Magic Window

Background
Magic Window was a home video sub-division of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video for cartoons and other entertainment aimed at children.

(1985-1989)
Nicknames: "Running Kid", "The Colorful Outer Limits", "Kid in the Garden"

Logo: We see a cartoon boy with red hair (wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans) in front of a stone-made gate with fish fountains which takes to a large avenue flanked by trees (making us think we're in some kind of park). He is looking directly at us and gives a "Come on!" gesture with his arm. After which he starts running through the avenue until he reaches a clearing. Just then, the background gradually changes (as star streaks appear) to a rainbow colored environment with sparkles, as the camera moves backwards to show how that same environment shrinks and spins until forming a window (leaving the background in a grayish purple color). The kid jumps inside the window (which causes a "rippling" effect) and continues running. A violet silhouette of him jumping has remained at the window, and finally some other figures of playful kids magically appear (with their stars and all that "magical" FX), holding their hands, forming a human chain. The words "MAGIC WINDOW" suddenly appear above.

FX/SFX: The logo is done using a limited animation technique (like the Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the '60s).

Music/Sounds: Starts with an insect buzzing and birds chirping. When the kid starts running, a joyful tune played with pipes, other wind instruments, acoustic guitar and synth sounds for the magical FX.

Availability: Rare. Releases from this company were featured in white clamshell cases (and sometimes the standard slip cover) with the Magic Window logo on them (as well as the RCA/Columbia logo). Titles included the mid-late 80's releases of the He-Man and She-Ra series (excluding the VHS release of the film adaptation), The Real Ghostbusters (including the Kids Klassics re-issues), Popples, Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, classic Columbia and UPA cartoons (like Mr. Magoo), and many other children's titles. It's intact on the Columbia TriStar VHS release of Shari Lewis' One Minute Bible Stories w/Lamb Chop.