Amblin Television

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Originally formed in 1981, Amblin Entertainment did not enter TV production until 1985, when the sci-fi show Amazing Stories premiered on NBC.



1st Logo (September 29, 1985-January 23, 2008)


Visuals: Essentially just a static image of the 1985 movie logo.

Variants:

  • On The Land Before Time (the 2007 series), the text "ENTERTAINMENT" fades-in below the logo.
  • On Great Adventurers & Their Quests: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the logo is superimposed.
  • On the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Two-Tone Town", the logo is in black-and-white.
  • On The Making of Jurassic Park, the phrase "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" (in an ITC Kabel Bold font) is shown above the logo.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: The closing theme of the show.

Availability:

  • It appears on Animaniacs (including Wakko's Wish) and Tiny Toon Adventures.
  • It also appears on The Land Before Time (the 2007 short-lived series), Pinky and the Brain (later retooled as Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain), Freakazoid! and other shows.
  • It also appears on season 1 of Harry and the Hendersons (the TV series) and The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show (later known as The Cat&Bunny Warneroonie SuperLooney Big Cartoonie Show).

2nd Logo (September 14, 1991-August 31, 2015)


Visuals: It starts out with the beginning of the standard Amblin Entertainment logo, but it's faster, the stripes don't slide in and it doesn't have the strange shadow wipe effect. After the moon and the boy on the bicycle are in place, the rest of the logo (the "AMBLIN" text with the red/blue lines above and below it respectively) fades in. Then the word "T E L E V I S I O N" appears under it instead of "E N T E R T A I N M E N T" and the moon is surrounded by a TV screen with blue static. The TV screen then switches/turns off, and the rest of the logo fades away, leaving only a blank rounded rectangle.

Variants:

  • A short variant starts with the logo already in place; the switch off is intact.
  • A still variant appears on Fudge, Terra Nova and season 2.
  • On Back to the Future - The Animated Series, the full animation of the logo, minus the switch-off part is shown on the top right corner along with the 1991 Universal Cartoon Studios logo on the top left, the Zaloom/Mayfield Productions logo on the bottom left, and the BIG Pictures logo on the bottom right.
  • On Fievel's American Tails, the full animation of the logo is also shown in the top left corner along with the 1986 long version of the Nelvana logo on the top right and the 1991 Universal Cartoon Studios logo on the bottom corner.
  • On Family Dog, the full animation of the logo, minus the switch-off part was also shown on the right along with the 1986 Nelvana logo on the left.
  • A print version of the logo exists, where the moon is just the plain white circle. Also, the TV screen doesn't glow. This variant is shown on the left along with the Universal Cartoon Studios logo on the right on Opus n' Bill - A Wish for Wings that Work.
  • On seasons 2-3 of Harry and the Hendersons (the TV series), it starts off with the boy in a bicycle and the moon already in place before the rest of the logo forms and the switch-off part is not shown.
  • On the SeaQuest DSV video game, the print logo is put on a blue background along with the MCA/Universal Merchandising logo above it.
  • On HD prints of the fifth season (1998-99) and the 7th-13th seasons of ER, the 1991 version of this logo is cropped to 16:9 widescreen.
  • On shows starting with the 14th season of ER, the blue static in the logo looks more defined (and realistic) than before.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: The closing theme of the show, generic network themes, or none.

Audio Variant: On 1994-2006 episodes of ER, the "Previously on ER" theme used on the preceding Constant C Productions logo continues into this logo.

Availability:

  • It replaced the DreamWorks Television logo on The Americans (DW produced the pilot) and the 4th and 5th seasons of Falling Skies.
  • It's seen on all episodes of ER on Pop and HBO Max and also appears on Back to the Future: The Animated Series (with the UCS, Zaloom/Mayfield and BIG Pictures logos), Fievel's American Tails (with the UCS and Nelvana logos), Family Dog (with the Nelvana logo), Harry and the Hendersons (Seasons 2 and 3),SeaQuest DSV (later known as SeaQuest 2032 in its final season), The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (excluding the first five episodes, although it appeared on new prints of said episodes excluding the first one), Earth 2, On the Lot, the first two seasons of Under the Dome and the first season of Extant.
  • It also appears on TV movies such as The Water Engine.
  • It made its last appearance on the series finale of The Whispers.

3rd Logo (June 25, 2015-)


Visuals: The finishing product of the current Amblin Entertainment logo is used, except with "T E L E V I S I O N" instead of "E N T E R T A I N M E N T". The TV tube is also absent.

Variants:

  • A shorter version of this logo exists, with a shining effect.
  • Sometimes, the logo is placed on a black background and is in 2D, making it similar in appearance to the 1st logo. It also sometimes has a white outlined box.
  • On Reverie, the logo is next to the 2018 Energy Entertainment logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Either a shortened version of John Williams' Amblin fanfare from the 1980s, the closing theme of the show, or none.

Availability: This logo made its debut on the season 3 premiere of Under the Dome, and also appears on the 2020 revival of Animaniacs, The Haunting, and Roswell, New Mexico, among others.