Disney Educational Productions

Background
Disney Educational Productions (formerly Walt Disney Educational Media Company until 1987) was established in 1969 as a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company to produce educational media. It produced educational series such as Bill Nye the Science Guy, as well as educational shorts, many involving Disney characters.

1st Logo (Late 1970s-Mid 1980s)
Logo: We see the WDEMC logo of the time, either presented over a randomized background or superimposed over the opening credits. The logo features a yellow Mickey head on the top, but styled like a radar globe and is wearing a graduation cap. Below that is the company name in yellow, styled like this: WALT DiSNEY EDUCATIONAL MEDIA COMPANY Presents

Trivia: The globe Mickey resembles the 1971-1996 Walt Disney World logo.

Variants: The logo may be featured in different colors, or in-credit.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme.

Availability: Rare.

2nd Logo (Mid 1980s-August 2, 1987)
Logo: An animated version of the previous logo. On a black background, the Mickey head from the previous logo, tilted upwards, zooms out to the top of the screen. It tilts downwards, and "WALT DiSNEY" in black with a blue glow and in its usual corporate font writes itself onscreen. As this happens, the Mickey head glows and turns metallic. After the writing, "EDUCATIONAL MEDIA COMPANY Presents" (written exactly like the previous logo but in a different font) wipes onto the screen via 'sparkle' effect. The remainder of the logo has the entire logo shining.

Closing Variant: After the ending credits of the film, the Mickey head fades in the black background with the text "THE END" under it.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation.

Music/Sounds: A twinkling theme when the logo forms. When the company name writes itself, an 8-note horn fanfare plays throughout. This ends with twinkling sounds and a majestic sounder.

Music/Sounds Variant: Sometimes, it's the opening theme of the film.

Availability: Near extinction. It was used during WDEMC's last period before its rebranding as Disney Educational Productions. Its last known appearance was in Goofy's Hygiene Game.

1st Logo (1987-2008?)


Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse wearing a graduation cap and holding a book, fade in via 'glitter' effect on the left hand side of the screen. Mickey then opens the book, and throws out sparkling dust that forms the white-pink text "Waltograph " in the corporate Disney font. The words "Arial " in a sans-serif typeface fade in underneath a second later as a copyright notice fades in underneath Mickey. The text shines, and Mickey blinks a couple of times before turning completely static.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the copyright notice doesn't appear.
 * Starting in the mid 1990's, an alternate version exists where it just shows the text in the center of the screen. Only "Waltograph" shines here. In later years, the logo now has a silver/purple color scheme, "Times New Roman" is in a different font, and "Times New Roman" is seen above the logo.
 * A shorter version, which cuts out Mickey appearing, exists.
 * Sometimes, the copyright date may be expanded upon.

Technique: Camera-controlled motion graphics combined with the hand-drawn Mickey animation.

Music/Sounds: A synth orchestral pad, followed by a mellow flute-based theme accompanied by twinkling sound effects when Mickey throws the sparkling dust.

Music/Sounds Variant(s):
 * Some films have their own versions of the music:
 * On Disney's Animated Alphabet, an upbeat pop-based synth theme was used.
 * A quirky Teletubbies or The Magic School Bus-esque theme, used on Bill Nye the Science Guy tapes.
 * A synth-pop theme a la Frankie Goes to Hollywood with synth bells as Mickey throws out the sparkling dust, which continues after the logo fades out, used on the Language Arts Through Imagination videos How Does It Feel to Be an Elephant? and How Does Sound Sound?.
 * A soothing flute theme with a harp glissando as Mickey throws out the sparkling dust and a synth "ding", used on the Goofy Field Trips shorts.
 * A synth tune with a marching band flair, used on the Mickey Field Trips shorts.
 * A spooky theme, used on Mickey's Safety Club - Halloween Surprises.
 * Another synth theme with magical sparkles as Mickey fades in and throws the dust, used on Mickey's Safety Club - Playground Fun.
 * The logo may be silent. This is most common with the text variant.
 * Mickey laughs on some films.
 * Sometimes, the opening theme of the program is heard.

Availability: Uncommon, bordering on rare. Appears on VHS, Betamax and VCDs from the company, especially Bill Nye the Science Guy. Its first known appearance was in the 1987 short Do Dragons Dream?.

2nd Logo (2008-2017?)


Logo: On a gradient black/blue background, the word "DISNEY" (in the 2006 script) zooms out, followed by the words "EDUCATIONAL" and "PRODUCTIONS". Then a star draws "Building thinkers every day" before stopping and leaving a translucent trail below "EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTIONS".

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A majestic synth sounder with twinkling sounds.

Availability: Seen on recent DVDs of that time such as the Science of Disney Imagineering series.