Gracie Films

Background
Gracie Films is the film and television production company of James L. Brooks, established in 1986 and named after late comedian Gracie Allen (1895-1964). Their first production was The Tracey Ullman Show, an early hit for FOX. They soon produced Broadcast News, another hit. They began to produce hit after hit such as Big, The Simpsons (which came from The Tracey Ullman Show), Say Anything, and The War of the Roses, making them one of the most successful independent studios of all time.

1st Logo (April 5, 1987-January 25, 2009)
Nicknames: "Shhh!", "The Dark Cinema", "Shush Lady", "The Shushie Lady", "The Cinema"

Logo: We start off in a cinema, with lots of chattering going on. Then, after a few seconds, a female silhouette that is close to us makes a "shush" gesture. Then, the audience becomes silent, the lights dim, and the projector comes on and casts a blue light to the screen, and then the words "Serif" (in white color) fade in. It is usually followed by a black background with the text "In Association With" written against it.

Trivia: This logo was parodied at the end of Queer Duck: The Movie, the audience is different here (consisting of the main characters of Queer Duck). Instead we hear the normal shushing, we also hear Queer Duck (voiced by Jim J. Bullock) saying "Oh, hush yourself, b**ch!", and the text in the projector screen reads "DISGRACE FILMS".

Variants (a few of them, anyway):


 * The Simpsons has featured many alternate variations of the logo over the years, with different music, sound effects, and/or dialogue. One recurring variation is on Halloween episodes, where a woman screaming is heard followed by a creepy pipe organ playing the theme. For a full comprehensive list of variations, see The Simpsons Archive's Alternate Credits Guide or our variations page on this company.
 * Another famous example of a variant is on The Simpsons Season 4 episode "Kamp Krusty", where a mariachi band plays the jingle, and after that, a bunch of people yell "Ole!"
 * The first visual variation of this logo on a Simpsons episode was in the episode "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" (which can be shown on this page).
 * On the webisodes of The Critic, the logo is in the center of the screen, is brighter and blue, and is still. This variant uses the end theme of the show.
 * On the first season of The Tracey Ullman Show, the IN ASSOCIATION WITH text was in a different font and it stays there a bit longer.

FX/SFX: The hand raising, the lights dimming, and the company name fading in.

Music/Sounds: The sound of an audience muttering and murmuring is heard, followed by a shushing sound effect, and then a 9-note electric piano theme with drums composed by Jeffrey Townsend. The tune is very similar to the refrain of "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, but since this logo predates that song, this is most likely a coincidence.

Music/Sounds Trivia:
 * The music in this logo appears at the end of the Neil Cicierega song "Alanis", from his mixtape Mouth Sounds.
 * The music was done on a tiny Korg 05R/W rack with a custom preset.
 * The "Shh" sound effect was provided by British comedian Tracey Ullman.
 * The sound of the audience was actually recorded by 2 people and were double tracked to sound like more than two. This was provided by former Fox CEO Garth Anchier and Townsend himself.
 * Originally, there were 2 music tracks that were not able to make the cut. One was a George Winston inspired track, and the other one was inspired by Phillip Glass. So the third one (which is the 9 note electric piano jngle) was added in the logo and was used for 30+ years.

Music/Sounds Variants:


 * On the first three seasons of The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-89), the theme is pitch slightly higher, but some episodes of the first season of said show have the last note of the jingle extended.
 * On Halloween episodes of The Simpsons, starting with "Treehouse of Horror IV", a woman screaming very cowardly replaces "Shhhh!" and that same tune played on a creepy organ that basically matches Halloween very much. Numerous other alternate versions of the theme have been used over the years (see "Variants" above). Earlier Halloween shows lack some parts of the audio.
 * Some episodes might use a soundbite from the episode, or use a voiceover from a character in that episode that plays alongside the jingle. Others have sound effects and/or voiceovers completely replacing the jingle.


 * On some Simpsons episodes that feature songs during the closing credits, such as "Dancin' Homer" and "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", the closing song continues playing over the Gracie Films logo. This includes some syndication prints that shift the closing music so it starts after the last commercial break, causing the music to end over the logo.

