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.

2nd Logo

(June 1966-November 23, 1968)

Nicknames: "Tri-Colored V", "Tri-Colored TV Monitors"
Logo: Over a white background, we see three colorized TV tubes aside each other, as in the infamous "V" design from theprevious logo. These names pop up on both tubes:

ARTHUR RANKIN, Jr. (in the blue tube on the left)

JULES BASS (in the green tube on the right)

The third tube (which is orange) on the bottom has "Production" appear in it and "AN" above the logo, revealing the phrase as "AN ARTHUR RANKIN, Jr.-JULES BASS Production." We pan out to reveal the words "VIDEOCrAFT International, Limited" appearing in black underneath the logo.
Trivia: This logo was recently restored by Rankin-Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt and is featured in his Rankin-Bass portfolio.
FX/SFX: Names appear in television tubes, the tubes zoom out, and the logotype appears.
Music/Sounds: A strum and two horn notes, followed by a 6-note flute tune and a dramatic finish. Bongos play throughout the whole thing. The music was composed by Maury Laws and Jules Bass.
Availability: Ultra rare. Was last seen on The King Kong Show, and original airings of the 1967 Cricket on the Hearth special. Don't expect this on the current TV airings and DVD/Blu-ray releases of both, as they are plastered over with the first Rankin-Bass logo.
Editor's Note: The logo is simple, but it's known for its music, which would be more infamous when the company became Rankin-Bass. It's strange that the "r" is in lowercase while the others are uppercase.

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Rankin-Bass Productions

1st Logo

(December 19, 1968-December 10, 1974)

Nicknames: "RB-TV Monitor", "Rankin-Bass on TV", "The Christmas Special Logo"

Logo: On a blue background, a large white tube sits flat, resembling a TV screen. A blue rectangle then appears like a door shutting and 2 circles appear separately on top of each other, one blue and the other light blue. The light blue and blue text "A ranKin bass PRODUCTION", each word stacked, appears next to the shapes. The logo itself is suppose to represent an abstract "RB", with the "R" formed up with the darker colored parts and the "B" made up of all the shapes.

Bylines:

• "A Division of Tomorrow Entertainment" (c.1971-1974)
  
• Videocraft copyright notice, e.g. "Videocraft International Limited MCMLXX"
  
• Bylineless

Variant: Some early appearances of this logo had the animation occurring without the tube outline and with the ending of the show's theme playing over it. This can usually be seen on The Little Drummer Boy and Frosty the Snowman.

FX/SFX: Shapes form an abstract "R", and the text appearing.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1966 Videocraft International logo. Sometimes, it is silent, recent prints of Frosty the Snowman have it either with the film's closing theme or none, original prints and FHE releases have the music.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a variant in which the bongos come in early.

Availability: Common, especially around the Christmas season. It appears on most of Rankin-Bass's Christmas output when aired by CBS, ABC Family (now Freeform), AMC and other channels, as well as on DVD and most VHS releases. Strangely enough, on one airing of The Little Drummer Boy, this logo was replaced with the "Blues" logo! It was plastered by the 1984 WBTV shield on the 2000 DVD of The Year Without a Santa Claus, but on the 2007 "Deluxe Edition" DVD, the logo is intact, while older FOX/ABC Family (now Freeform) airings plastered this logo with the 1990 WBTD and 1994 WBTV Domestic Pay TV logos due to split screen credits.

Editor's Note: Simple, but decent for 1968. It's also a beloved and nostalgic logo by many, particularly during the Christmas season.

2nd Logo

(September 11, 1971-September 1, 1973)

Logo: Superimposed over the Motown logo are the words "Rankin/Bass" in a script font superimposed onto it with the text "IN ASSOCIATION WITH".

FX/SFX: The fade in.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1971 Motown Productions logo.

Availability: Uncommon. It was only seen on The Jackson 5ive.

Editor's Note: None