Astral Films Limited

Credits

Descriptions by
Codyfinke2

Captures by
Eric S. and C.McBraggins

1st Logo (1971-1985)

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Logo: On a navy blue (or blackberry) colored background, we see many white (or pink) circles zooming out in a residue trailing effect. After that, a white (or pink) rooster zooms in with a residue trailing effect. The text "ASTRAL FILMS LIMITED" in the Optima font wipes in from left to right above it, then "presents" in the same font wipes in below it.

Variants:

• On French-dubbed movies, the texts are replaced with ''LES FILMS ASTRAL LIMITÉE'' and ''présentent''. This can easily be spotted on the French-dubbed version of the first Care Bears Movie.
• At the end of the 1983 TV movie Pygmalion, there is a shortened version with just "ASTRAL" above and "FILM PRODUCTIONS LTD." on the bottom (this may also have been used as a TV logo for their television division).

Technique: Cel animation.

Music/Sounds: Usually none. On Pygmalion, a rising synth tune is heard.

Availability: Very rare today. Seen on old Canadian VHS tapes of titles such as Porky's and The Care Bears Movie. Might also be seen on early VHS releases from outfits such as Hi-Tops Video and Media Home Entertainment released in conjunction with Astral, as well as some early VHS tapes from Astral such as Extra Terrestrial Visitors (AKA: Pod People). It is rumored this makes an appearance on the UK Neculus Films DVD of Death Ship, as well as on the 2018 Scorpion Releasing limited edition remastered Blu-Ray (don't bother looking on the earlier Scorpion DVD and Blu-ray release of Death Ship, as neither this nor the Avco Embassy logo aren't there, either).

2nd Logo (1985-1990)

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Logo: Against a space background, a comet shoots out from the left side of the screen to the center, and then another comet shoots out from the bottom left corner of the screen, but suddenly, it turns to the right, and reveals "ASTRAL FILMS", first in pink text, but then changes to orange, and finally, blue, as if it was "cooling down" a bit. Finally, another comet shoots below the text to reveal the rooster in the circle.

Technique: Possibly Scanimate.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant Moog synthesizer fanfare.

Availability: Scarce today, but was seen on films such as Babar: The Movie.

3rd Logo (1990?-1997?)

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Logo: We fade to a sky background. In the middle of the screen is the word "ASTRAL" in blue (in a custom Peignot font, similar to the 1971 Viacom and MTM logos) with a small golden star attached to it. After a couple of seconds, the "ASTRAL" text then zooms in, the gold star flying into the camera, transitioning into a space background. There, the same "ASTRAL" logo flies in, with the word "FILMS" at its side. Both words stay in place in the center of the screen until the logo fades out.

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Music/Sounds: Likely silent.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Canadian prints of Porky's, this would be accompanied by the jingle of the 1953-1987 20th Century Fox logo due to sloppy plastering.

Availability: Until recently, this logo's existence was unknown and is presumably very scarce. So far, it has been spotted on the U.S. and Canadian iTunes print of the original Porky's (Astral's successor, TVA International, owns US and Canadian streaming rights to the Porky's franchise instead of Fox). It is also rumored this same combo appears on the TVA Films 25th anniversary Canadian DVD release of Porky's, as well as on the sequels in the Canadian Porky's trilogy DVD set. It's possible it was seen on Canadian prints of other films from this time period, but with Astral seemingly focused more on their video division and less on the theatrical unit, most have probably never had this logo originally or had it removed as far as video releases go.