunks, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Funny, We Shrunk The Adults, and The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show.

3rd Logo (August 15, 1990-2003)

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  Normal logo
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  Version with "HOME ENTERTAINMENT"
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  "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" version with URL
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  Showcase '91 version

Visuals: On a black background, there is a blue stylized, segmented Sleeping Beauty Castle (from the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures logo) with a circular line drawn over the castle. The text "BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO" is seen below in blue. The logo "shines" from left to right.

Variants:

• A variant exists with the "HOME VIDEO" text replaced by "HOME ENTERTAINMENT". This variant was used on a few European VHS releases.
• A variant with an URL exists.
• On an early 90s Touchstone trailer tape from the UK, the logo is seen forming out of cubes.
• There is another trailer tape variant, where we see "Showcase 91" alongside the Disney Home Video, Touchstone Home Video and Hollywood Pictures logos. At the end of the trailer tape, there is the logos again, but this time the text "Showcase 91" is gone and is replaced with a diamond. The other logos and the diamond fade out, leaving the Buena Vista Home Video logo on the top. The text lines, "The No.1 Box Office Success Story of 1990..." and "Will be the Video Success Story of 1991" fade in.
• On the 1992 screener VHS releases of Deceived and Billy Bathgate, the logo is seen at the start of the "The Video Event of April" promo with the audio from the promo replacing the normal music.
• This version of the logo also appears on the "Winter Action Blitz" promo on the 1995 screener VHS release of Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A five-note synth horn/chime tune; composed by John Scott. This is from the Bruton Music library titled “Trademark”.

Audio Variants:

• A silent version exists.
• On the 1992 VHS releases of Father of the Bride (original printings only), A Classic Christmas From the Ed Sullivan Show, and reprints of Mr. Destiny, an unknown deep-voiced announcer says "Now, from Buena Vista Home Video." over the logo. This precedes a preview for The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show.
• On the DVD releases of Timon and Pumbaa, the end credits theme plays over the logo.
• On the DVD/Blu-Ray/4K Ultra HD trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a different synth theme is used, and the announcer of the trailer is heard saying "The following is a paid advertisement from Walt Disney Home Entertainment."
• The Touchstone trailer tape variant has the end of the song "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard (which accompanied the final montage of the tape), and the announcer of the tape saying "Buena Vista Home Video" in an oddly American accent.
• The "Showcase '91" variant has an ambient synth soundtrack over the entire logo.
• The variants seen before screener promos use the audio from the promo.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company from the time-period, although it was not used much in North America.

• In North America, this logo wasn't used much.
  • The first releases to use this logo are the 1990 VHS reissues of Paddington Bear, Max Fleischer's Cartoon Capers and Lucky Luke releases, all of which were previously released in the Mid-1980s under the Walt Disney Home Video banner.
  • Another early release to use it was the original VHS release of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead from 1990.
  • Other releases that have this include Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, the 1995 VHS release of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, all 4 volumes of The Johnny Carson Collection: His Favorite Moments From the Tonight Show, and Andrew Solt-directed compilations like the first two volumes of Elvis: The Great Performances.
  • Some Alvin and the Chipmunks and Rocky and Bullwinkle releases also use this logo, but they mostly use the 4th logo instead.
  • The trailer tape variants come from promotional tapes/trailer tapes on YouTube.
  • This logo was also seen on a trailer for the VHS release of Kiki's Delivery Service, which can be seen on 1998 prints of Masterpiece Collection titles like Dumbo and The Sword in the Stone. Other prints of the trailer (and the VHS release itself) use the 5th logo instead.
  • The logo made its last regular appearance on the 1998 VHS release of Mummies Alive!: The Legend Begins, preceding the 1994 DIC Toon-Time Video logo.
  • In August 2002, the logo made a comeback on the DVD releases of The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina (paired up with the 1999 Miramax Home Entertainment logo) and the Schoolhouse Rock 30th Anniversary DVD set; the VHS counterparts of both used the 6th logo in its place. Other DVD releases released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in 2002 would use the 5th logo.
  • On July 21, 2017, the Home Video logo also made a surprise appearance at the beginning of an online trailer for the home video release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, advertising the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/DVD release of the film, filmed as a tongue-in-cheek 1980's infomercial.
• Internationally, the logo is much more common, especially in the UK, where this logo remained in use well into the early-2000s.
  • It appears on a few releases from DIC Entertainment outside North America, like Latin American and European French VHS releases of the company's Action Man series, and might have appeared on the Australian VHS release of Jingle Bell Rock as well.
  • It also replaces the 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment logo on reissue tapes of ex-Fox Kids shows that the former originally released, like Digimon, Power Rangers and the CGI Action Man series.
  • This can be seen at the start of the 1995 UK demo VHS release of The Air Up There (a Hollywood Pictures film).
  • International DVD versions of the Timon and Pumbaa series compilation releases, such as Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa and On Holiday with Timon and Pumbaa also leave this logo intact after the closing credits.
  • The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" variant was exclusively used in European territories from 1995-2002, appearing on releases of The Legend of Tarzan, Spider-Man and Power Rangers Wild Force.
    • It also showed up on a Spanish Art Attack release.
    • It also was shown on the 2000 UK VHS of Baby Einstein, and may have appeared on other Baby Einstein UK releases before Disney purchased the company.

