Cosgrove Hall Films

Background
Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was a British animation studio founded in 1976 by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, with headquarters in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Once a major producer of children's television programmes in Britain, it was mainly known for its series Danger Mouse, The Wind in the Willows and Count Duckula.

The company's origins trace back to "Stop Frame Productions", founded by Hall in 1969, which Cosgrove joined shortly after, both leaving their jobs at Granada Television. After production was halted at Stop Frame, London-based ITV station Thames Television (producer of Rainbow, one of their shows) created a subsidiary of itself specifically for the two producers. Danger Mouse and its spin-off Count Duckula were the studio's biggest international successes, largely thanks to their presence in Nickelodeon's late 80's lineup in the US.

In 1993, Cosgrove Hall's parent company, Thames was succeeded by Carlton Television; subsequently, the studio was passed over to Anglia Television (later Granada plc). By 2009, a lack of funding from Granada meant the studio was no longer viable; it was dissolved by Granada's owner ITV plc in October as a result. Three years later, Cosgrove Hall's headquarters was demolished to make way for retirement flats. The studio was eventually reformed in 2011 as "Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment", with the original founders and Murdaidh! creator Adrian Fitzpatrick.

1st Logo (February 1976-1990)
Logo: We see either the text "Cosgrove Hall Productions Ltd." or "A Cosgrove Hall Production" in the end credits. On some shows, a hyphen or slash would appear between the two halves of the company name, and below it (for most cases) is a copyright date (in Roman numerals for series, but in Arabic numerals for one-offs).

Variants:
 * On Series 1 (1976) episodes of Chorlton and the Wheelies, Fenella the Kettle Witch pops up next to Chorlton the Happiness Dragon, who is holding a sign with the text "COSGROVE~HALL PRODUCTIONS LTD." on it (the five main Wheelies, Zoomer, Jenny, the Minister, King Otto, and Queen Doris are also round it); on Series 2 and 3 (1977-78) episodes, he is holding a slightly larger sign with the text "© COSGROVE/HALL PRODUCTIONS LTD. MCMLXXVII/MCMLXXVIII" on it, while dancing, and the camera then closes up on him (the sign partly obscures his face), as he rolls his eyes.
 * On the Series 2 (1977) Christmas special "Chorlton and the Ice World", the sign has a border (instead of a  one). The  Wheelie with  wheels (who is one of the four on that show who was never actually named, and is wearing a party hat and a mask) also throws a snowball at the camera.
 * On Jamie and the Magic Torch, a light in Jamie's bedroom (on the first floor of his house) turns on as his mother (voiced by Brian Trueman, who also voiced all the other characters in the show) says "Settle down now, Jamie", and "Come on Wordsworth, out of there." (Wordsworth is his dog). The light then turns off as the text "Cosgrove/Hall Productions Ltd." appears on the screen (it was the only Cosgrove Hall show to not have a copyright date). However, it would fade into a Thames Television "COLOUR PRODUCTION" end board that had "© UK MCMLXXVII/MCMLXXVIII/MCMLXXIX" on it.
 * On Cockleshell Bay, the six main characters (Mr. Ship, Gran Routy, Mr. Cockle, Mrs. Cockle, Robin Cockle, and Rosie Cockle) lift their arms to wave to the camera. The camera then boxes in on the "frame", and boxes out to reveal the Thames Television "COLOUR PRODUCTION" end board.
 * On Danger Mouse, a bomb with the text "DIRECTED BY Brian Cosgrove" on it rolls into view from the left side of the screen. Danger Mouse's hand, which is holding a match, then comes into view from the right side of the screen and lights its fuse. The bomb then explodes - and when the explosion clears, the Danger Mouse logo (which is a badge with the two letters "DM" on it) is shown on a white background, with the text "A Cosgrove/Hall Production" (for Series 4, the slash was replaced with a tilde), and a copyright date underneath.
 * Oddly enough, on the Series 2 (1980) episode "Custard", Danger Mouse's match-holding hand doesn't come into view to light the bomb fuse, but the bomb explodes anyway.
 * On The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the texts "A Cosgrove Hall Production" and "© 1980" are displayed at the bottom of the screen in a calligraphic font.
 * On The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Badger's photograph album (which opens every episode) closes as the text "© Cosgrove/Hall Productions Ltd" and copyright date appear on the screen.
 * Although a new logo was introduced in 1984, this show continued to use an in-credit disclaimer until the end of Series 4 in 1988 (which introduced a sub-plot of the characters trying to stop a railway company from building a line through the Wild Wood).
 * On The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, the texts "A Cosgrove Hall Production" and "© 1990" are displayed on a sparkling starfield background.

