Touchstone Pictures: Difference between revisions

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===Background===

'''Touchstone Pictures''' (formerly "Touchstone Films") was established by [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney Productions]] on February 15, 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'', ''Con Air'', ''Unbreakable'', ''Signs'', and many more films. However, the company began a slow decline in 2003 with the success of ''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' as the first PG-13 film released under the mainline [[Walt Disney Pictures]] banner. The label became relegated to R-rated and PG and PG-13 fare that didn't fit the mainline banner as a result. Two huge blows were dealt to the company in 2009: 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 Studios]] (except the EMEA region and India), 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. The final blow came with 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 on December 20, 2017<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/business/media/disney-streaming-service-ricky-strauss.html</ref> after the expiration of their DreamWorks deal in August 2016 (since they went back to [[Amblin Partners]] and [[Universal Pictures]] for distribution) and their eventual acquisition of [[21st Century Fox]] in 2019. Its slate has since been taken over by Walt Disney Pictures (for most Disney style films), [[20th Century Studios]] (for non-Disney style films and several mid-budget adult films), and [[Searchlight Pictures]] (for low-budget, independent and third-party films), while several other Disney divisions have produced or are developing television series and films based on previous Touchstone properties for [[Disney+ Originals|Disney+]] and [[Hulu]]. However, the 2018 film ''Sherlock Gnomes'', the sequel and spin-off to ''Gnomeo & Juliet'', was released by [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] instead of Disney. Although 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. Today, Touchstone is in a similar place as Disney's other former mature label, [[Hollywood Pictures]], existing solely as an in-name-only unit to hold the copyright of their films.

===1st Logo (March 9, 1984)===

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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:

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{{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.

'''Variant:''' An open matte version of this logo exists on full-screen versions of Touchstone's debut release, ''Splash''.''

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

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

'''Availability:''' Very rare. Only seen on ''Splash''. It's still seen on TV airings and VHS and DVD prints of said film as well as on [[Disney+ Originals|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.

===2nd Logo (September 29, 1984-March 22, 1985)===

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'''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 that 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|{{Font|Times New Roman|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. Composed by Jaime Robbie Robertson. In other cases, it's silent.

'''Availability:''' Rare. Only known to appear on 2 films: ''Country'' and ''Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend''. It's intact 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.

===3rd Logo (August 9, 1985-October 17, 2003)===

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'''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 "{{color|blue|{{Font|Times New Roman|'''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, "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''FILMS'''}}" was seen instead of "{{Font|Times New Roman|'''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 (sometimes 3D during the logo's later years) from [[The Walt Disney Company|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 (who also composed the 1985-2006 [[Walt Disney Pictures]] logo). In other cases, it used the opening/closing theme of the movie or its silent. On some films, such as ''The Color of Money'', ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''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 Media Group|Spyglass Entertainment]] productions.  

'''Music/Sounds Variants:'''

* On AMC's print of ''Shanghai Noon'', the logo is low pitched.

* Other times, it starts off silent, and when the oblong morphs into a blue ball, the opening theme starts over the second half.  

'''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''.  

* A short version of this logo also appears at the end of international prints of ''The Rocketeer'', in place of the Walt Disney Pictures logo as seen on the American release.

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

===4th Logo (August 2, 2002-September 2, 2016)===

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'''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 "{{Font|Times New Roman|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 settles in place.

'''Variants:'''

* Sometimes, the logo is tinted blue.

* On 4:3 prints of films, the logo is shown in open matte.

'''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.  

* Also seen at the start of [[DreamWorks Pictures|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 and a nice logo to end off the company's history.

===Copyright Stamp===

Here are the information about the copyright stamp on Touchstone's films:

*1984-2010: Copyright © by Touchstone Pictures Inc

===References===

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{{Movie-Navbox}}{{Navbox-WaltDisney}}

[[Category:Film logos]]