BRB Internacional

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

BRB Internacional was a Spanish production and distribution company founded in 1972 by Claudio Biern-Boyd, José Rodriquez and Tito Bastoas as a mere licensing company (Tom & Jerry, Charlie's Angels, etc.). The three letters of the company's name originated from the surnames of the original founders. In 1980, the company started producing its own cartoons with early productions being made in collaboration with Japanese company Nippon Animation. Cinar later acquired worldwide distribution to some animated productions by BRB Internacional. Their most recent project was Superbernard, a theatrical film based on their short-form series Bernard. However, they fell to bankruptcy during the mid-2010s, and would close on November 22, 2022. On January 31, 2018, WildBrain, a leading digital kids' network and studio, has been appointed as the exclusive global manager of BRB Internacional's extensive catalogue of kids' content on YouTube. BRB now has a new division called Apolo Films for the future of the brand. The studio's first film is a reboot of their Dogtanian franchise, which was released in 2021.



1st Logo (October 9, 1981-1982, 1985)

Visuals: Against a pale bluish background, a sparkling white dove flies away, leaving behind a rainbow trail. The dove swirls off into the distance, causing the rainbow to engulf the entire screen. Then, there is a cross-fade to a screen full of twinkling stars, and the Earth, which is slowly rotating to the right, gradually fades into view. As the stars disappear, a small star shines onto the country of Spain (BRB's country of origin). Shortly after, it cuts to a screen saying:
BRB
PRESENTA

The letters in "BRB" are composed of abstract shapes, have a white and black outline, and are colored red, yellow, and green, respectively.

Variants:

  • On at least Swedish VHS releases of Around the World with Willy Fog, there are black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
  • On some post-1982 prints of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (such as airings in Portugal), the following text on a dark blue background suddenly pops in after the logo animation is finished:
    Esta serie ha sido galardonada en el
    XXV FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE
    Y TELEVISION DE NEW YORK
    con la MEDALLA DE BRONCE.

                                      NEW YORK, V - XI - 1982
  • On original English prints of Around the World with Willy Fog (such as Children's BBC broadcasts from October 29, 1987 to 1990), the footage from this logo animation was used (although the bombastic theme heard from the original Spanish broadcast of the show is being used here). Instead of displaying the company logo at the end, the logo animation ends at the point of the rotating globe, as the following text with a drop shadow appears and disappears via a rippling effect on the screen over the logo animation (the transition effect and the font are similar to the ones used in Harmony Gold USA's Robotech):
    B. R. B.
    INTERNATIONAL,
    S.A.


    PRESENTS

Technique: Hand drawn animation.

Audio: A bombastic, ominous synth theme, that towards the end slowly fades out.

Audio Variant:

  • On original English prints of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, the logo is silent up until the BRB logo shows up, where the show's opening theme plays.
  • On a Polish-dubbed print of the aforementioned show, a female voiceover is heard.

Audio Trivia: This is a re-arranged and recycled track from the 1980 Italian science fiction cult film Alien 2: On Earth (Alien 2 Sulla Terra), composed by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis (who themselves also did music for Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds).

Availability:

  • It appears on older TV airings and VHS tapes of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds.
  • It also appears on early Swedish VHS tapes of Around the World with Willy Fog (Jorden runt med Willy Fog). The Finnish dub of said show uses the variant from the English dub for a handful of episodes and they are also featured in the DVD release.

2nd Logo (1983-1992)

Visuals: Against a black space background, the Earth rotates to the right like in the previous logo. In front of it, there is the BRB logo with the text stacked below it:

BRB INTERNACIONAL S.A.

PRESENTA

Then, a white comet across the logo diagonally from right to left, and once it has almost disappeared, another one moves across in the opposite direction.

Variants: Most of the series produced by the company had variants; they showed differences such as more and less comets moving across the globe, a different text or different music.