FX/SFX: Depends on the show.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show. Additionally, on Danger Mouse, the bomb exploding.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the Series 4 (1984) Danger Mouse episode "Play It Again, Wufgang", the cast (David Jason, Terry Scott, Edward Kelsey, and Brian Trueman) say "Bang!" when the bomb explodes (given that they sang the show's theme song over the credits at the end of that episode, as the story was about a deranged German composer who had stolen all the world's music).

Availability: Common.
 * It was seen at the end of all episodes of Chorlton and the Wheelies and Jamie and the Magic Torch, Series 1-4 (1979-84) of Danger Mouse, all episodes of Cockleshell Bay, and the original pilot episode and Series 1-4 (1983-87) of The Wind in the Willows.
 * It also appeared on the one-offs Cinderella (not to be confused with Disney's version), The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Reluctant Dragon, The BFG, and The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.

2nd Logo (February 20, 1984-January 5, 1994)
Logo: We see the text "COSGROVE HALL PRODUCTIONS" in a stylized font with a tiny copyright symbol to its left and a copyright date in Roman numerals below.

Variants:
 * On Alias the Jester, the logo is displayed in a medieval-style border (the rest of the credits also appeared in it as well), which features six pictures of its main characters: Alias (in his original futuristic guise on the left side, but in his medieval guise on the right), Boswell (his assistant), King Arthur, Queen Edith, and Princess Ameranth. This was also one of two Cosgrove Hall series that Fremantle International licensed to Delta Music (for a DVD release).
 * On Series 5-6 (1985 and 1990) episodes of Danger Mouse, the bomb that rolls into view from the left side of the screen for the end now has the text "DIRECTED BY Chris Randall" (1985) and "Keith Scoble" (1990) on it. Danger Mouse's hand is again holding matches, as it comes into view from the right side of the screen and lights its fuse. The bomb then explodes. When the explosion clears, the Danger Mouse logo is again shown on its white background, with the logo and a copyright date underneath (on Series 6, the copyright date has been enlarged slightly, and is displayed in a serif font).
 * On Creepy Crawlies, Count Duckula, and Series 5 (1988) of The Wind in the Willows (the second of which is the first co-production with Spanish animation studio Carlos Alfonso Studios, and the third of which was also known as Oh! Mr. Toad!), the logo appears on a black background in alternating, , and letters. The copyright symbol has also been enlarged and placed above the logo, while the copyright date is displayed in a serif font.
 * On Series 5 of The Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toad closes his diary, yawns, then turns off his bedside gas lamp (for the TV special "A Tale of Two Toads", it cuts to a shot of Mr. Toad with his villainous double, Isambard, swinging upon a chandelier from earlier on in that episode). The logo then appears.
 * A -- colored version with a dark blue background (and all the text on a single line) is seen on Series 1 (1993) of Avenger Penguins (which was another co-production with Carlos Alfonso Studios) with clips of the show playing in a rectangle up above it.
 * As this program was produced for Granada Television after Thames Television had lost their franchise at the end of 1992, the four texts "FOR", "GRANADA TELEVISION", "© GRANADA TELEVISION", and "MCMXCIII" appear below it. The Granada "stripe" logo was also seen on original broadcasts of the show.

FX/SFX: None. For the Danger Mouse variant, see the first logo above.

Music/Sounds: Same as the first logo above, including Danger Mouse.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Count Duckula, an extended version of the thunderclap from the end of the show's opening theme is heard and continues into a downpour of rain once it has faded into the Thames logo (or Fremantle's first logo in case of current prints of the show's first season). On current prints of the show's third season, the downpour of rain is heard over the Cosgrove Hall logo instead.

