Animation Magic

Background

Animation Magic (Магия анимации in Russian) was a Russian-American animation studio founded in 1991 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Saint Petersburg, Russia. Managed by Igor Razboff and Dale DeSharone, the studio primarily created cutscene animations for DOS and CD-based software, most (in)famously the Philips CD-i and its Nintendo license-based games. In 1997, Animation Magic was acquired by Davidson & Associates, which was bought by CUC (Cendant) Software a year later and then by Havas that same year. Around this time, Razboff and DeSharone left the studio to form Boston Animation. In 2001, Vivendi Universal (owner of Havas) closed Animation Magic.

1st Logo (October 10, 1993)

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Logo: On a black background, we see the text "An Animation Magic Production" in white.

FX/SFX: The fade-in and fade-out of the text.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Link: The Faces of Evil, both for the Philips CD-i.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1994-August 11, 1995)

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Logo: On a black background, two blue lightning bolts from the left and right sides of the screen hit the center and form the white text "ANIMATION MAGIC, INC." in a Celtic-styled font. Then the left lightning bolt strikes the name again, coloring it to a blue/cyan gradient and gaining a white outline. After that, a flash of light below it forms "PRODUCTION" in a futuristic font.

FX/SFX: The forming of the logo. Good animation, especially compared to their games at the time.

Music/Sounds: The sounds are different in both games:

• Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam: The sound of electricity followed by a low synthesized note when "PRODUCTION" appears.
• I.M. Meen: A triumphant MIDI fanfare accompanied by a different and low-quality sound of electricity.

Availability: Seen on Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam for the Philips CD-i and I.M. Meen for DOS.

Editor's Note: None.