MGM Home Entertainment/Online Bumpers

(1996-1998)

Bumper: On a white background, green dust forms a green oval. At the same time, an orange circle with an arrow is spinning. The words "visit mgm/ua on the internet" fly in from the left, while the URL "www.mgmua.com/video" flies in from the right. An orange arrow flies down towards the circle, and disappears while the latter text stops at the oval.

FX/SFX: The dust forming the oval, the sliding text, the spinning circle, and the arrow.

Music/Sounds: None usually, but on the 1996 demo tapes of Unforgettable and It's My Party, there is music from the movie that plays as an announcer says "Visit [NAME OF MOVIE] on the Internet at www.mgmua.com."

Availability: Seen on certain MGM/UA releases of the era, such as All Dogs Go To Heaven 2, Kingpin, Larger than Life and the 1996 VHS of Rocky, as well as early MGM DVD releases such as the 1997 DVD releases of Goldeneye and The Black Stallion (also retained on reprints), and the 1998 releases of Red Dawn, Hang 'Em High, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly.

Editor's Note: Due to the absence of Leo, this bumper is more well-received than the other bumpers.

(1997-2002, 2004)

Bumper: On a black background, an invisible filmstrip of MGM logos is rolling down. The camera eases back to show an angled view of a blue screen with black and white overtones while the filmstrip moves to the left. The blue screen has a yellow/orange circle with the letters "mgM" and the word "ONLINE" on the bottom right of those letters. About 85% of the circle is cut out, specifically on the "g" and most of the bottom, leaving a crescent shape. A spotlight shines on the circle. Then, the screen slides backwards, and another screen of the same style slides in front of it, but this one has the words "Visit MGM at" on the top, and at the bottom, the URL "www.mgm.com", also in the yellow/orange color. The camera then moves so that only the screen shows, while the URL moves upward to be on the top center of it. At the same time, "Visit MGM at" disappears.

Variant: On the 1999 DVD of For a Few Dollars More, the top and bottom sides of the screen are cropped to create a widescreen version.

FX/SFX: Leo, the filmstrip, and the moving screens.

Music/Sounds: Aside from Leo roaring, there is a synthesized whoosh when the bumper begins. As the second screen slides in, there is a mechanical moving sound, and then a thud. Then, as the camera moves to face the screen, a weird synthesized moving sound is heard, which sounds like a car from The Jetsons. When the camera gets into a comfortable position, the bumper ends with another thud.

Music/Sounds Variant: On some 1998 re-releases, the bumper is silent.

Availability: Seen on MGM Home Entertainment VHS and DVD releases from the era, as well as later MGM/UA Home Video releases such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. On DVD, its first appearances are on the 1998 releases of Leaving Las Vegas and Rollerball. It was used in tandem with the 3rd bumper until 2002, an example being the original 2000 VHS issue of Return to Me, which has both bumpers (however, the 2001 VHS of The Greatest Story Ever Told only has this bumper). The silent version appears on the 1998 VHS releases of Shag: The Movie, Blood Red, Amos and Andrew, Blown Away, West Side Story, Running Scared, Get Shorty, and An American in Paris. The last MGM release to use this bumper was the 2002 VHS of Bandits, though it is still retained on reprints of older editions, such as the 2004 reprint of the 2000 DVD of The Alamo (1960), the 2012 reprint of the 2000 DVD of Spaceballs, and the 2014 reprint of the 1999 DVD of Overboard (1987). Surprisingly, this was used on the 2004 Australian VHS of Dark Blue.

Editor's Note: A good bumper, though Leo's presence could cause some with a fear of lions to have an unfavorable view of it.

(2000-2005)

Nickname: "Come See What the Roar's About!"

Bumper: On a black background, the 1986 logo animates as normal. When it is done, it dissolves into the words "COME SEE WHAT THE ROAR IS ABOUT" in an Impact font. They are seen zooming in slightly towards the viewer before dissolving into the URL "MGM.COM". It zooms in slightly towards the viewer, before the bumper fades to black.

FX/SFX: Leo roaring, the dissolving, and the zooming.

Music/Sounds: A different lion roar than usual, then some ominous synth drones and whooshes. The lion roar in this bumper was heard in the MGM Means Great Movies promo.

Availability: Rare, as it was the last of these bumpers to be seen on VHS releases. It was used on VHS releases like A Christmas Carol: The Movie, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Soul Plane, and Be Cool. As already mentioned, this was used in tandem with the 2nd bumper until 2002. Also, it is the VHS equivalent of the 4th bumper. Some of the first products to use this bumper would be What's the Worst That Could Happen?, Dirty Pictures, and Attention Shoppers. Strangely, no online bumper is used on the 2002 VHS of Ghost World.

Editor's Note: As above, those with a fear of lions may have an unfavorable view of this bumper.

(October 2, 2001-2005)

Bumper: On a black background, a large "@" symbol fades in on the center of the viewer's screen. While it does this, the words "visit mgm" wipe in in front of it. As this happens, the MGM logo (minus the MGM header and the ^TM symbol) fades in and zooms in. The logo briefly rests but then begins zooming in again, until Leo is uncomfortably close to the viewer's screen. He then fades out, while the "@" symbol disappears, and the "visit mgm" text transforms into a golden line. The URL "www.mgm.com" wipes in above that golden line. The golden line fades out, while the URL is still on the viewer's screen. The URL is seen for 3 more seconds before the bumper fades out.

Variant: On some releases, the bumper is shown in widescreen.

FX/SFX: "visit mgm" wiping in, Leo zooming in, the text transforming, and the address wiping in.

Music/Sounds: Aside from Leo roaring, there is a two-note orchestrated fanfare, which ends in a twinkle that sustains itself ominously.

Availability: Seen on MGM Home Entertainment/DVD releases from the era such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Chorus Line, Fargo: Special Edition, Agent Cody Banks, Saved!, Good Boy!, Walking Tall (2004), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Also, it is the DVD equivalent of the 3rd bumper. The earliest known release to use it is the original Running Scared, and one of the last products to use it is the DVD of Beauty Shop.

Editor's Note: Due to the zoom-in of the MGM logo, this bumper has given off the impression that Leo is going to eat the viewer, and as such it is a notorious bumper among many.