Availability: Common. Seen on all episodes of Alias the Jester, Series 5-6 (1985 and 1990) of Danger Mouse, all episodes of Creepy Crawlies and Count Duckula, Series 5 (1988) of The Wind in the Willows, and Series 1 (1993) of Avenger Penguins.

3rd Logo (September 6, 1991-June 28, 1994)
Nickname: "Thames Times"

Logo: We see a down-facing triangle (the same shape as what Thames Television used at the time), which is colored in a -- gradient on a white background, with the text "COSGROVE HALL" on it in alternating, , and letters, much like the colored variant of the previous logo. Towards the bottom of the triangle, the text "© Cosgrove Hall Productions Ltd. MCMXCI/MCMXCII" is displayed, in a black serif font.

Trivia: This logo is based on the branding Thames Television used at the time; it was rather short-lived too, due to Thames losing their franchise at the end of 1992.

Variants:
 * On the last episode of Truckers, the text "THIS EPISODE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF PAUL SIMPSON" (who was a model, set, and prop maker for The Wind in the Willows from 1983 to 1988, as well as Truckers itself in 1991) appears in a white serif font on a black background. It then fades out, and the logo appears.
 * On Thames Video's VHS release, neither this text, nor the logo are seen at the end of the episode.
 * On Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime (which was the company's third co-production with Carlos Alfonso Studios, but is their second in chronological terms), the text "A BRIAN COSGROVE/MARK HALL PRODUCTION" appears on an background. The camera then zooms out to reveal two mugshots of Victor and Hugo (with their "prisoner numbers", RNT-77853 and KPV-46690, below them), as Hugo (voiced by David Jason) says "Hugo and Victor...that's what I think, anyway!" (this was one of the character's catchphrases on the show), and Victor scowls at him. The logo then appears.
 * On the two Series 1 episodes of Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime, "Spacial Event" and "Water Boobies", the screen is white until the "COSGROVE HALL" text is wiped in from the left. The triangle itself then wipes in from above behind the text, and a spotlight shines over the logo from left to right before the copyright text "© Cosgrove Hall Productions Ltd. MCMXCI" (1991) fades in towards the bottom of it. The screen then fades into the "Production for ITV" variant of Thames Television's final logo used from 1990-92 (it has since been plastered by the Pearson Television International logo).
 * On Series 1-2 (1992-94) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, the logo is displayed on a black background, with either the text "PRODUCED FOR BBC ENTERPRISES" ("BBC" being the corporation's then-current underlined logo) above it for Series 1, or the text "PRODUCED FOR BBC CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL" ("BBC" again being the corporation's then-current logo, and "CHILDREN'S" being their then-current Children's BBC logo) above it for Series 2, with the three texts "COSGROVE HALL PRODUCTIONS LIMITED", "Based on the 'NODDY' books by Enid Blyton" ("Enid Blyton" being her famous signature) and "© BBC ENTERPRISES 1992/1993/1994" ("BBC", for a third time, being the corporation's then-current logo) displayed under it.

FX/SFX: None, expect for the fading and wiping of the company logo and copyright disclaimer on the animated variant.

Music/Sounds: None for the regular variant. Noddy had the closing theme of the show with Noddy (voiced by Susan Sheridan) chuckling at the end. This was the only time that a male character on a Cosgrove Hall show was voiced by a female actor, as it was usually the opposite way around.

Availability: Uncommon.
 * Seen on all episodes of Truckers and Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime on ITV, and Series 1-2 (1992-94) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures on Children's BBC.
 * Neither of the VHS releases of the first two shows feature this logo at the end of them, as it has been plastered with Thames Video's third logo.

4th Logo (September 16, 1994-October 2009)
Nickname: "Anglia Times"

Logo: We see a conglomeration of a square, a  down-facing triangle, a  circle with the word "FILMS" upon it, a  down-facing trapezoid, a light blue curved rectangle with the word "COSGROVE" on it and a light orange trapezoid with the word "HALL" on it below.

Trivia: This logo was introduced after Cosgrove Hall had signed a new deal with Anglia Television, and it reflects the company's then-current heraldic "flag" logo, introduced in 1988 (much like how the short-lived previous logo was the same shape as Thames' last one).

