Genius Products

Background
Genius Products (also known as Genius Entertainment) was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, which distributed material from The Weinstein Company, Classic Media (now "DreamWorks Classics"), Sesame Workshop (from 2007 to 2009), The Discovery Channel, and ESPN, among other companies, as well as public domain cartoons. The company was formed in 1998 and named after its flagship product, the Baby Genius series; the company's founders would later buy back the rights to the series in 2006 under the company name Pacific Entertainment. In 2005, it announced a joint venture with The Weinstein Company to distribute its films on video, which was fully transacted in July 2006. In 2009, Genius Products Investments acquired 60% of Genius Products, LLC, with TWC owning 15% and Genius Products, Inc., holding 25%. Later that year, Vivendi Entertainment acquired the home video distribution rights, and sold the home video rights to Sesame Street to Warner Home Video. On September 15, 2009, TWC terminated its 70% stake in Genius Products, and Genius stopped releasing new titles. In 2011, the company was pushed into bankruptcy over $8.5 million in debt from three companies, including WWE; however, Pacific Entertainment continued to operate, renaming themselves the same year to Genius Brands. This company later merged with A-Squared Entertainment to form Genius Brands International (now Kartoon Studios).

1st Logo (September 2, 2003)
Visuals: On a red curtain background with two cameras on the top left and top right corner of the screen, there is the Genius Entertainment print logo with “Presents” below it with the copyright disclaimer and website below it.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: A catchy tune that segues from the warning.

Availability: Seen on the 2003 DVD release of Bozo the Clown: Shows 4-6. UMD releases use the next logo below, although the warning/disclaimer taken from this logo remains, but with silence.

2nd Logo (2003-2008)


Visuals: On a curtain background, the words "genius entertainment" in white zoom-out and the dot of the "i" in "entertainment" flashes. Three abstract sun-rays appear on top of it, making the dot cut-out. The background then changes to black and the logo fades out.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A chime/harp theme.

Availability: Used in tandem with the previous logo.
 * Appears on early Weinstein/later Dimension DVDs, including Scary Movie 4, Miss Potter, Arthur and the Invisibles, Lucky Number Slevin, and Clerks II.
 * Also shown on public domain DVD cartoons such as Popeye, Betty Boop and Friends, Superman (though Warner Bros. Entertainment owns the masters of the 1941 cartoons due to the fact that Superman is a trademark of DC Comics), Casper and Friends, Felix and Friends, and The New Three Stooges, among others.
 * It is also seen on Rankin/Bass Christmas special DVDs released in 2007.
 * It was also seen on The Secret World of Benjamin Bear and post-2004 DVDs of the Baby Genius series. You can find this on a few BKN DVD releases as well.
 * This appears on UMDs released by Genius like ShortsPlay Extreme, although these releases use the warning screen from the previous logo.

3rd Logo (2007-2009)


Visuals: There is a golden lowercase "g" slowly panning around. The letter suddenly lights on, and we see it is inside a huge light bulb. The words "genius" (in ) and "products" (in white) in 3D, appears. The light bulb disappears and the logo shines. A faint grey "g" fades in in the background.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Light synth music (chimes, strings, and a cymbal crash) with sparkling elecricity.

Availability: Can be seen on many DVD and Blu-Ray releases, mainly from The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films.
 * Also appears on Line Rider 2: Unbound for Wii and Windows.
 * Can also be found on TLC's Kate Plus Eight Complete Sets 1-11 DVD collections.
 * It doesn’t appear on any Sesame Street releases they distributed. In the case of reissues of Sesame Street DVDs from Sony Wonder, they keep their logos.
 * Despite the fact that their logo appeared on other Classic Media releases, it also doesn't appear on Big Idea's DVD cases or on the actual DVDs themselves.