Madman Entertainment

Background

Madman Entertainment is an Australian company which specializes in distributing films (primarily anime, manga, and Australian productions) as well as distributing Cartoon Network material around Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the biggest distribution companies in the region.

1st Logo (1996-2001)

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Visuals: A silver shield with the letters "MM" on it appears and flickers slightly. Then a bolt of lightning flies in from the left of screen, colliding with the shield. This leads to a bright flash, after which the interior of the shield becomes red and the lightning bolt becomes part of the shield. The name fades in below.

Variant: On some other releases, the shield is colored yellow and the text now reads "MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS" in a red/yellow gradient.

Technique: Relatively simple 2D digital animation.

Audio: Electricity sounds as the shield flickers at the start, then a bang sound as the bolt of lightning collides with the shield.

Availability: Presumably seen on Madman releases from the time period.

2nd Logo (2001-2006)

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Visuals: On a black background, a red circle with thin black and white borders, depicts an evil-looking man in a straitjacket with the buckle undone. "MADMAN" in a shaky font is shown below with "ENTERTAINMENT" underneath.

Variants:

• An animated variant exists, where the circle with the man appears with a bouncing effect. Then, the text appears with the same animation from the low corner. This also could be seen in black-and-white.
• On early DVD titles (verification needed), the logo had a white glow around it.
• Releases of some movies would have a variant with a blue circle and "FILMS" underneath. On some DVDs, the logo is a still image.
• A similar variant has "CINEMA" instead. This can be found at the start of the DVD release of Bowling for Columbine.

Technique: 2D digital animation or none.

Audio: None.

Availability: Can be seen on Australian DVD releases of Tintin (1990s cartoon). Presumably seen on other Madman releases from the time, with the European and Australian 2006 DVD of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie being one example with this logo. An example of an early DVD with the white glow variant is Akira. The blue circle variants, can be found on theatre screenings and airings of some distributed movies on SBS and certain DVD releases. The black-and-white variant of the animated logo can be seen on DVD releases of shows in the same colour scheme, such as the 1960s Astro Boy series.

3rd Logo (2006-)

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Visuals: On a black background, a hand smashes a pie plate against it, leaving behind frosting forming part of the logo from before. A red cape is then thrown over the frosting and it gets pulled away to reveal flames that form the straitjacket logo. Then, a hand comes in and snaps, turning the logo solid white on a shiny red circle. The text from before appears below, as the entire thing disappears in a puff of purple smoke.

Variants:

• The logo can be still on some trailers, with the name written to the right.
• A short version has the logo begin from the flames (without the cape)
• A slightly shorter version has the logo already formed and the last seconds playing.
• On theatrical prints of Memoir of a Snail, the logo is in a sepia-tone colour, matching the film's look.

Technique: Various effects combined with live-action.

Audio: A drumroll is heard before an audience laughs. They are heard talking as the cape is thrown over the frosting, then screaming as the Madman logo is formed in the flames. Finally, there is the hand's fingers click as we hear applause, then a smoke sound.

Availability: Almost no chance outside the corresponding market, but appears on many DVDs in Australia.

• Some DVD releases that have the long version of the logo are Tales of the Riverbank, and Tamagotchi: The Movie. The short version appears on some DVDs such as on the Australian 2014 DVD of Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife: Series 1.
• The still version is used on Australian trailers. A notable release with this logo is Animal Kingdom.
• This logo makes an appearance on the British Blu-Ray Disc of Ponyo if you select the “Australia/New Zealand” button on the menu. It could possibly be the fact that Optimum Releasing uses the Australian masters for most Studio Ghibli films.
• This also makes an appearance on US Netflix prints of Ouran High School Host Club and Fairy Tail.
• The short version makes an appearance on an Australian VOD print of Can't Stop The Music.