Variants:
 * On Series 2 (1994) of Avenger Penguins, the logo is displayed on a backdrop of clips from the show, with "© Cosgrove Hall Films MCMXCIV" below.
 * On Fantomcat, the logo is displayed on the vortex background from the intro, and the text "© Cosgrove Hall Films (year in Roman numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen. The Roman numerals "MXMXCV" and "MXMXCVI" featured at the end are invalid, as the first "X" should have been a "C". The logo then fades to Anglia Television's then-current "Anglia Production for ITV" end board.
 * On Oakie Doke (which was the second Cosgrove Hall series to be produced for the BBC), the logo is displayed on a background with "A" and "PRODUCTION" above and below it, and "© Cosgrove Hall Films Limited (year in Arabic numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It then fades to the Anglia end board.
 * On Rocky and the Dodos, the logo is displayed on an -light blue gradient background with "A Cosgrove Hall Films Production" below it, and "© 1997/1998" is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It then fades to the same end board as before.
 * On The Animal Shelf, the logo is displayed on an background with "A Cosgrove Hall Films Production" below it, and "© Cosgrove Hall Films Limited (year in Arabic numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It then fades to the same end board as before.
 * On Series 3 and 4 (1994 and 1999) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, the logo is displayed in the same way the third one was for Series 1 and 2. Also, due to the fact that BBC Enterprises became BBC Worldwide in 1995, and a new logo was introduced for the corporation in 1997, the "produced for" and copyright texts that are displayed above and below the logo were changed to "A", "Production for", "BBC Worldwide", "Enid Blyton", "Blyton Toyland", and "© BBC Worldwide and Enid Blyton Limited 1999" for Series 4 ("BBC", in both cases, being the corporation's then-current logo, with "Worldwide" being in the same font. "Enid Blyton" is also, again, her famous signature, as is the "Blyton" in "Blyton Toyland").
 * On Sooty's Amazing Adventures (which was produced for Meridian Television instead of Anglia Television), the logo is displayed above the Sooty International logo, which is Sooty (the bear puppet of Harry Corbett, who later passed him onto his son Matthew) peeping out from behind his own name.
 * On The Foxbusters, the logo is displayed on a black- background above the text "Distributed by ITEL". A fox from the show then appears on the right side of the screen, looks up and screams as a barrage of eggs land upon him (this was the three main hens' primary method of attacking them). The screen then fades into the logos of United Productions (a conjoined "u" and "n") and Anglia Television upon a dark blue background.
 * On Vampires, Pirates and Aliens (based on the book of the same name by Colin McNaughton), the logo is displayed above that of the French animation studio Millimages, which is a white handprint in an circle.
 * On Engie Benjy, the show's three main characters (Engie Benjy, Jollop the dog, and Dan the van) are standing above the logo dancing to the show's closing theme. They later starred in a CITV ident in 2003 (which had Jollop hiding behind the then-new CITV logo, and Benjy telling him to come out).
 * On the remakes of Postman Pat (both the initial one and the "Special Delivery Service" one), the logo is displayed above that of Entertainment Rights.
 * On Fifi and the Flowertots and Roary the Racing Car (which were produced in association with Chapman Entertainment, who had previously created Bob the Builder with HiT Entertainment), the logo is displayed below a rectangle with clips of the show playing in it, with the text "A COSGROVE HALL FILMS LTD" above it and "PRODUCTION FOR CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT" below it. Both of these programs were also produced in association with Nick Jr. Productions.
 * On The Likeaballs, the logo is displayed to the left of that of another animation studio called "Animated Adventures Pictures", which is the letters "A", "A" and "P" on a cinema-style marquee with the text "An Animated Adventures Pictures Production" below them. The show was, again, made for the BBC.
 * On the animated recreated version of part 1 and part 4 of the Doctor Who episode "The Invasion", the logo is displayed above the BBC's 1972-92 (not underlined, but slanted with round edges) logo.
 * On the French dub of season 4 of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, the endboard is translated.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show. For the Noddy variant, see the third logo above.

Availability: Seen on Series 2 (1994) of Avenger Penguins, Series 3-4 (1994 and 1999) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, and most other Cosgrove Hall shows from that period (two of which, the aforementioned Fantomcat and Sooty's Amazing Adventures, were two more co-productions with Carlos Alfonso Studios) until the company's demise in 2009.