Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment
Background: Rankin-Bass was formed in September 1960 by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass as Videocraft International; it was renamed to Rankin-Bass in 1968. In 1971, the company was acquired by Tomorrow Entertainment, and distributed by Viacom Enterprises (now "CBS Television Distribution"), while Broadway Video acquired the rights to the pre-1974 library in 1988. It was later acquired by Telepictures on January 24, 1983 and then became a subsidiary of Lorimar-Telepictures. Nowadays, the pre-1974 library is currently owned by NBCUniversal on behalf of DreamWorks Animation through their DreamWorks Classics label, the post-1973 library is owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., The Jackson 5ive is distributed by CBS Television Distribution, and Rankin-Bass's theatrical film library is currently split amongst different companies, StudioCanal owns The Wacky World of Mother Goose and Mad Monster Party? since both movies were released by Embassy Pictures, The Last Unicorn is currently owned by ITV Studios and Universal Pictures owns Willy McBean and his Magic Machine via DreamWorks Animation and King Kong Returns.
Videocraft International, Limited
1st Logo
(September 1, 1961-November 24, 1966)
Logo: This superimposed logo features three TV tube-like shapes. One is at the bottom, and the other two are stacked on the left and right corners of the bottom tube, which, when together, resemble Mickey Mouse's head or a water molecule (though its probably supposed to be like a V shape). The company byline appears as "A VIDEOCRAFT INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION" or "A VIDEOCRAFT PRODUCTION".
Variants:
- On some productions such as the 1965-present version ofRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerand The Ballad of Smokey the Bear, the logo is colored white and and the tubes are now equal size.
- On the original 1964 version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the logo is written on one of the packages being delivered by an elf. On 1965-present airings, the logo occurs over a shot of Santa in his sleigh.
FX/SFX: The scrolling of the credits or the fade-in of the logo.
Music/Sounds: Usually the outro of a TV show or special.
Availability: Uncommon. Can be found on TV shows or specials from the time that used it, such as The New Adventures of Pinocchio, The Tales of the Wizard of Oz, The Ballad of Smokey the Bear, and the 1964 TV Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