4th Logo (1991-1996)

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Visuals: On a swirly turquoise background, there is a dark blue castle that looks different to the standard Disney castle drawing of the time with a single flapping flag on the top. In front of the castle is the yellow and pink text "BUENA VISTA Home Video".

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: The "Trademark" theme.

Audio Variants:

• On A Chipmunk Celebration, the first note of the logo was cut.
• On some Australian tapes, the logo is high-pitched, due to them being in the PAL format.

Availability: Mainly appeared on animated-releases from the company at the time.

• Appears on several VHS tapes of The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
• It also oddly appears on the 1992 tape Dance! Workout with Barbie as well despite it being a live-action release.

5th Logo (Italian Variant) (1990-2005)

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Visuals: On a lavender gradient background, there is the Disney castle forming (like in the movie logo, but from bottom to top rather than top to bottom). The arc is drawn counter-clockwise over the castle, and the words "Buena Vista Home Video" zoom in from the castle, one by one.

Variants:

• Starting in 1994, the background is now a sky blue gradient and instead of reading "Buena Vista Home Video", it reads "Buena Vista Home Entertainment" in a slightly different serif font.
• Alongside the logo's change in 1994, the Buena Vista Home Video name in the warning text is now "BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT", and the final text now says "Distribuzione a cura di: BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT via S. Sandri, 1 - 20121 - Milano tel. 29085.1" ("Distribution by: BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT S. Sandri Street, 1 - 20121 - Milan tel. 29085.1").

Technique: Standard '90s computer effects.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appears on Italian Buena Vista releases from the time period.

6th Logo (September 1, 1998; April 30-October 29, 2002, 2006)

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Visuals: On a sea 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".

Variant: Sometimes, the background is a darker blue.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A remix of the "Trademark" tune used in the 3rd and 4th logos, with an added bass/string backing and opening with several chime notes.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company during this period.

• Seen on the original 1998 VHS of Kiki's Delivery Service before and after the opening previews (the NTSC 2003 VHS uses the 2001 Walt Disney Home Entertainment logo and that release's PAL version uses the 11th Buena Vista Home Entertainment logo), and was set to appear on the (eventually scrapped) 1999 VHS release of Castle in the Sky, as seen through the trailer of it.
• It also made appearances on the 2002 North American DVD releases of Spider-Man: The Ultimate Villain Showdown, Spider-Man: The Return of the Green Goblin, and David Blaine Fearless, all of which used the next logo on their VHS releases.
  • The PAL region version of The Ultimate Villain Showdown also retains this logo, but The Return of the Green Goblin replaces it with the 2002 logo.
• It also made a surprise appearance on the 2005 DVD set of Home Improvement: The Complete Third Season; the other DVD sets of Home Improvement use the 2002 logo.
• It also made a surprise appearance on the 2006 CAV Thakral Home Entertainment Chinese DVD release of Howl's Moving Castle, preceding the Ghibli ga Ippai Collection logo.

7th Logo (1998-2007)

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Visuals: On a shady dark blue gradient background, there is a blue 3D segmented Sleeping Beauty Castle at an angle shining, and emitting rays of light. The castle flies in and turns to face the camera. As this happens, the text "Buena Vista Home Video" in Times New Roman font appears in silver aligned with the castle, and thus also flies in. An arch flies in and places itself over the castle and the text stops at the bottom of the screen. The words shine.

Variants:

• There is a still variant.
• Starting in 2002, the text "Home Video" is replaced by "Home Entertainment". Also, the castle's light became darker.
• On the trailer for the "Gene Autry Collection", which was spotted on the 1999 VHS release of "Gene Autry: Back in the Saddle", the logo is animated like the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures logo.
• On the home video trailer for Spider-Man and the Return of the Green Goblin, a version of the logo appears, where a light shines through the semi-transparent castle and slowly starts to fade away.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A ten-note choir/orchestral tune ending with a harp glissando. Composed by Walter Werzowa at Musikvergnuegen (who also created the famous Intel "bong" jingle).

Availability: Can be seen on releases from the company at that time.

• Although not as common as the 11th logo, it's still quite infrequent. It was used in tandem with that logo until 2007.
• It appears on videos that weren’t released under the branding of Disney or its subsidiaries, such as The Bear, Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Greatest Gadgets and The Duke.
• It also appears on early Disney-era Power Rangers VHS releases.
• Internationally, it can also be seen on the 2003 DVD release of Pokémon 4Ever (unusually, instead of the Miramax Home Entertainment logo, and is also retained on the 2011 StudioCanal UK reissue), and also oddly enough can be seen on the UK VHS release of Kim Possible: The Secret Files (while its US counterpart and the DVD version use the Walt Disney Home Entertainment logo instead).