Availability: Common. Can be seen commonly on all episodes of The Simpsons from "Simpsons Roasting On an Open Fire" to "Lisa the Drama Queen" in local syndication and on home video. It was also seen on The Simpsons Game on the Nintendo DS and XBOX 360 ports only. Lesser known shows that have this include What About Joan, Sibs, Phenom, The Tracey Ullman Show (which was the first show to have this logo), and The Critic. The webisode variant can be found on The Critic webisodes on The Critic: The Complete Series box set.
 * The Simpsons episode "Fat Man and Little Boy" features a low tone version of the jingle.
 * On many Simpsons episodes since Season 4, the logo is shown without the murmuring (you hear the "Shhh!" right after the last note of the closing theme, which is heard right at the start of the logo). With the show's cable debut on FXX on August 21, 2014 (when the Every Simpsons Ever marathon began), new syndication prints which are cropped (with some parts stretched) to fill the 16:9 screen now feature two credit cards for the Spanish Language audio track in between the copyright card and the Gracie Films logo, so now this is not seen on the new syndication prints. However, this is preserved on the DVD releases, existing local syndication prints, and on Simpsonsworld.com (cable subscription to FXX required; 4:3 option must be selected).
 * An even shorter version is found on the short-lived Phenom, which cuts off the first two notes along with the murmuring and "Shhh!".

Editor's Note: This is one of the most popular logos, and a favorite among The Simpsons fans.

2nd Logo (September 16, 2003, July 27, 2007, February 15, 2009- )
Nicknames: "The Improved Shhh", "The Not-So-Dark Cinema", "The Cinema II", "Shush Lady II", "The Shushie Lady II", "Shhh! II"

Logo: Same as the previous, but it is much more clearer with slightly better animation that looks like it was done in Toon Boom Harmony.

Trivia: The company's official website features the logo. In the original flash-based version, if you put your cursor over a guest, they would do something, followed by the lady shushing the crowd. Now, the animation just loops with each guest's animation playing one at a time, then the lady shushing the crowd.

Variants:


 * The PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/PC game The Simpsons: Hit & Run uses this logo, but with the print logo's texture, smoother animation and with flickering effects as the screen lights up. The Simpsons Game has the variant below on all ports of the game except for the ones for the Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable.


 * The Simpsons Movie has this logo appear at the very end of it, but it looks like a slightly rushed attempt at recreating the original logo, as the background of the lit up screen room (apart from the "shushing woman") appears to be a photo still of the original logo, which fades into a Flash-esque animation with a darker blue light and a smoother font.
 * The Simpsons has featured many alternate variations of the logo over the years, with different music, sound effects, and/or dialogue. One recurring variation is on Halloween episodes, where a woman screaming is heard followed by a creepy pipe organ playing the theme. For a full comprehensive list of variations, see The Simpsons Archive's Alternate Credits Guide.
 * On the mobile game The Simpsons Arcade, the logo is brighter and blue, has a hideous black outline, and is up against an arcade monitor.
 * On the company's official website, the seats are empty and the blue screen is already present. The guests fill the theater. then another projector comes on, first showing an old scratchy screen, then showing the text on the blue screen.
 * The second visual variation (and the first in 17 years) on a Simpsons episode occurred on "Looking for Mr. Goodbart", which is described here.

FX/SFX: Same as before.

Music/Sounds: Same as before, however there are more people muttering.

Music/Sound Variants:


 * On FXX airings of The Simpsons episode "Days of Future Future", this logo has the audio from the 20th Television logo playing over this. This logo's audio was heard over the Spanish cast credits and the 20th Television logo was silent. This was likely caused by an editing goof.

