4Kids Entertainment

Background
4Kids Entertainment is a production company that was established in 1970 initially as "Leisure Concepts, Inc.", specializing in the acquisition, production, and licensing of children's entertainment around the world. The company is most well-known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multi-billion dollar Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! media franchises. The company also operated a few program blocks, including the Fox block 4Kids TV (formerly FoxBox) and The CW4Kids (later Toonzai). In April 2011, they filed for bankruptcy in response to a lawsuit concerning their Yu-Gi-Oh! license; the lawsuit has since been resolved. In 2012, 4Kids' entertainment assets were sold to Saban Brands and 4K Acquisition Group (a subsidiary of Konami), due to lack of profitability. 4Kids was eventually rebranded to 4Licensing Corporation. In September 2016, 4Licensing filed for bankruptcy protection yet again and shut down in February 2017.

1st Logo (September 16, 1995-February 22, 2000)
Nicknames: "4Kids Supernova", "The Pokémon Logo"

Logo: On a murky bluish background, a purple-red supernova-like explosion occurs. A silver embossed plate that contains the 4Kids logo (which is a silver rectangle with "4Kids" in blue against it, with "PRODUCTIONS" and a red line underneath on the blue rectangle outline) then swings up and stays put in the middle. After a small shimmer hits part of the plate, the supernova in the background flashes.

Variants:


 * On some shows, the logo starts at the part where the "shimmer" hits the plate.
 * On the rare theatrical trailer of Pokémon: The First Movie, "ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "PRODUCTIONS". This variant seems to run in slow/delayed motion. This variant also has no registered trademark "®" symbol.
 * A still version of the "ENTERTAINMENT" variant with the plate taking up the entirety of the screen was spotted on the Game Boy Video cartridges of Pokémon and Sonic X. It is currently unknown whether this is seen on the Yu-Gi-Oh! cartridge as well.
 * There is an early variant used until 1997 in which the plate is a black filmstrip with the words "4KIDS" (in capital letters) with a red rectangle with the word "PRODUCTIONS" below. Also, the flash in the background is different, resembling a blast from an explosion.

FX/SFX: The light explosion, and the shimmer on the logo.

Music/Sounds: Several ascending whooshing noises, followed by a "bang"; 2 synth notes play in the background. Otherwise, it's the closing theme of the show. On later episodes of WMAC Masters, there is a mystical, ethereal theme synchronized to the logo's actions, which carries on over to The Summit Media Group logo.

Availability:
 * The 1995 version can be seen on season 1 of WMAC Masters.
 * The full 1998 version is seen on VHS and DVD releases of Pokémon: Indigo League from "Pikachu, I Choose You!" until "Totally Togepi".
 * The short version appears on Season 2 of WMAC Masters and at the end of Pokémon: Indigo League episodes until "The Battling Eevee Brothers".

Editor's Note: An alright logo, though it does look kind of gaudy with its lighting. It's remembered fondly by many that watched the English dub of Pokémon.

2nd Logo (October 28, 1998-September 3, 2005, April 18, 2008-May 15, 2010)
Nicknames: "Golden CGI 4Kids", "The Other Pokémon Logo"

Logo: On a swirly background with a fusion of blue/golden/green colors, we see a plate, two triangles and one square fly in the center. They then rotate and swing around, forming an updated version of the "plate" design from the last logo, only there is no outline, "4" is "cut out" in the square", and the plate overall has a shinier/reflective effect on it. "Kids", in blue, shines onto the plate, while the red-underlined text "ENTERTAINMENT" wipes in underneath.

Variants:


 * TV shows with this logo used a still shot of this logo.
 * Sometimes this plays at warp speed.
 * There is a weird "muddy" variant on Pokémon Heroes. This is due to the film's English and international releases having a blue tint applied to it for unknown reasons.
 * Sometimes this may be shown in a letterboxed format on TV.
 * Some shows, Like Sonic X and a small handful of Pokémon episodes with the full credits play the theatrical variant.
 * This logo exists in both videotaped and filmed variants and may be shown in 16:9 (for the filmed variant) or 4:3 (for TV shows and full-screen copies of films).
 * On the 1st (later episodes with the 30 second long credits) and early 2nd season episodes of Pokémon and episodes of Shaman King, the theatrical version of the logo plays in split-screen alongside the logo of the show.
 * Late 2nd season episodes of Pokémon through to the first half of the Advanced Challenge season and early seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh! use a shortened version of the logo that cuts in as the plate finishes forming and "ENTERTAINMENT" fades in.

FX/SFX: The light explosion, and the shimmer on the logo.

Music/Sounds: Sparkles and a "swoosh" as the text wipes in are heard throughout. On TV series, the closing theme plays over the logo. Pokémon 4Ever has a chime sound playing over this logo (with the swoosh intact) and the Pokémon USA, Inc. logo.

Availability: Uncommon.


 * The full version of the videotaped variant appears on Pokémon VHS/DVD sets from Volume 17 of Indigo League until Advanced Challenge and on Indigo League episodes from "Pikachu's Goodbye" until "The Purr-fect Hero" (with the closing theme).


 * The filmed variant of this logo appears on the first 5 Pokémon movies and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light.


 * The videotaped version also appears on FUNimation Entertainment’s VHS and DVD releases of 4Kids material (usually) with a copyright notice.


