The Walt Disney Company

Background
The Walt Disney Company (formerly known as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio until 1926, Walt Disney Studio until 1929 and Walt Disney Productions until 1986) was founded as an animation studio in 1923 by and  after their previous studio Laugh-O-Gram Studio went defunct for bankruptcy. In 1937, the company produced its first animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is also the first North American animated feature. Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, the film was a hit and was followed up by more films including Pinocchio, Bambi and the experimental symphony film Fantasia. During the second world war, Disney's main focus shifted to production of military films and as such, production of animated features all but stopped. During this time, Disney put out "compilation films". That is, films consisting of a number of shorts put together, such as The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos. Around the same time, Disney began producing live-action films, with its first live action foray being the highly controversial animation hybrid Song of the South. an all-live action adaption of Treasure Island would follow by the end of the decade. By the end of the 1940s, Disney was also producing the True Life series of nature films.

In 1950, Disney returned to the animated films that made them successful with the release of Cinderella. This was followed in quick succession by Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). The latter film would be the last Disney film to be distributed by RKO as in 1953, Disney established its own distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution, named after the road on which the studio was situated.

When Walt Disney died in December 1966, his brother Roy O. Disney took over the studio and oversaw the release of films such as The Jungle Book, The Happiest Millionaire and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Roy died from a stroke in 1971, shortly after the opening of Walt Disney World. Walt's son in law Ron Miller began running the studio with the help of Walt and Roy's associates Card Walker and Donn Tatum. This era of leadership at Disney is widely associated with a series of ambitious live action flops such as The Black Hole and Tron, though most of these films have since gained a cult following. Despite Disney's live action struggles, the animation unit continued to have success with films such as Robin Hood. During his tenure, Miller established Touchstone Pictures and rebranded the feature film division as "Walt Disney Pictures", while Buena Vista was rebranded to "Buena Vista Pictures Distribution" with its opening card being dropped in favor of an in-credit text.

In 1986, the animation unit was split off, becoming Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Walt Disney Productions was renamed "The Walt Disney Company".

1st Logo (December 21, 1937-June 21, 1985)
1937-1968=

Logo: At the start of the film, we see the words "Walt Disney Presents" or "Walt Disney Productions Presents". At the end of the film, we see "The End, A Walt Disney Production" or "The End, Walt Disney Productions". While originally an in-credit text, on some films starting in 1948, "Walt Disney" is in the 1948 signature script (as seen later on The Wonderful World of Disney as well as the first Walt Disney Home Entertainment logo).

Variants:
 * On Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the first film to use this logo), the text reads "A Walt Disney FEATURE Production". The end title has the RKO Radio Pictures logo in the background with the words "A WALT DISNEY FEATURE Production IN TECHNICOLOR". Until 2009, post-RKO reissue prints used the usual "The End, A Walt Disney Production" notice.
 * From 1982 to 1985, the studio's theatrical product under the Disney name (except for the two shorts released in 1983, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, and Mickey's Christmas Carol) had simply "Walt Disney Productions" at the end of the credits. The text "the end" is omitted, as the practice of using these two words at the closing of films had pretty much ceased by now.
 * On Popeye and Dragonslayer, the text reads as "Paramount Pictures Corporation and Walt Disney Productions present", as both films were distributed in America by Paramount and internationally by Disney.
 * In some films, the movie's title is seen on the end title. Some examples include Make Mine Music, Fun & Fancy Free, Melody Time, and Treasure Island.
 * On Treasure Island and One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, notices for filming locations are added.
 * Sometimes, only "The End" is seen. Some examples are The Three Caballeros and Make Mine Music.
 * Song of the South does not have the "A Walt Disney Production" text at the end title.
 * Even after Walt Disney's death in 1966, "A Walt Disney Production" continued to be used until 1970 (the last to use it was The Aristocats). Strangely, it was seen on One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (the last two of which were technically in production while Walt Disney was still alive, as he originally envisioned the first three featurettes as a feature-length film).
 * "The End" was absent on Dad, Can I Borrow the Car?.
 * The original German and Swedish prints of The Rescuers (as seen on VHS releases) lacks the "The End" text of the closing title card.
 * Some films, like The Reluctant Dragon, Dumbo and Saludos Amigos have the end title containing "Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.".
 * For The Jungle Book ' s 1997 restoration for the 30th Anniversary Edition, the closing text ("The End - A Walt Disney Production") is white instead of the original yellow, possibly due to a restoration coloring error.
 * In foreign countries, "presents" is replaced by that country's translation (such as "Presenta" on Italian and Spanish prints).