Availability: Common. First seen on The Simpsons Hit & Run video game, and on all episodes of The Simpsons starting with "Take My Life, Please". The Halloween variant can be seen on all Treehouse of Horror episodes starting with XX. It also currently plasters over the previous version on FXX's airings of pre-2009 episodes of The Simpsons (the audio variants heard with it over time are left intact, and play under this logo as a result), as well as on DVDs starting with season 13. The other variants, however, you could find with the guide above. Also seen at the end of The Simpsons Movie. Don't expect to find this on ''The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special-in 3D! On Ice!,'' as this logo is strangely not seen. It also wasn't seen in the initial airing of the Season 29 premiere of The Simpsons (entitled "The Serfsons"), but it was brought back in later airings.
 * Sometimes a certain tune plays over the entire logo, with no sound effects heard. This most recently occurred on The Simpsons season 27 episode "Barthood".
 * This logo also made an appearance at the end of the Family Guy episode "The Simpsons Guy" (crossing over with The Simpsons), with Peter Griffin singing along with the theme "And now, the show is over now!"
 * The Simpsons episode "Angry Dad: The Movie" uses a very abridged version of the jingle, composed of the first four notes and the final note. There is no "Shhh!" in this version due to Ricky Gervais' dialogue going over half of the logo. However, the logo is not interrupted on FXX's airing of this episode due to the Spanish cast credits at the end.
 * The Simpsons episode "Homer the Father" features a low-tone variant of the jingle.
 * The Simpsons season 27 episode "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" features a slightly abridged version of the Halloween organ music. Due to the standard scream being replaced with Homerzilla's roar, the music comes in halfway through the logo with the music finishing up over the 'In Association With' screen, so the last note, usually held down, plays for the same length as the normal piano tune.
 * The Simpsons season 28 episode "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" (Coincidentally the show's 600th episode) also uses the same abridged version from the previously mentioned episode - however, whilst the previous one used a long, loud roar which causes the music to come in late, the standard scream is played, but it comes in late (AFTER the "shh!" gesture is made), resulting in the music playing late.
 * On Fox reruns of the Simpsons episode "What To Expect When Bart's Expecting", a high-pitched version of the music is sometimes used.
 * The website variant had the sound of a projector rolling, followed by the jingle. Sounds varied when you put your cursor over a guest followed by the shush.

Editor's Note: This is a suitable successor to the previous logo.

3rd Logo (February 3, 2012-)
Nicknames: "The Dark Cinema II", "The Cinema III", "The Shush Lady III", "The Improved Shhh II", "The Shushie Lady III", "Shhh! III"

Logo: Same concept as the previous 2 logos; however instead of the lighted movie theater, the background is pitch black. The audience (including the "Shhh!" lady), is on a teal outline. The rest of the logo continues like the last 2 logos with the projector casting the blue light with "Serif" appearing, but for a 3D effect the text zooms in as it fades. The finished logo looks like the print logo.

Variant:
 * On The Longest Daycare, the logo cuts to black, but on The Edge of Seventeen, the logo fades out.
 * On Maggie Simpson in Playdate with Destiny and Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From Its Nap, Mickey Mouse can be seen in the theatre's audience, a reference to The Simpsons now being owned by Disney.
 * On the 2012 rerelease of The Simpsons Arcade Game, the logo is seen still in a small gray box.

FX/SFX: Pretty much the same as the 2 logos with the text zooming in, except the lights are already out.

Music/Sounds: Same as before. On The Longest Daycare, the "Shhh!" is followed by a timpani roll.

Availability: Debuted on the now-delisted release of Konami's The Simpsons Arcade Game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and later on the Simpsons short The Longest Daycare, which was shown before Ice Age: Continental Drift in theaters. However, it didn't appear again until the short's network premiere (on Fox) on February 17, 2013. It reappeared after 3 years when The Edge of Seventeen premiered at the Toronto International Films Festival on September 18, 2016. It then reappeared yet again on the HBO original movie Icebox on December 7, 2018. This logo appeared once again on the Simpsons short "Playdate with Destiny", shown before Onward in theaters; and Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From Its Nap on Disney+. It may be seen on future films, if Gracie Films continues to produce them.

Editor's Note: It’s a little different than the previous two, but it’s still a great new take of the classic logo.