Buena Vista/Walt Disney (Modified Screens)

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


1st Bumper (March 23, 1994-June 2000, 2002)

Visuals: On a grass green background (the same as the FBI Warning screens of the era) are the words (in all caps) "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV".

Variants: There are several variations of this bumper:

  • On color restorations of black-and-white films, the text is in Helvetica and reads "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. IT HAS BEEN REFORMATTED TO FIT YOUR TV AND IS A COLORIZED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM."
  • Sometimes, the text is in Futura Condensed, centered, and reads "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. IT HAS BEEN FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR TV SCREEN AND EDITED FOR CONTENT."
  • The 1995 VHS releases of Man of the House and The Santa Clause have the text in Futura Condensed. It's also larger, and with the space in-between each line of text compressed. "SCREEN" also follows "TV." This variant can also be seen on the 1995 demo VHS release of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (interestingly, after the "Coming Soon to Own on Videocassette" bumper), a 1996 reissue of The Good Mother, the 1997 VHS of MicroCosmos, and a 1998 Dish on Demand airing of Flubber.
  • On a July 1998 pay-per-view airing of Scream 2, the above variant is used, except with the text rearranged and "...AND COMPRESSED TO RUN IN THE TIME ALLOTTED" added to it.
  • The 1997 VHS and a pay-per-view airing of Evita have the text reading "THIS FILM HAS BEEN RECOMPOSED FROM THE ORIGINAL VERSION IN ORDER TO FILL THE TELEVISION SCREEN" in a Helvetica font.
  • On the 2000 DVDs of Make Mine Music and Pretty Woman, the text reads "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION, AND HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CONTENT." This also appears on the 1997 Laserdisc of The 6th Man, albeit in a different font.
  • The text is translated into Spanish and French languages on U.S. Spanish and French-Canadian VHS releases, respectively.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants: On most DVS tapes, a narrator reads out the screen, preceded by "A title reads..." (read by Wendie Sakakeeny on The Lion King and Phenomenon) or "A notice..." (read by Kria Sakakeeny on Toy Story).

Availability:

  • Seen on Disney/Touchstone/Miramax/Hollywood/Buena Vista/Dimension releases of the era starting in 1994, such as The Program (later printings), What's Love Got to Do with It?, Hocus Pocus, and D2: The Mighty Ducks. It was used through at least the early summer of 2000, even with the introduction of the then-new blue warning screens. You can know where this logo will be if you see the words on the back of the videocassette case.
  • The first animated features to use this were the first Masterpiece Collection releases like Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Robin Hood.
  • It also appeared short film compilations The Best of Roger Rabbit and Tiny Toy Stories, as well as the Jim Henson Video release of The Dark Crystal.
  • It appeared on a handful of live-action Disney movies licensed to Anchor Bay Entertainment the late 1990's, including Napoleon and Samantha, Candleshoe and The North Avenue Irregulars.
  • The "colorized" version is seen on 1997 VHS release of The Absent-Minded Professor.
  • The "edited" version was first seen on the 1995 VHS of Color of Night: Director's Cut. It then made appearances on the 1995 VHS release of Highlander: The Final Dimension (as well as its 1996 reprint under Dimension Home Video) and the 1996 VHS of The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down The Mountain; the 2000 Gold Classic Collection releases of Saludos Amigos, Make Mine Music and Melody Time, as well as the 10th Anniversary Edition of Pretty Woman, were the final releases to use it.
  • It was also seen on PPV & VOD prints of Disney/Touchstone/Miramax/Dimension movies of the era (i.e., G.I. Jane, Man of the House, and The Crow).
  • It is preserved on several post-2000 reprints, such as Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Gordy, Tombstone and Clerks. It also appeared on later prints of the 2000 VHS of The Sixth Sense (despite having the navy blue warnings; these prints have no previews, and a different "Stay Tuned" bumper, compared to copies from earlier in 2000, which had previews and the green warnings).
  • The "edited for content" variant that is reminiscent of standard version is only known to have appeared on the 1997 LaserDisc of The 6th Man. Weirdly, this appears on the letterboxed VHS release of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, possibly due to an editing error.

2nd Bumper (July 11, 2000-)

Visuals: On a blue background (the same as the FBI Warning screens of the era) are the words (in all caps) "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV".

Variants:

  • On the 2002 VHS of The Others: Video Bonus Edition, the 2004 VHS of Around the World in 80 Days and the pay-per-view airings of Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc., the text reads "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. IT HAS BEEN FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR TV SCREEN."
  • On the 2002 VHS of Signs, the first pressing of the 2002 VHS of Sorority Boys, and the 2003 demo tape of Tuck Everlasting, the text reads "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION, AND HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CONTENT."
  • Another variant has the text read "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. IT HAS BEEN FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR SCREEN." This variant was produced in 1.85:1 widescreen, compared to the other variants, which only exist in 1.33:1. The text may also appear in Helvetica Condensed or Lucida Sans Narrow.
  • The text is translated into Spanish and French on U.S. Spanish and French-Canadian VHS releases, respectively.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability:

  • Can be seen on Disney/Miramax/Touchstone/Dimension/Buena Vista releases of the era such as Freaky Friday (2003), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Bridget Jones' Diary, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Monsters, Inc., The Lion King: Special Edition, and various Pokémon films (such as Pokémon Heroes, Jirachi: Wish Maker, and Destiny Deoxys).
  • Among the first tapes to use this logo were the 2000 Winnie the Pooh: Storybook Classics tapes, High Fidelity, and Toy Story 2.
  • Strangely, this was not seen on the VHS releases of Finding Nemo and Shanghai Knights, which use the 20th Century Fox/Studios modified screen instead of this for some reason, and also did not appear on the VHS release of Home on the Range, which was in widescreen and did not need to carry a format screen, and a selection of 2002-05 VHS releases (an example being The Incredibles) and the 2006-07 VHS releases of Valiant, Chicken Little, and Cars (which use no modified screen at all).
  • Even more strange, however, is that this appeared volumes of Power Rangers: Wild Force and Power Rangers Dino Thunder, which are TV shows (which, logically, wouldn't need formatting to begin with).
  • This also makes strange appearances on the VHS releases of Pearl Harbor and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which are both letterboxed at 1.78:1.
  • Although this wasn't often seen on TV airings of Disney titles (as they often use their own modified screen), it was used on a few movies that aired on Disney Channel, Toon Disney and Disney XD, including The Sword in the Stone, Monsters Inc. and Max Keeble's Big Move, among possibly others. It also appeared on Play It to the Bone when it aired on The Movie Network (now Crave) in Canada.

See also

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