Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios/Logo Variations

These are the logo variations seen throughout the years by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

The Big House (1930):
 * Jackie is seen moving within the filmstrip circle but doesn't roar. A fast-tempo fanfare is heard, ending with a flourish.

Davy Jones' Locker and Hell's Fire (both 1933):
 * These two Willie Whopper shorts, produced in Cinecolor, feature a still MGM logo with Jackie on a blue BG.

The Chinese Nightingale (1935, 1980s BBC1 airing):
 * The background is blue instead of black. This was because the BBC1 globe ident played before the cartoon, in which the globe ident was mechanical and its colors were digitally inserted (via chroma key).

Petunia Natural Park (1939):
 * A rotoscoped version of Jackie the Lion is used. It was considered to be an animated version of the 1928 footage of the logo.

Blitz Wolf, The Early Bird Dood It!, Chips Off the Old Block, and Fine Feathered Friend (1942):
 * We see the red/yellow sunburst MGM Cartoon logo, with Tanner the Lion roaring in delayed motion as synced to jazzy opening music known as "The Tiger Rag".

Some of the Best (1949):
 * The Jackie logo animates as usual, but the logo freezes towards the end so an announcer can speak before cross-dissolving into the opening credits: "This, ladies and gentlemen, is Leo the Lion, proud trademark of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This year, 1949, marks his silver anniversary; twenty-five years during which his familiar roar has preceded those four famous words which signify the very best in motion picture entertainment: 'Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents...'."

The Next Voice You Hear (1950) *and Westward the Women (1951):
 * A still image of Jackie is shown. The deliberate practice of showing the MGM Lion sans roaring predates the variation seen on Ben-Hur *(1959).

Ben-Hur (1959):
 * A still image of the 1957 MGM logo with Leo looking at the left. The logo is still because director William Wyler thought that a roaring lion would create the wrong mood for the opening nativity scene.

North by Northwest (1959):
 * The MGM logo is seen in monochrome and a shadow effect over an aquamarine background.

Switchin' Kitten (1961):
 * The ending of this cartoon has Jerry climbing into a mouse hole decked out with an MGM ribbon. His face gets a bit more vicious as he roars with the MGM lion roar sound.

Postman's Knock (1962):
 * After the MGM lion roars, it turns into a still drawing, which zooms out. It then appears on the back of a letter.



A Soviet Russian print of the movie had a still variant of the logo, with the "ARS GRATIA ARTIS" text removed and the text in Russian, saying "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer England".

Tall in the Trap (1962):
 * The MGM logo appears as a "wanted" poster, with Leo drawn in the T&J *style below the words "WANTED", "ARS GRATIA ARTIS" on a yellow banner below him, and "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CARTOON" below that. As a guitar rendition of the T&J *theme plays, the poster gets shot.

Sorry Safari (1962):
 * The start of the cartoon replaces the MGM logo with an in-credit text saying "A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CARTOON" on a background of a clip from the cartoon of a lion growling.

MGM's The Big Parade of Comedy (1964):
 * We see the MGM logo with the sign "OUT TO LUNCH" over the circle, hiding Leo's head as he roars. Suddenly the sign flips up to reveal an animated man trapped in Leo's mouth kicking, beating, and yelling "Ow! Ow! Get me outta here!"

Wise Guys (1986):
 * The MGM lion has a different roar track. After the second roar, the logo spins away from the screen, screaming, and transitions to the credits.

O.C. and Stiggs (1987):
 * As in Brewster McCloud, Robert Altman yet again played around with Leo. Instead of roaring, the lion utters the title characters' names in a California surfer accent.

MGM Sing Alongs (1997, VHS Series):
 * The MGM lions roars once, then darkens to where the silhouette of the lion ("Leo Lionheart") is seen inside the hole with the director saying, "Cut! That's a wrap!" Then it transitions to the program.

The Lionhearts (1998-2000, MGM Television):
 * The cartoon version of the lion seen ("Leo Lionheart") appears in the ribboning. He soon pulls himself out, wearing a leather jacket.

Josie and the Pussycats (2001, US Version):
 * The MGM lion morphs into a screaming fan.

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002):
 * A crocodile is in place of the lion and features the actual sound of the crocodile roaring.

Soul Plane (2004):
 * The logo turns into an orange print version on a blue background.

The Brothers Grimm (2005):
 * The second roar is replaced with a wolf's howling.

The Pink Panther (2006):
 * Leo roars first, but before he can finish his 2nd roar, the logo opens up and an animated Inspector Jacques Clouseau steps out and looks around. He leaves, revealing the Pink Panther behind, who closes the door. Leo's jaw drops and grunts as he is slammed back.

Casino Royale (2006):
 * The logo is in black & white.

The Cabin in the Woods (2010):
 * The logo, and a still version of the United Artists logo, crossfade into each other on a complicated red background, and move onto the opening credits. This was intended to appear in the film on its intended release; however, MGM's financial difficulties prevented that from happening. The final 2012 release of the film uses the 2005 Lionsgate "horror" logo as well as a newer credits sequence.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011):
 * The 2008 logo is silent with the film's opening theme playing over.

Hope Springs (2012):
 * The first movie to use the 2012 MGM logo, though in this case it's shortened, fading in before the first roar.

Robocop (2014):
 * The lion's roar is replaced with Samuel L. Jackson's character doing a vocal warmup.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015):
 * The lion's roars are replaced with cell phone rings.

Poltergeist (2015):
 * The logo flashes as a deformed and glitched up version then flashes back.

The Addams Family (2019):
 * The logo plays normal until the second roar, where Leo turns into Kitty Kat. Then an apple falls down and Kitty leaps out from the ribbon and knocks the apple off screen, before jumping off screen as the logo falls down to reveal The Addams Family's house (in color).

Candyman (2021):
 * The 2021 logo is mirrored alongside the Universal Pictures, BRON and Monkeypaw Productions logos, to reference the saying of Candyman's name into a mirror five times.

No Time to Die (2021):
 * The 2021 logo is shortened slightly and uses the zooming and projector sound effects from the 2012 logo. This is only seen in some prints, like the International ones for example.
 * On the IMAX re-release, when Leo starts to roar, the logo zooms out to the left, as on the right, we see the words "60 YEARS OF BOND" On the 6, we see the 007 logo fade in number by number, and then when the gun fades in, what is supposed to look like a bullet appears from the left of the "0". The iconic James Bond intro sound plays here also, and the "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" text appears earlier and zooms out at a slower rate.