Feature Films for Families
Background
Feature Films for Families is a privately owned company based in Murray, Utah that sends out family movies with family values. It initially distributed films that were in the public domain such as It's a Wonderful Life, then moved to buy distribution rights later on. The first film it produced that achieved an award was Seasons of the Heart. The company, its owner, and related companies have been the subject of several governments and phone company lawsuits concerning deceptive practices and illegal telemarketing, including calling people again who had told the companies to stop calling, and targeting "parents and grandparents" with false "fundraisers" claims after the victims received DVDs and a survey. The company was shut down in 2012. Until in 2015, MTM Filmed Entertainment (Former MTM Films) revived the company with a condition to have their company to be in control by MTM Filmed Entertainment for 25%. And having ViacomCBS take 30% of their company. Thier Company sadly is no longer active, but can still be seen making films with LEF Studios and MTM Filmed Entertainment on Scratch.
1st Logo (1986-2006,2022)
Logo: We see some blue houses at night under a starry sky. The center house then brightens to turn white with yellow windows, followed by several more next to it. The camera pans upward and across the houses to a dark grid field surrounded by hills. The text
feature
films
For Families
in gold, fades in. The large F's are shaped like strips of film. The camera turns upward as the logo transforms into a 3D image.
FX/SFX: The houses, the logo fading in, the logo transforming into 3D.
Variants:
- In some current MTM Filmed Entertainment Films the logo is seen at the start due to a poor plastering job.
Music/Sounds: A lush orchestral tune, similar to the Filmauro logo, with the sound of children laughing once the houses "light" up.
Availability: Seen on any family films produced and distributed by the company, such as No More Baths, post-1998 prints of The Adventures of Scamper The Penguin, Princess and the Pea, and The Buttercream Gang. It also appears on tapes of The Berenstain Bears (1985) from the company.
Legacy: This logo has great CGI and beautiful music for its time that held up well into the late 2000s!
2nd Logo (1988-early 1990s)
 | This logo contains a phone number that is likely out-of-service.
Due to safety concerns, please do not dial it. |
Logo: On a black background, we see the text "This Films Is Available Only From Feature Films For Families And Cannot Be Purchased Or Rented From Anyone Else" This then slideshows into the next screen, which shows the company's name and it's phone number below that. After a little bit, the company's print logo from the time flies in from the bottom right as the text fades out. The print logo shows on a film reel an infographic-style father, child, and mother holding hands on the top, the two large F's from the previous logo with the text "For Families" below that, and a film camera on a tripod on the bottom.
Variants:
- A version exists that omits the first screen and the text and print logo are in turquoise.
- On some tapes, the logo is on a gradient background (blue-white and green-black depending on the release), and the text and print logo have a drop shadow. This also omits the first screen.
- Most commonly on releases, only the second screen is shown without the print logo flying in, and instead fades out and shows the previous logo.
FX/SFX: The flying in of the print logo.
Music/Sounds: None, but on releases licensed from Just for Kids Home Entertainment, the music from the 1991 logo is used, plastering the logo itself on those tapes.
Availability: Extremely rare. This mainly appears on releases of films they licensed from other home video companies. The blue-white gradient variant is seen on an early 90s print of The Little Fox, while the green-black variant is seen on a 1991 print of the 1984 Vestron Video release of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The turquoise variant can be seen on an early 90s print of Scamper The Penguin (with the Just for Kids Home Entertainment music at the beginning of the tape, and silent at the end) The version that only just shows the second screen is the most common variant.
Legacy: This logo seem to be quite a bit boring unlike from what Feature Films For Families previously had at the start of 1988.
3rd Logo (2006-2011)
TBA.
4th Logo (2006-2012?,2015-)
Logo: On a black background, we pan down to see a film camera shining a light, with the "ff" insignia from the first two logos printed near the bottom of it in a small white circle. We turn as the camera's light takes over the screen, making the rest of the camera no longer visible. The black text "Feature Films For FAMILIES" flips in as the light dims and disappears, turning the text gold. The shadows of a mother, father, and two children holding hands as they walk to the left can be seen on the text. After the family walks away, the logo shines from left to right and the text remains by itself for approximately 3 seconds, the logo fades out.
Variants:
- In the short film "Don't disturb the Dead" the color of the whole entire logo changes to Black and White afte the film camera is no longer seen.
- A shorten variant was seen before in 2022. But it can be unknown if it still exists.
FX/SFX: Decent CGI animation.
Music/Sounds: The sounds of the camera, then an abridged reorchestration of the 1986 theme that ends with a "ding", the Opening Theme to the Film/Short Film, or can be silent.
Availability: Current.
Legacy: A nice recreation of the 1st logo's music. It's so memorable to people who grew up in the Early 2000s.
Final Note: Feature Films For Families is currently now in the hands of MTM Filmed Entertainment starting in 2018. It would have taken a 25% of their company. With ViacomCBS taking 30% of the company a few months later.