 * The full short version of the videotaped variant appears on episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! on rare occasions, Kirby! Right Back At Ya! and Sonic X (though on some international prints, it's usually removed by having the TMS Entertainment logo held over it) and on early episodes of their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. It was also seen on the first season of their dub of Winx Club and on early episodes of their dub of One Piece.
 * For some unknown reason this logo made a surprise comeback on the original CN airings of some Pokémon Diamond & Pearl: Battle Dimension and Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl: Galactic Battles episodes, which is probably an error on the compressed credits.
 * The split-screen version of the videotaped variant appears on Pokémon episodes from "Riddle Me This" of Indigo League to "The Bicker the Better" of Advanced Challenge. It also appears on Shaman King and Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes until halfway into the Waking the Dragons season. When Nicktoons in the United States aired the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series in 2013-2014, this logo was plastered with the extended version of the 2009 Nickelodeon Productions logo, due to Nicktoons using their own split-screen credits instead of using the show's original credits.

Editor's Note: A much better effort this time around. It's quite surprising considering the overall consensus on the quality of their anime dubs. Still, it's remembered by many who grew up with these shows.

3rd Logo (January 22, 2005-August 18, 2012)
Nicknames: "The Red Ball", "The Color Explosion", "The Last Pokémon Logo (until Netflix acquired the American rights of the anime)"

Logo: On a black background, a red ball appears from the center of the screen and moves towards us and shines, then moves back. When the ball shines, the 4Kids logo appears. When the red ball stops on the "I", there's an explosion, and the explosion causes the 4Kids logo to colorize. After the explosion clears away, we see:

4k!DS TV

written in a large, bulging font. The logo shines at the end.

Variants:
 * On a majority of FUNimation DVDs, a copyright notice appears below the logo after it forms.
 * This logo was first called "4Kids Entertainment" before becoming "4Kids TV". In this case, the “4KIDS” text was positioned in a flat way and "ENTERTAINMENT" was written below in light blue. This variant of the logo also applied to TheCW4Kids and Toonzai, albeit with “ENTERTAINMENT” deleted.
 * The 4Kids.tv website and the 2007 rebranding of its block has the logo as "4KidsTV: The Games Station".
 * At the end of episodes of Pokémon Chronicles, the red ball comes into view as the credits near the end.
 * Episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (from the Search For The Rainbow Dragon arc onwards) alter the logo, placing "TV" next to "4Kids" instead of under it and involving both “4Kids” and “TV” being positioned in a flat way. This variant also appears at the end of 4Kids’ shows beginning in fall 2007, such as Dinosaur King, early episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and TMNT: Back to the Sewer. This variant also applied to the 2007 rebranding of the 4Kids TV block.
 * Episodes of Viva Pinata on the 4Kids video-on-demand service use a completely different logo animation, which uses the alternate jingle stated below.
 * On DVD releases of 4Kids shows, the “entertainment” version of this logo contained a copyright date to the year of the DVD’s release.
 * The "TV" logo was seen on Winx Club for PSP. It appeared on a gradient blue background. This logo was also spotted on Viva Pinata: Party Animals for NDS.
 * On a September 2006 airing of Yu-Gi-Oh! Dawn of the Duel, the logo was incorrectly cropped in the split-screen credits, causing part of the logo to be cut off.

FX/SFX: The ball shining, and the explosion.

Music/Sounds: A long, drawn-out synth chord plays throughout, with a loud "WHOOSH" as the ball flies into view, and a zapping sound as it hits the logo and colors it. This jingle, however, is limited to appearing on FUNimation DVDs of 4Kids material, as all 4Kids shows have the ending theme of the show playing over the logo. Episodes of Viva Pinata on the 4Kids Video On Demand service use a completely different jingle, which sounds like a bunch of rapid drum beats.

Availability: Uncommon. This logo debuted when the FoxBox block became 4KidsTV in January 2005 and was used during the split-screen credits of shows, plastering the 2nd logo. However, outside of the 4KidsTV block, it made its first appearance halfway through Pokémon: Advanced Challenge and three-quarters of the way through ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Waking the Dragons''.
 * The "entertainment" version of this logo can be seen on FUNimation DVD releases of 4Kids shows (usually with a copyright stamp at the bottom of the screen) and on later episodes of their dub of One Piece. It also appeared on Pokémon Chronicles.
 * The split-screen version of this appeared on 4Kids shows from this period like post-2005/2006 episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (from the episodes "Grass Hysteria" until "The Garden of Eatin'?"), Yu-Gi-Oh! (starting from the Waking the Dragons episode "Fighting For A Friend - Part 4"), among others.
 * The first "4Kids TV" version appears on many TMNT episodes, The last four episodes of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (Starting from "A Scare to Remember") as well as the 8th and final season of the series to be dubbed by the company, Pokémon: Advanced Battle. It also appeared on early episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX,, Chaotic (with a copyright notice), Viva Pinata, and Magical DoReMi, among others. It could also be seen on their dub of Winx Club (Seasons 2-3 only) and subsequent episodes of their dub of One Piece.
 * The second "4KidsTV" version appears on later episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, early episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (though curiously enough, it was used through the French dub of said series), Dinosaur King and other later shows until their bankruptcy.

Editor's Note: Another fine logo to end off on. Though on Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes from the remainder of Waking the Dragons, you can notice that the logo has been VERY badly placed atop of the previous logo, as the blue background and trails of light when the plate form are noticeable! Again, it's remembered by people who grew up with these shows. Unfortunately, this logo is also rather infamous due to being during a time when 4Kids was very notorious for its poorly-regarded dubs of anime shows.