The Learning Company

Background

The Learning Company was an educational software company formed in 1980, known for learning games such as Reader Rabbit and ClueFinders as well as licensed educational titles from franchises like Scooby-Doo and Arthur. In 1995, SoftKey competed to purchase TLC, and a year later adopted its name. After this, TLC also purchased Creative Wonders (1997), Mindscape (1998) and Broderbund Software. In 1999, TLC was purchased by Mattel. and became "Mattel Interactive", a move often cited as one of the worst acquisitions in corporate history. In 2000, suffering from financial troubles, Mattel Inc. sold TLC to Gores Group. In 2001, Ubisoft acquired TLC's major entertainment assets (like the Mindscape and Red Orb libraries), while Riverdeep took over the educational subsidiary and renamed it back to Broderbund. In 2006, Riverdeep acquired Houghton Mifflin (now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); the combined company continued to use the Learning Company brand for educational apps and workbooks until the late 2010s.

1st Logo (1995-2001)

Normal version
Still version
Arthur! Ready to Race variant
Early TLC ~ Edusoft variant
Later TLC ~ Edusoft variant

Nicknames: "The Cheesy Learning Company Logo", "The Comet", "Cheesy Star", "The Red Trapezoid"

Logo: On a space background, we see a comet-like object flying towards us starting from the upper right hand side of the screen. When it reaches the center of the screen, it explodes, then a trapezoid-like shape with the white words "The Learning Company" in a bold and italicized Times New Roman font, appears.

Variants:

On Arthur! Ready to Race, the logo is updated in CGI.
On French-language games, the logo is replaced by "TLC ~ Edusoft" in silver text with a red "L" and "Toute La Connaissance" in smaller silver text below it, meaning "All The Knowledge". To the left of the text is a red square with a black "TLC" in it, with the "L" stretched vertically.
- Early versions of this variant has the logo on a white rectangle. Much of the text is also in gray rather than silver.
A still version with less bolder text appeared on later Kid Pix titles and re-releases of Slam Dunk Typing.

FX/SFX: The comet flying, exploding, and the logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: 3 descending notes, followed by a whoosh, a twinkling sound and another loud whoosh sound. The still version uses the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Common. This appears on most Learning Company games from the era, like Reader Rabbit, ClueFinders, and Scooby-Doo titles.

Legacy: This is a widely popular and nostalgic logo for those who grew up with various Learning Company/Reader Rabbit games.

2nd Logo (2001-2011)

Nicknames: "The Asteroid", "Earth", "The Red Trapezoid II"

Logo: Over a space background, we see the planet Earth, as the text "The Learning Company" (in a less bolder font than before) form from a flash. After the earth disappears, the words slowly zoom towards us. When it's at a comfortable distance, an asteroid flies in from the upper left hand side of the screen forming the finished logo.

FX/SFX: The logo forming, the asteroid flying.

Music/Sounds: A piano note and a quiet whoosh, followed later by an asteroid sound (which pans from the right audio channel to the left) and another piano note (which is styled much like the last note in the first logo's music).

Availability: Common. Appears on many pre-2007 games from The Learning Company, such as later Reader Rabbit and Scooby-Doo titles (Scooby-Doo: Jinx at the Sphinx being an example), as well as Caillou's Magic Playhouse, SpongeBob SquarePants Typing, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?: Treasures of Lost Knowledge, and Zoombinis: Logical Journey, among other games. Despite the 3rd logo being in use in 2007, this still appeared on some games such as the Nintendo DS and Wii ports of Reader Rabbit Kindergarten.

Legacy: Same as the previous logo.

3rd Logo (2007-2012)

Nickname: "The Red Rectangle"

Logo: On a black background, we see a newer Learning Company logo; it looks like the one used previously, but it's now a rectangle with the company name in the Kabel font, the text not italicized, and "Learning" in bold.

Variant: On all the games in the Carmen Sandiego: Adventures in Math series for the Wii, the logo is in-credit in the title sequence, and is shown above the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: It is unknown where the black background version originates, but the in-credit version is seen on all the WiiWare games in the Carmen Sandiego: Adventures in Math series.

Legacy: While not as popular as the previous logos, it's still remembered by some.