  • Around the World with Willy Fog: An extended version of the logo. Once the two comets have moved across the earth, the BRB logo and the text "BRB Internacional S.A. presenta" disappear as a third comet, this time moving rectilinearly from right to left, follows. Then, the logo of the series appears in front of the globe (in Spanish) as a sequence of diagonal comets appears again, but moving faster. Finally, the third comet moves to the camera and engulfs the entire screen. Finally, the globe is shown for five more seconds with some more text reading: "BASADA EN LA OBRA DE JULIO VERNE "LA VUELTA AL MUNDO EN 80 DÍAS"".
    • When Around the World with Willy Fog aired originally on Antenne 2 (today known simply as France 2) in 1983, the logo was different compared to the previous variant. The globe is shown rotating without anything else seen on the screen until comets start flying across the screen, as the following text appears on the screen:
      UNE COPRODUCTION
      ANTENNE 2
      BRB INTERNACIONAL SA.
      NARCISSE X 4
      The text then pops out and the title for the show ("LE TOUR DU MONDE EN 80 JOURS") shows up in French and in white. After that, another set of text appears reading "D'APRES L'CEUVRE DE JULES VERNE".
      • During re-airings of the cartoon in France years later, the logo was changed yet again, this time being closely the same as the first variant with French text ("BRB INTERNACIONAL, S.A. PRESENTE"). The French logo of the show emulates closely the one seen in the original Spanish broadcast, but the text "D'APRES L'CEUVRE DE JULES VERNE" from the previous French variant, seen afterwards, was kept intact in this one.
    • On the Japanese dub of the show, the logo is moved to after the show's opening, and the episode's title appears over the globe instead.
  • The World of David the Gnome and Wisdom of the Gnomes: Instead of "BRB Internacional S.A. presenta", the following white text is shown:
    TELEVISION ESPAÑOLA
    Presenta
  • Bobobobs: Instead of "BRB Internacional S.A. presenta", the logo of Catalan television TV3 (as seen on NBC's Night Justice) chyroned in front of the globe and the word "P R E S E N T A" in white is shown. Some prints of the show (such as the English dub) use the original version untranslated.
  • Sandokan: There are two versions of this variant.
    • In the original Spanish version, right from the start, the "BRB Internacional S.A. presenta" text is briefly shown with a comet flying twice around the globe in the background, before the logo and text pops out, when the comet flies around for the third time.
    • The second known version aired in France. It has the logo and text seen on the screen, while the comet is briefly shown flying around the globe before fading out.

Technique: Hand drawn animation by Nippon Animation.

Audio: Wind humming can be heard in the background before a synth theme starts playing, which is the intro of the original The World of David the Gnome theme song, composed by folk-rock singer Hilario Camacho. This one can also be heard in shows like The Return of Dogtanian (El retorno de D'Artacan) and A Thousand and One... Americans (Las mil y una... Americans).

Audio Variants: As stated before, it depends on the series:

  • Around the World with Willy Fog: A bombastic, ominous synth tune, closely the same one heard in the 2nd logo, except with a more satisfying ending.
    • The Japanese variant uses a different tune.
  • Wisdom of the Gnomes: The intro of the The World of David the Gnome theme song, except it slowly transitions to the theme song of the sequel series towards the end of the logo.
  • Bobobobs: A dramatic orchestral tune. Two slightly different variants are used.
  • Sandokan: The intro for the heroic opening theme of the show.

Availability:

  • It appears on Around the World with Willy Fog, The World of David the Gnome (though the English dub uses the next logo instead), Wisdom of the Gnomes, The Return of Dogtanian, A Thousand and One... Americans, Bobobobs and Sandokan.
  • BRB tends to replace its old logos with the later CGI logos on European DVD prints, and thus it only normally shows up on old VHS and TV broadcasts (for instance, Bobobobs still retained its logo intact when it was re-aired).
  • Some episodes of the Finnish dub of Around the World with Willy Fog use the variant from the Spanish dub for a handful of episodes and they are also featured in the DVD release.

Legacy: People in Spain have very fond memories of this logo.