FX/SFX: Usually none, but on 101 Dalmatians, the logo is animated, with the zoom-out of a dot, with big circles appearing all around the logo while the text is appearing, and a dot erasing the text with background translating to white continuing the opening titles to the film.

Music/Sounds: Usually the opening and closing themes of the movie.

Availability: Common. Still saved on classic Disney shorts and movies of the era. The only known film to not have this in-credit is Fantasia, aside from a copyright notice appearing on the title card of the film. The foreign versions are rare because they were only released in theatres, VHS, Laserdisc, VCD and some DVD releases as they are usually replaced with the domestic English credits for current DVD/Blu-ray releases.

Legacy: A favorite among fans of Walt Disney and his classic films.

2nd Logo (50th Anniversary) (December 22, 1972-July 12, 1973)


Nicknames: "50 Happy Years", "Smiling Mickey"

Logo: On a scarlet background with black, wavy, moving Moiré patterns, a blue version of Disney's 50th anniversary logo (a big "50" with Mickey Mouse ears on the "0" with the word "HAPPY" above it and "YEARS" below) appears and eventually changes the background into a blue background with images of Disney cartoon characters, outlined in green, facing the 50. The "50" logo zooms out followed by "HAPPY" zooming out above it and "YEARS" doing the same below. Tinker Bell appears, flies around, and waves her wand, changing the screen to black. The 1954 Buena Vista logo would follow.

FX/SFX: The several logo designs appearing, the zoom-in (revealing the background), Tinker Bell flying around, and the transition effect to the Buena Vista logo in the US and the UK or a local distributor logo internationally.

Music/Sounds: The first two bars of "When You Wish Upon a Star". An announcer (Dick Wesson) says "And now, a 50th-anniversary presentation from Walt Disney Productions!". On international releases, the announcer is absent, and the music is two full tones lower.

Availability: Extremely rare. Appeared before the 1954 Buena Vista logo on the studio's films (both original and reissues) in 1973 and also appeared briefly (twice) on The Wonderful World of Disney episode "50 Happy Years". Remains intact on Charley and the Angel. Its first known appearance was on Snowball Express, and its last known appearance was on A Disney Cartoon Jubilee.

3rd Logo (June 25, 1980)
Nickname: "Disney Script"

Logo: Superimposed over the opening credits, we have "WALT DiSNEY" in the familiar corporate Disney logo font and in yellow. Right under is "PRODUCTIONS", also in yellow.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme.

Availability: Extinct. This was spotted on Mickey Mouse Disco, after the Buena Vista logo. The short was seen on television several times, which includes being in episodes of various Disney cartoon compilation shows, such as Mickey's Mouse Tracks, Donald's Quack Attack and The Ink and Paint Club among others. It has never been made available on home video or on streaming, but it can be seen currently on 16mm copies of the short.

Legacy: Probably the first movie logo with the famed "DiSNEY" signature font, although it was already in use elsewhere since 1956.

4th Logo (1980)
Nickname: "Mickey Head"

Logo: We see a dark blue Mickey head with waves in sky blue within a blue background and on the Mickey head, the words "Walt Disney" in the original signature script are on the top and the word "PRODUCTIONS" is on the bottom.

Variant: A zoomed-out version exists, appearing alongside the 1975 Paramount Pictures logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The trailer theme.

