Paramount Home Entertainment

Background
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly "Paramount Home Media Distribution", "Paramount Home Video", and "Paramount Video") is Paramount Pictures' home media division and was formed in 1979 (some sources claim late 1975). The company owns the home media rights to films and shows owned by Paramount and shows from sister companies CBS Entertainment Group (under the label CBS Home Entertainment; the pre-2006 Paramount Television library is released under this label as well) and Paramount Media Networks (under individual labels such as MTV Home Video and other subsidiaries). The company also licenses the right to release material from several independent studios. The company was the final major Hollywood studio to release material on the Betamax format, with releases to 1993 in the wide market and up to 1996 with manufactured-on-demand titles (the last being Mission: Impossible). They formerly released DreamWorks Animation material through DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment until 2014, when the latter acquired distribution rights to their library and transferred the rights to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. On September 27, 2011, Paramount Home Entertainment was renamed Paramount Home Media Distribution after merging with Paramount Digital and Television. Starting in 2012, the Republic Pictures library and select Paramount films were licensed to Olive Films and Kino Lorber. From 2013-2016, the company licensed the home media rights to most of the Paramount Pictures (with some exceptions) library to Warner Home Video. Paramount continues to release licensed material and material from sister companies. In May 2019, Paramount Home Media Distribution was renamed back to Paramount Home Entertainment.

1st Logo (November 12, 1996)


Logo: On a gold background, we see the text "Paramount" move into its usual position onto the company's print logo, which is engraved onto the background. Once the text settles, the Viacom "Wigga-Wigga" byline fades in underneath.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A male announcer (Nick Tate) says, "Paramount Pictures, the best show in town!" In the background, the same music from the fifth Paramount Home Video logo (albeit abridged) is heard.

Music/Sounds Trivia: The tagline is a nod to Paramount's slogan in the 1920s: "If it's a Paramount picture, it's the best show in town."

Availability: Rare. Only seen on the original North American VHS release (both United States and Canadian prints) of Mission: Impossible.

2nd Logo (Early 1998-1999)


Logo: Over a cloudy sunset background, we see a different CGI rendition of the famed Paramountain; it's covered with snow and ice, with the "Paramount" script and stars already formed on top of it, albeit without a byline. The camera slowly zooms in and rotates around the logo, showing us the back of the mountain as a lens flare flashes.

Trivia: This logo appears to be the base for the Paramount Classics logo, which virtually has the same animation albeit in reverse.

Variant: Paramount adapted this logo for use in two trailers (see here for more details). This logo appears to be filmed, so it's possible it was intended to be a new theatrical logo but ended up being unused for that purpose (since Paramount re-did their 1986 logo in 1999).

Technique: CGI created by Pittard Sullivan.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare ("The Crimson Gump" from the score of Forrest Gump) is heard throughout as Jim Cummings intones:
 * Early 1998: "In celebration of the end of one millennium and the dawn of another, Paramount Pictures is preparing to bring to movie lovers everywhere a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."
 * 1998-1999: "...In celebration of the end of one century and the dawn of another...Paramount Pictures is proud to present a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."

Availability: Rare. This was only ever used on Paramount's "Millennium Collection" video trailer, which can be seen on the VHS releases of In & Out, Sliding Doors, Hard Rain, A Simple Plan, Event Horizon, Switchback, Twilight (1998), and A Smile Like Yours.

3rd Logo (May 7, 2002-December 27, 2008)
Logo: Same as the 2002-2011 movie logo, but it's videotaped and zoomed out (also known as open-matte).

Variants:
 * For the logo's first and official year, 2002, the 90th Anniversary version is used. Starting in 2003, the standard one is used instead.
 * There is a shorter, more common version which starts with the stars zooming down through the clouds.
 * In rare cases, the logo doesn't fade in or out. An example of this is the 2005 VHS of Dora the Explorer: It's a Party!
 * A widescreen version exists. This can be seen on widescreen releases from Paramount.
 * Even though the clouds in the movie logo were updated on the movie The Sum of All Fears, Paramount still used the prototype variant of the clouds for most home video releases until 2003. However, the 90th Anniversary version with the finalized clouds was seen on Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, the only home video release to use this variation.
 * A filmed version of the 2003 variant exists.
 * At the end of tapes, the finished product is seen, with the clouds moving westward in the background.
 * On the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS, the logo is zoomed in, like the Paramount Network Television logo.

Technique: Same as its movie counterpart.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * At the end of the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS, the 1989 version of the 1987 Paramount Television theme is heard. It's not heard on the demo version of the VHS, however.
 * Mean Girls used the Paramount on Parade fanfare.

Availability: Fairly common. This was used as another de-facto home video logo.
 * The 90th Anniversary version is used on 2002 VHS and DVD releases such as Trading Places, SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories, MTV Yoga, Dora the Explorer: Move to the Music, The Day Reagan Was Shot, Flashdance, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (on the VHS only, where this oddly plasters the 1999 Paramount logo that the film used), Black Sheep, Vanilla Sky, Major League, Damaged Care, Bleacher Bums, My Horrible Year!, all 3 Jackass volumes, Rugrats Christmas, Clockstoppers, Hey Arnold!: The Movie, and K-19: The Widowmaker.
 * The standard version is used on almost every Paramount VHS released from 2003 onwards. It also appears on the European versions of SpongeBob SquarePants DVDs Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies and Halloween.
 * The standard version plasters the 90th Anniversary variant of the 2002 Paramount Pictures logo on the 2003 VHS releases of Extreme Ops, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, Jackass: The Movie, and The Hours.
 * The zoomed-in version as well as the closing version with the Paramount Television fanfare is extremely rare, and as such only appeared on the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS.
 * The closing version is seen at the end of all Paramount VHS releases from 2002-2006.
 * Demo tapes still used this logo through the end of 2008 (a few demo tapes from 2004-2007 oddly used the 4th logo), while VCD releases continued using this logo until 2007. (such as the 2007 VCD of Flushed Away)
 * The standard version makes a surprise appearance on the 2009 Australian DVD of Charlie & Boots.