3rd Logo (January 4-February 8, 1988)


Visuals: On a black background, there is the BRB logo, next to it are the words "BRB International". Underneath that is "and BOB & HARVEY WEINSTEIN present".

Technique: Traditional ink and paint.

Audio: A soothing synth piano theme that carries over into the Cinar and Miramax Films logos.

Availability: Seen on the American broadcasts of The World of David the Gnome.

4th Logo (1992-1995)


Visuals: Against a black space background, there is an animated Earth globe rotating to the right like in the 3rd logo. The BRB logo (which now has a rounded edge at its bottom-left corner) and the words "INTERNACIONAL PRESENTA" (or "INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS") fly into view from the left, and briefly orbit the globe counterclockwise, before stopping to face the viewer at the center of the screen. Then, three comets fly around the globe.

Variants:

  • An alternate version has the BRB logo and "BRB INTERNACIONAL S.A." simply fades into view in front of the globe. The globe itself has the same animation only with a darker color scheme.
    • A variation of the above variant exists where the logo fades to white halfway through and the music plays over the Antena 3 Televisión logo.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A bombastic synthesized brass fanfare with a futuristic whooshing sound as the comet flies past, which is actually a re-arrangement version of the Around the World with Willy Fog variant of the 3rd logo.

Audio Variant: In the extended TV movie Dogtanian: One For All and All For One, the intro for the original The World of David the Gnome theme song heard in the 3rd logo, is played out.

Availability: Can be seen on episodes of Mort & Phil and Willy Fog 2. Numerous extended TV movie versions of previous or recent shows at the time are known to feature this one as an opening logo.

5th Logo (1996-2003)


Visuals: Against a dark blue space background, there is a computer-generated Earth, which is rotating clockwise at a fast rate. The BRB logo from before, now in 3D, flies in from the left of the screen. It has the words "B.R.B. INTERNACIONAL" below it, written in white. They fly around the globe counterclockwise and stop in the center of the screen in front of it. Afterwards, the word "Presents" (or "Presenta"), written in a script font, fades in below, and a sparkly comet slowly flies around the globe counterclockwise. Then, the globe stops spinning and zooms in toward Spain.

Variants:

  • After the logo had finished its animation at the beginning of Football Stories, the globe, along with the BRB logo and text quickly transitions into a CGI football surrounded by cartoony stars and comets flying in the background, as this transitions into the opening of the cartoon.
  • Re-airings of Ruy, the Little Cid (Ruy, el pequeño Cid) feature the logo of the show on the green background after zooming in toward Spain.
  • During re-airings of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, we get to see the following text (much like it was featured in the 2nd logo since 1982) either in English or Spanish on the green background after zooming in toward Spain:
    This series has been awarded
    with the Bronze Medal at the
    25th International Film &
    Television Festival of New York.

    (New York, November 5th, 1982)
  • A 30th anniversary variant has "30" in a script font fading into the screen with a small glowing aura around it, while the camera zooms in toward Spain. "Th" is placed inside the large zero (not seen in the Spanish version), while the texts "1972 - 2002" and "ANNIVERSARY" (or "ANIVERSARIO") are seen placed below it.

Technique: CGI, with the globe overlayed with a 2D map texture.

Audio: A more synthesized rendition of the 5th logo's music, but extended slightly along with a loud comet sound.

Audio Variants:

  • An alternate rendition of the music is used in Football Stories, which also has a different sound effect for the comet.
  • The intro for the theme song is heard in the Spanish version of The World of David the Gnome.

Availability: Can be found on The World of David the Gnome and Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds DVDs in Europe. It is intact on YouTube prints of Toonimals. This logo is not present on North American DVDs. The anniversary variant is known to be seen on Zipi Y Zape and Gladiator Academy.

6th Logo (2004-2012)

Visuals: There is a sketchy version of the BRB logo, next to the Screen 21 logo, with "PRESENT" below the logos on a yellow-ish paw background.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: The opening theme to the show.

Availability: Seen on Bernard.

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