Availability: Near extinction. The logo made its only appearance on the international trailer for Robert Altman's Popeye. The trailer was considered lost until recently when the trailer and the logo were discovered on the Greek VHS release of Donald Duck Goes West.

Legacy: It became a subject of discussions and speculations on the internet, being considered the most mysterious out of all the Disney logos.

5th Logo (1981)


Nicknames: "Disney Script II", "Zooming Script"

Logo: On a blue background, we see "WALT DiSNEY" in the familiar corporate Disney logo font and in red. Right under is "PRODUCTIONS" in white. The text is zooming in to the camera.

FX/SFX: The zoom-in.

Music/Sounds: Just an announcer saying the company name along with the sounds from the trailer.

Availability: Ultra rare. This was spotted on the original theatrical trailer of The Fox and the Hound.

6th Logo (1982)


Logo: On a twilight background, we see the "WALT DiSNEY" script in 3D and in red, with "PRODUCTIONS" below also in red. The background fades into a cloud time-lapse. Lightning sparks appear and accumulate before being absorbed by the Disney logo, which shines and 'melts' into a red ring.

FX/SFX: The cloud background, the lightning sparks and the logo melting into a ring.

Music/Sounds: A choir, followed by sounds of electricity.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on a 1982 Walt Disney Home Video demonstration tape.

7th Logo (1985)
Logo: On a red background, we see "WALT DiSNEY" in white, with "PRODUCTIONS" and "PRESENTS" below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. Can be seen on British pre-cert tapes of Walt Disney's Cartoon Classics: Cartoon Bonanza 1 and 2.

1st Logo (1985-1993)
Logo: Just a black background with a copyright notice on the bottom.

Variants:
 * The font may vary.
 * There's a variant that copyrights Buena Vista Pictures instead of Disney.
 * On Walt Disney Cartoon Classics releases, It is set on a blue background with the Cartoon Classics logo on the top.
 * On the VHS tape Mickey Knows Best, the copyright fades in of a static photo of sorcerer Mickey Mouse and one of the Mickey Mouse end cards.
 * On the VHS tape The Importance of Being Donald, the copyright fades in a photo with a TV (with footage of a Hollywood sign spoof with white Donald Duck text replacing Hollywood) and a static Donald Duck.

FX/SFX: Just the fading of the copyright notice. The Cartoon Classics variant is just the logo's animation. The Importance of Being Donald is the camera in the TV zooming into the Donald Duck sign.

Music/Sounds: Silent, but on some releases (such as Volume 4 and 5 of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Max Fleisher's Cartoon Capers), the twinkling sound from the Walt Disney Television "Rainbow Castle" logo (usually due to this replacing said logo) is used. The Cartoon Classics variant originally used the end of the Cartoon Classics theme, but was later silent.

Availability: Very rare. It's fairly hard to come by as most VHS releases lack it.
 * The 1985 version only appears on the Walt Disney Home Video Golden Collection II series after the Neon Mickey logo
 * The version with the copyright date on top of the Disney text appears on some 1986 cartoon VHS's like A Tale of Two Chipmunks.
 * Some 1990 Disney Halloween videos also have this as well at the very end.
 * Your easiest bet to find this is on VHS releases of DuckTales, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin, as it plasters over the Walt Disney Television logo.
 * The Buena Vista variant appears on the 1990 reissues of the Max Fleischer's Cartoon Capers and Paddington Bear VHS tapes.
 * The Cartoon Classics variant appeared at the end of VHS's released under the label (except for the 1990 Halloween tapes, which instead use the normal copyright).
 * Some Japanese dubs of Disney animated movies also have this after the movie.

2nd Logo (1989-1996)
Logo: On a black screen, we see the copyright year in Roman numerals, with "serif WALT DiSNEY serif" below it. "serif" is seen below everything.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the ending theme.

Availability: Extinct. It was only used on television, replacing the in-credit Walt Disney Productions text seen at the end of shows. Seen on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and the making-of featurette for A Goofy Movie. It would later be replaced by Disney Enterprises.