BKN International

Background

BKN International AG (with the BKN standing for "Bohbot Kids Network") was a German company originally founded in 1994 as the international division of Bohbot Entertainment, an American advertising and marketing company founded by Allen J. Bohbot, and based in Germany.

In October 1999, BKN International separated from its parent company (then called BKN, Inc.) and became a public company. They eventually acquired all of their former parent company's assets in January 2001, in order to produce more in-house programming available for broadcast to various networks around the world. Around this time, Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group acquired 3.8% of the company.

Under it's new independence era, the company began to suffer from financial issues but soon recovered, although not for long. In 2009, BKN International AG filed for insolvency protection, and in October 2011, a Cyprus-based firm - EMBA Media Management International Ltd. (also known as EMBA Media Associates Ltd), acquired BKN International's assets. In 2015, the company began licensing the BKN catalogue over to Allen J. Bohbot's new company 41 Entertainment, which he formed after BKN went under. In 2018, he licensed the BKN brand and formed BKN Entertainment to control the ex-BKN International assets. Some assets are also licensed over to Invincible Entertainment Partners.

1st Logo (September 1, 1997-2000)

Visuals: On a blue curtain background is the orange-yellow "BKN" logo in a modified version of Baby Kruffy. The word flies in from different sides of the screen. They meet in the center and take a bow.

Trivia: This logo is based on the bumpers from the Bohbot Kids Network (BKN) block from 1997-1999.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A harp flourish, followed by a 5-note piano fanfare with a "bling" at the end, along with the audience applauding and an Elvis Presley impersonator saying "Oh, thank you, thank you very much." Composed by Ralph Sorrentino.

Audio Variant: On some shows, the music is quicker and the voiceover's lines are altered a bit. The ultra-speed version seen on Pocket Dragon Adventures omits the voiceover altogether.

Availability: Seen on the company's programmes from that time period. In its last-two years, it was used in tandem with the next logo.

Seen on the original syndicated runs of Extreme Ghostbusters (as well as the 2024 US DVD set on the 25 episodes not plastered by the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo), the third season of Jumanji: The Animated Series, and Sonic Underground (And is kept on the episode "Sonic Tonic" on the "Super Mario Bros. - King Koopa Katastophe" DVD, and the episodes seen on the Sonic Christmas Blast DVD, both from Sterling Entertainment Group).
Was used on first-run BKN programs at the time as well, including the likes of Highlander: The Animated Series and Pocket Dragon Adventures.
It also plastered the final Bohbot Entertainment logo on 1999 reruns of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on the block. It might have also been used on BKN airings of Mummies Alive! as well (plastering Claster Television Incorporated's logo).

2nd Logo (1999-2001)

Visuals: Above the planet Earth with a small moon in the top right corner is an elliptical space station with "BKN" on it in the same font as before, and outlined in gold, blue, and red, respectively. Little lights flash inside the letters. After a few seconds, the station explodes.

Trivia: This logo is based on the 1999-2000 "Bulldog TV" era of the BKN block.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An electronic tune (composed by Bohbot himself) that grows more dramatic, followed by an orchestral hit when the space station explodes.

Audio Variants:

Strangely, there is a low toned version of the theme.
The music is pitched up (like PAL speedup) on the PlayStation game adaptation of Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends, and UK DVD releases of later episodes of Heavy Gear: The Animated Series.
On Capertown Cops and Kong: The Animated Series, the music is recomposed.

Availability: Seen on the company's programmes from the time-period. In it's first-two years, it was used in tandem with the previous logo.

Was used on syndicated prints of Skysurfer Strike Force, Beakman's World (which plasters the 1992 Columbia Pictures Television logo, and remains as such on Tubi), and a couple of other shows.
For first-run programs, it was seen on the company's English dub of Monster Rancher, alongside the original series Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends (and it's PS1 game adaptation), and Capertown Cops. It was last used on Kong: The Animated Series.

3rd Logo (2001-2008)

Regular Logos

Widescreen version
Cropped version of the widescreen logo

Movie Logos

Kong: King of Atlantis credits variant
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - The Lost Scimitar of Arabia variant
Kong: Return to the Jungle variant
A Christmas Carol - Scrooge's Ghostly Tale variant
Jungle Book - Rikki-Tikki-Tavi to the Rescue variant
Robin Hood - Quest for the King variant
The Three Musketeers - Saving the Crown variant
The Prince and the Pauper - Double Trouble variant
Alice in Wonderland - What's the Matter with Hatter? variant

Visuals: On a gray background with moving clouds is the big "BKN" logo in a transparent gold color. The sun rises from below onto the top corner of the "K". As this happens, the background turns yellow and the "BKN" logo turns red.

Variants:

On shows produced in widescreen, the logo is cropped (or stretched, in some cases) to the 16:9 ratio, making the logo much closer than usual.
On international prints of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, a byline reading "Represented by BKN International" is seen below.
A shorter version exists on CBBC UK airings of Legend of the Dragon, it begins with the "BKN" logo in a gold color already formed before the background turning yellow and the "BKN" logo turning red.
On Kong: King of Atlantis, the logo appears in-credit at the beginning in red. At the end is white text (In the same font as the credits) reading the company name.
On Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - The Lost Scimitar of Arabia, the logo is once again in-credit in red. At the end, the print logo is in-credit and scrolls up with the rest of the credits.
- In the widescreen version of the movie, the logo is stretched.
On the BKN Classic Series of direct-to-video CGI movies, as well as Kong: Return to the Jungle, the logo is seen on a black background in a box (a bit improperly cropped) with a copyright date in white below it.
- Robin Hood and Alice in Wonderland uses the same copyright as A Christmas Carol, but the former has the BKN logo placed differently, while on the latter the 2006 date is cheaply replaced with 2007 (7 being in a different thinner font than the 200).
- The Prince and the Pauper uses the same copyright as Jungle Book but is slightly changed to add in "2007" instead of "2006".
- The Three Musketeers adds the name of the movie above the copyright date.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Normally, the end theme to the show/movie or silence. On Ultimate Book of Spells, a techno tune plays.

Availability: Appeared on shows produced during the BKN International days before their insolvency.

This logo first appeared on Ultimate Book of Spells and appeared on many of BKN's later shows like Legend of the Dragon, Zorro: Generation Z, Dork Hunters from Outer Space, and Stone Age. It also appears on international prints of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys.
The cropped copyright variants appear on the company's "BKN Classic Series" of movies.
This logo is kept on some YouTube prints of the mentioned series, but recent streaming prints of Dork Hunters from Outer Space and Stone Age (including Tubi) have this logo plastered with the BKN Entertainment logo and in 2022, the current 41 Entertainment logo.