Touchstone Pictures: Difference between revisions

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Touchstone Pictures (formerly "Touchstone Films") was established by [[Walt Disney Pictures|The Walt Disney Company]] in February 1984 to produce and distribute more adult-oriented films. The company was merely a brand, and didn't operate as a separate company. The company became a dominant force between its establishment in the 1980s to the early 2000s, making several successful films such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''Three Men and a Baby'', ''Adventures in Babysitting'', ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'', ''The Color of Money'', and many more films. However, the company suffered a halt in 2009, when two blows were dealt to the company. First, the then-new Disney chairman Rich Ross trimmed the number of films Disney released in a year to eight. This business plan resulted in planned sequels for Touchstone hits being cancelled, and many more flops to come for Disney in general (he left after the failures of ''John Carter'' and ''Mars Needs Moms''); the last Touchstone film released solo, without distributing for others, was ''You Again''. Meanwhile, Disney eventually stopped producing adult-oriented but family-friendly films after ''Old Dogs'' flopped with critics (though it did reasonably well at the box office). After all this, Touchstone began merely distributing films for [[Lucasfilm Ltd.|Lucasfilm]], [[Miramax Films|Miramax]], and [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]], as well as foreign films and titles Disney didn't see value in. It didn't help either that Disney was beginning to release their Marvel and Star Wars films under the respective Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm brands. Their output was even more slow after the critical and commercial failure of ''Strange Magic'', with them only distributing ''Bridge of Spies'' and ''The Light Between Oceans'' since then, the latter ultimately being the company's final film. Disney quietly retired the label in 2018 after the expiration of their DreamWorks deal (since they went back to [[Universal Pictures]] for distribution) and their eventual acquisition of [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] in 2019. While the 2019 film ''Glass'' was rumored to be released by Touchstone outside of the United States, it was instead released under the revived [[Buena Vista International]] label.

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TouchStone Films (1984) (HQ).png

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'''Nicknames''': "Thunderball", "Static Thunderball", "Thunderball of Boredom", "Touchstone Thunderball"

'''Logo''': On a black/{{Font color|salmon|salmon}} gradient background, we see a {{Font color|blue|blue}} ball with 2 {{Font color|gold|yellow}} thunderbolts cut into it diagonally. Underneath it is the {{Font color|darkblue|dark blue}} text:

<div style='text-align: center;'>

{{Font|serif|{{Font color|darkblue|T O U C H S T O N E}}}}</div>

<div style='text-align: center;'><small>{{font|serif|{{Font color|darkblue|F I L M S}}}}</small></div>

'''Trivia''': The logo was designed by Jerry Kuyper of Landor Associates.

'''FX/SFX''': None.

'''Music/Sounds''': None.

'''Availability''': Only seen on ''Splash''. It's still seen on TV airings and VHS and DVD prints of said film as well as on Disney+, but some late-'80s to mid-'90s issues plaster it with the early version of the 3rd logo.

'''Editor's Note''': This was most likely a placeholder logo, as Disney introduced the Touchstone name and logo less than a month before the release of ''Splash'', which explains its static nature. The pink color scheme for the background is very 1980s.

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Touchstone2.jpg

{{YouTube|id=bzjTA679W1k}}

'''Nicknames''': "Shattering Thunderball", "Thunderball II", "Touchstone Thunderball II"

'''Logo''': We start on a {{Font color|blue|blue}} background, which then shrinks into a ball on a black background zooms out into the upper center portion of the screen. After it takes a small dip, it heads toward the background where it flashes and turns into the thunderball from the 1st logo. The thunderbolts shine as the background lightens up with salmon concentric circles, which get dimmer the farther out they go. "{{Font color|navy|TOUCHSTONE FILMS}}" at the bottom in {{Font color|navy|navy}} blue text, then fades in below.

'''Variant''': On fullscreen versions of ''Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend'', as that film was shot in 2.35:1, the logo was squeezed vertically to fit the standard TV aspect ratio, so the circle became an vertical oval.

'''FX/SFX''': The "shrinking" of the circle, and the flash. All 80's cel animation.

'''Music/Sounds''': A "wind-blowing" sound followed by a "chime" during the flash part of the animation. In other cases, it's silent.

'''Availability''': Extremely rare. Only known to appear on 2 films: ''Country'' and ''Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend''. It also appears on their respective DVD and Blu-ray releases.

'''Editor's Note''': A notable wasted logo. It was actually an effective, if somewhat dated, piece of art.

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File:Touchstone4.jpg

{{YouTube|id=GskFOf2WLZ0|id2=dO7rxC40Xiw}}

'''Nicknames''': "The Snake", "Thunderball III", "Touchstone Thunderball III", "Snake Thunderball"

'''Logo''': On a black background, a {{Font color|blue|blue}} oblong moves from the right side of the screen to the left. As it shrinks to the left of the screen, the stacked text "TOUCHSTONE PICTURES" slides next to it. After the oblong morphs into a {{Font color|blue|blue}} ball, the text shines from right to left before hitting the ball. After the text hits the ball, the ball flashes and glows orange, gaining the thunderbolt from the last 2 logos on it.

