Zodiac Entertainment

Background
Zodiac Entertainment was an American entertainment company that specialized in the production and distribution of animated cartoons. The company was founded in 1989 by Central Independent Television, a British media company that was aiming to establish a television production company in the United States. Two veterans of the animation industry, Brian Lacey and Peter Keefe helped establish and run the firm. The company's animation studio aimed to produce original television series that could easily be translated and broadcast around the world. To this end, its programs avoided overt Americanisms and references to U.S.-specific culture. In 1994, after its parent company was bought by Carlton Communications, Zodiac ceased producing original programming and announced that it would function exclusively as a distributor of television shows.

(September 29, 1990-November 22, 1993)


Logo: On a white marble background, we see a large navy blue "Z" slowly wipe into view diagonally from the top left of the screen, alongside several other abstract shapes, including a red circle representing an "O", a navy blue semicircle representing a "D", a smaller navy blue circle above a red squiggly line representing an "I", a red triangle representing an "A", and a flipped navy blue semicircle representing a "C", spelling the company name. Below the shapes, the navy blue word "Times New Roman", in a spaced-out uppercase text, emerges, followed by "Times New Roman" in red lowercase text.

Variant: On Mr. Bogus, a copyright stamp is shown below.

Technique: The shapes wiping in, and the appearance of the text.

Music/Sounds: The logo starts out with pinging sounds and a choir, which progress into what sounds like a held-out synth note, ending with a whoosh.

Availability: Scarce, appeared at the end of all their shows until their closure, such as Widget, Mr. Bogus, and Twinkle, the Dream Being.

Legacy: Despite the logo being very simplistic and its exotic music, it could be seen as nostalgic to those who grew up with their shows throughout the 90s.