Golden Books Family Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
Argus Sventon, James Fabiano, Jess Williams, Nicholas Aczel, Kris Starring, Cameron McCaffrey and MariluHennerArtist45

Captures by
WileE2005, Eric S., Supermarty-o, Sagan Blob, Stephen Cezar and RedheadXilamGuy

Editions by
Kyrongenius, Henrynguye5, Spectrum270‎, Prodigy012‎ and SBF2004

Video captures courtesy of
DudeThatLogo, Retro VHS trailers

Background

Golden Books Family Entertainment was formed in 1996 as a reorganization effort by Golden Books' parent company Western Publishing due to their financial issues. They acquired the family programming along with the Alan Enterprises library from Broadway Video while their video division Golden Book Video was integrated into the new venture with distribution going to Sony Wonder two years later.

On August 16, 2001, the assets of Golden Books were sold to Classic Media (which was sold to DreamWorks Animation in 2012, then to NBCUniversal in 2016) and Random House (which now continues Golden Books as a standalone imprint) in a bankruptcy court auction. Classic Media acquired the film, TV and home video library, as well as ancillary rights to characters from Little Golden Books and Dell Comics/Gold Key Comics; while Random House acquired Golden Books' publishing division.

Classic Media continued releasing the Golden Books Family Entertainment catalogue through Sony Wonder until 2007, when it changed distributors to Genius Products after Sony BMG Music Entertainment shut down Sony Wonder. In 2009, Genius Products exited the home entertainment business, with Classic Media's catalogue transferring to Vivendi Entertainment. It was then in the hands of Cinedigm after they merged Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment into Newvideo until 2018, when the rights expired and transferred back to Universal.

1st Logo (1996-2005)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is the text "Golden Books" in its familiar golden color and hand-written font sliding in from the left. At the same time, the text "FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT" below in the Gill Sans font slides in from the opposite direction. When they both meet in the center, the whole logo "flashes" (a la the Cartoon Classics variant of the Walt Disney Home Video Neon Mickey logo).

Variants:

• An in-credit version, beneath an in-credit reference to CINAR (or Cookie Jar on later prints) appears on the 1997-99 TV revival of Lassie.
• An opening version, superimposed over a backdrop, with the word "Presents" under the logo exists.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Either the end theme of the show, the ending of the Rankin/Bass logo theme, or silence.

Availability: Appears on the Golden Books Family Entertainment/Sony Wonder VHS of Frosty Returns, and on late 1990s CBS broadcasts of the special (in both cases plastering the Broadway Video logo). It was also seen on Cartoon Network reruns of Underdog in the late 90s/early 2000s, and also on Tubi and MeTV Toons' prints of the show (when the show resurfaced on the Kabillion On Demand service in the late 2000s, the Program Exchange logo was present instead), and on broadcasts of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials in the mid/late 1990s, typically after the R-B logo. The in-credit variant was seen on the late 1990s revival of Lassie, followed by the Cinar logo (or Cookie Jar logo in recent years). The opening variant is only known to be seen on The Rudolph, Frosty and Friends Sing-Along, a special tape released in conjunction with the US Postal Service's Priority Mail service in 1996.

2nd Logo (September 2, 1997-1998)

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Visuals: On a white background, there is a shiny gold, lowercase "g" reading a red book. Underneath it, there is the text from before in blue.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: It appears at the end of the 1997 VHS releases of Frosty the Snowman and The Little Drummer Boy.

3rd Logo (January 5, 1998-2008)

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Visuals: On a white background, there is a red book turned on its side and rotated at a 45 degree angle. There is the top of a lowercase "g" peeking over the top of the book, then jumps up from below, picks up the book, opens it, and hops up a few spaces to make way for "Golden Books" written in gold and in the same font as before (the "g" watches as the text is written). "FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT" fades in below as the "g" looks back into the book. The end result is similar to the current Golden Books logo.

Variants:

• On the DVD release of Frosty the Snowman, the logo disappears so that "Presents" would appear.
• A still version of the logo exists, in which the "g" is still.
• On The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, the "g" is still again, but above it is "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" in a Funhouse font.
• A shortened version starting with the "g" hopping exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A playful xylophone tune is heard, accompanied by strings and "sparkling" at the end. Sometimes, the end theme plays over the logo or else it is silent.

Availability: It can be found on DVDs and VHS tapes from the company; a few DVDs are still in print. Like the last logo, this was also used on late-1990s era broadcasts of Rankin-Bass holiday specials (appearing after the R-B logo; some ABC Family broadcasts kept this into the 2000s) and plastered the Broadway Video logo on CBS reruns of Frosty Returns prior to the special's high-definition remaster (where the Classic Media logo plasters it). It also appears at the end of Amazon Prime's print of Marco (1973). A filmed still variant can be found on the 2001 CGI movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys.

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Golden Books Family Entertainment