8th Logo (Australian Variant) (1999-2000s?)

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Visuals: On a white background, there is the Disney castle in black, with "Buena Vista Home Video" below, separated in two lines. A copyright notice appears on the bottom.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appears on the 1999 Australian VHS of Monica's Trip to the Moon.

9th Logo (Japanese Variant) (1999)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a small Disney castle in white. "Buena Vista Home Entertainment" is below. A copyright tag for Disney can be seen on the bottom right corner.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the Tokyo Disneyland 15th Anniversary Special (東京ディズニーランド15thアニバ-サリ-スペシャル)

10th Logo (Japanese Variant) (2001?-Mid or Late 2000s)

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Visuals: In a blue/dark blue gradient background is transparent pieces of the castle flying into their positions from the bottom of the screen. While this happens, a flare circles around the castle, forming a curved line, then moves to the right side of the screen, then coming back at the left side of the screen, while the camera is zooming. The castle turns white, and the flare turns into the text "ブエナビスタホームエンターテインメント" (romanized: Buena bisuta hōmu entāteinmento) ("Buena Vista Home Entertainment" in Japanese), which moves slightly towards the castle before stopping. The background turns white, with the castle and text turning blue and black respectively.

Technique: A mix of CGI and what may be Scanimation/2D computer graphics.

Audio: A descending piano theme, combined with a synthesized ambient note.

Availability: So far, it is only known to appear on two releases from the Ghibli ga Ippai Collection Special line: Jarinko Chie: Movie and Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro. It may have appeared on Sherlock Hound: Movie and Panda! Go, Panda! as well.

• The 2015 Japanese reissues don't have this logo.

Legacy: A unique and rather peaceful logo for Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

11th Logo (2002-2010's)

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Visuals: On a black/bluish-purple gradient background, the words "Buena Vista Home Entertainment" (in the same font as the 7th logo) fly into place while emitting rays of light, before stopping in the middle of the screen.

Variants:

• A widescreen version exists.
• A shinier, more 3D variant appears on some Blu-ray releases.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as the 7th logo.

Audio Variant: Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability: It was seen on releases under the Buena Vista Home Entertainment label since post-2002. It was used in tandem with the 7th logo until 2007.

• Any ABC/Touchstone Television show released on DVD until August 2008 will use this logo, including the first six seasons of Scrubs, Ugly Betty, Lost, and many others. Starting in August 2008, ABC releases began to use the ABC Studios logo as a de-facto home entertainment logo.
• The Blu-ray version is only known to appear on Lost: The Complete Third Season in North America, but it is much more common internationally (detailed below).
• This logo also does not appear on post-2008 DVD releases of ABC Family shows, as Gaiam distributed their releases at the time, and they use the ABC Family logo as the home media logo instead.
• It also appears on box sets of The Muppet Show, the US VHS release of Bionicle: Mask of Light (the UK version uses the 1994 Miramax Home Entertainment logo and the DVD release uses the 1999 Miramax Home Entertainment logo), and all four Felicity DVD box sets.
• It is also used on a few BVS Entertainment-owned shows and properties, like various Marvel animated shows, the first season of Sweet Valley High, the first two seasons of The Tick: The Animated Series (US only), and various Power Rangers DVD releases in the UK and US such as The Best of Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers.
• It also appears on Roger Corman movies released by the label in the United States from 2005-2008.
• On VHS, it's rare and it can be found on several VHS releases of Power Rangers Dino Thunder, as well as the Australian VHS release of Daredevil vs. Spider-Man.
• Outside North America, it can be found on many releases such as the 2005 PAL DVD release of Pokémon Heroes.
  • On Studio Ghibli releases, it appears on the 2003 UK/Spanish/Italian DVD and VHS releases of Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky, and appears on many pre-Wild Side Video Studio Ghibli DVD releases in France as well, such as the 2002 DVD release of Spirited Away (which is likely one of the first releases to use this logo), although in general, French Blu-ray releases are likely to not feature this logo. It also showed up on some Chinese Studio Ghibli VCDs released by the China Audio & Video Publishing House (Disney's then-Chinese home video distributor) such as Kiki's Delivery Service, although some use the 2001 Walt Disney Home Entertainment logo, and some have none at all.
  • The logo is still used as a print logo internationally (examples: the UK DVD release of Patrick, the 2015 European French version of When Marnie Was There, non-North American copies of Glass, and the 2019 European French Studio Ghibli Futurepaks), but is no longer used as a full logo; instead, these releases go straight to the main menu or in Glass' case, using the Buena Vista International logo for de-facto purposes.
• On Thai VCD releases, this can also be seen at the start of many Disney/Touchstone/Hollywood titles, and was used up until the early 2010s on releases like Space Buddies.

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