'''Variants''':

* For the first two years of this logo's use, "FILMS" was seen instead of "PICTURES". The "shining" of the letters is also difficult to see and the flash was bigger. This version appeared on ''My Science Project'', ''Down and Out in Beverly Hills'', ''Off Beat'', ''Ruthless People'', and ''The Color of Money''.

*At the end of a French television broadcast of ''Six Days, Seven Nights'' on the Chérie 25 network, a shortened version was used (most likely as a result of time compression), which starts with the text shining and also cuts to the 2006 [[Buena Vista International Television]] logo before it fades out.  

'''FX/SFX''': The stretching ball, the "flash" and the "electricity", pretty good 2D animation from Walt Disney Productions (now known as [[Walt Disney Animation Studios]]).

'''Music/Sounds''': A series of synthesized bells, ending in a "twang" when the circle and thunder meet, composed by John Debney. In other cases, it used the opening/closing theme of the movie or its silent. On some films, such as ''The Color of Money'', ''3 Ninjas'' and ''The Waterboy'', the film's opening score deliberately syncs up with the logo's animation. In later years, the theme was rarely used, at a point that starting in the early 2000s, it was mainly mostly used on [[Spyglass Entertainment]] productions.  

'''Music/Sounds Variant''': On AMC's print of ''Shanghai Noon'', the logo is low pitched.  

'''Availability''': Common, due to its longevity of nearly 20 years. It's found on many movies produced by the company during this time. It was first seen on ''My Science Project'' and was last seen on ''Shanghai Knights'', released on February 7, 2003, but made one last surprise appearance on ''Veronica Guerin''. This logo wasn't seen at all on ''Gangs of New York'', ''Jerky Boys: The Movie'', and overseas theatrical prints of ''Face/Off'', ''Air Force One'', ''Starship Troopers'', and ''Die Hard With a Vengeance'' (for the latter, co-producer [[Cinergi Pictures Entertainment|Cinergi]] sold most international theatrical rights to Disney/Buena Vista). However, all overseas TV, video, and streaming releases of the former 3 films start with the Buena Vista International logo, while ''Die Hard With a Vengeance'' (save the European [[Touchstone Home Entertainment]] Blu-ray which contains Buena Vista International) only opens with Cinergi. It is unclear if either this logo or [[Buena Vista International]] appears on international prints of either ''End of Days'' or ''The Hurricane'' (both [[Beacon Pictures]] productions), though some European DVDs contain the home video variant of this logo on the latter film. This logo was seen on pre-2006 prints of ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'', though newer remastered prints have it plastered with the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo starting with the 3D re-release. It can still be found on pre-2006 DVD and VHS releases of said film. Surprisingly, this can be seen at the start of the original UK VHS release of ''Pulp Fiction'', before the [[Miramax Films]] logo.  

'''Editor's Note''': One of the most iconic logos of the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to its mystical music and memorable animation.

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{{YouTube|id=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF0bnric4Hs}}

'''Nicknames''': "Thunderball IV", "CGI Golden-Light Thunderball", "Touchstone Thunderball IV", "CGI Touchstone Thunderball"

'''Logo''': On a black background, the lightning bolt from the previous logo streaks in and zooms back onto a grey-blue 3D sphere. After that, the text "TOUCHSTONE PICTURES" zooms out, at first a shadow then is lit up. The lightning bolt also lets out orange streaks that die down when the text settle in place.

'''Variant''': Beginning in the late 2000s, the logo has a more orange tint to it.

'''FX/SFX''': The zooming out of the flash. Great CGI from Picturemill.

'''Music/Sounds''': Usually none or the film's opening theme, but on a few films, such as ''Mr. 3000'', the previous logo's music can be heard.

'''Music/Sounds Variants''':

* On some films such as ''Under the Tuscan Sun'', the synth chord in the background and the final note are removed and a different synth note sustains itself.

* Composer James Newton Howard wrote a theme for the logo to be specially used for ''Signs'', played on a piano. Although it wound up unused, it was later featured in the respective film's expanded score album. It might have been created as a main theme for the logo in general, but this remains unknown. The possible theme can be heard [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKDaT4ougkw here], and its alternate version can be heard [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3JtHEAe2Ms here].

'''Availability''': Common. Seen on all Touchstone releases starting with the debut of ''Signs'' in 2002, and ending with ''The Light Between Oceans'' in 2016. Despite the logo appearing as early as 2002, the previous logo continued to be used until 2003, where this logo's use became more widespread, starting with ''Bringing Down the House'', released on March 7. Also seen at the start of DreamWorks films from ''I Am Number Four'' to ''The Light Between Oceans'', and at the end of trailers for those films, as well as American prints of ''The Wind Rises''.

'''Editor's Note''': A great CGI effort that still holds up very well today.

[[Category:Film logos]]

[[Category:The Walt Disney Company]]