Cosgrove Hall Films

Background

Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was a British animation studio founded in 1976 by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, with headquarters in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Once a major producer of children's television programmes and TV shows in Britain, it was mainly known for its series Danger Mouse, The Wind in the Willows and Count Duckula.

The company's origins trace back to "Stop Frame Productions", founded by Hall in 1969, which Cosgrove joined shortly after, both leaving their jobs at Granada Television. After production was halted at Stop Frame, London-based ITV station Thames Television (producer of Rainbow, one of their shows) created a subsidiary of itself specifically for the two producers. Danger Mouse and its spin-off Count Duckula were the studio's biggest international successes, largely thanks to their presence in Nickelodeon's late 80's lineup in the US.

In 1993, Cosgrove Hall's parent company, Thames was succeeded by Carlton Television; subsequently, the studio was passed over to Anglia Television (later Granada plc). By 2009, a lack of funding from Granada meant the studio was no longer viable; it was dissolved by Granada's owner ITV plc in October and its catalogue was sold to Boat Rocker Media and other companies as a result. Three years later, Cosgrove Hall's headquarters was demolished to make way for retirement flats. The studio was eventually reformed in 2011 as "Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment", with the original founders and Murdaidh! creator Adrian Fitzpatrick.

Up until 1984, the company had no real logo and mostly used in-credit notices before then.

Contents

1st Logo (20 February 1984-5 January 1994)	2nd Logo (6 September 1991-28 June 1994)	3rd Logo (16 September 1994-October 2009)

1st Logo (20 February 1984-5 January 1994)

Standard logo
Alias the Jester
Danger Mouse (Series 6)
Avenger Penguins (Series 1)

Visuals: We see the text "COSGROVE HALL PRODUCTIONS" in a stylized font with a tiny copyright symbol to its left and a copyright date in Roman numerals below.

Variants:

On Alias the Jester, the logo is displayed in a medieval-style border, which features six pictures of its main characters. Alias is seen both in his original futuristic guise on the left side, and in his medieval guise on the right.
On Series 5 (1985) of Danger Mouse, the logo is shown below the Danger Mouse badge (a red circle with the letters "DM" on it) with a copyright date underneath.
- On Series 6, the copyright date has been enlarged slightly, and is displayed in a serif font.
On Creepy Crawlies, Count Duckula, and Series 5 (1988) of The Wind in the Willows (also known as Oh! Mr. Toad!), the logo appears on a black background in alternating blue, red, and yellow letters. The copyright symbol has also been enlarged and placed above the logo, while the copyright date is displayed in a serif font.
- This version is seen on a dark blue background, with all the text on a single line, on Series 1 (1993) of Avenger Penguins, with clips of the show playing in a rectangle up above it. A copyright disclaimer for Granada Television is seen below in a Dom Casual font.

Technique: None.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Audio Variant: On Count Duckula, an extended version of the thunderclap from the end of the show's opening theme is heard and continues into a downpour of rain once it has faded into the Thames logo (or the 2001 FremantleMedia logo in case of current prints of the show's first series). On current prints of the show's third series, the rain is heard over the Cosgrove Hall logo instead.

Availability: Seen on all episodes of Alias the Jester, Creepy Crawlies and Count Duckula, Series 5 and 6 (1985 and 1990) of Danger Mouse, Series 5 (1988) of The Wind in the Willows, and Series 1 (1993) of Avenger Penguins.

2nd Logo (6 September 1991-28 June 1994)

Standard logo
Noddy's Toyland Adventures (Series 1)
Noddy's Toyland Adventures (Series 2)

Visuals: We see a down-facing triangle colored in a blue-yellow-red gradient on a white background, with the text "COSGROVE HALL" on it in alternating blue, yellow, and red letters, much like the colored variant of the previous logo. Towards the bottom of the triangle, the text "© Cosgrove Hall Productions Ltd. MCMXCI/MCMXCII" is displayed in a black serif font.

Trivia: This logo is based on the branding Thames Television used at the time; it was rather short-lived too, due to Thames losing their franchise at the end of 1992.

Variants:

An animated version appears on the Series 1 Victor and Hugo episodes "Spacial Event" and "Water Boobies". The screen is white until the "COSGROVE HALL" text is wiped in from the left. The triangle itself then wipes in from above behind the text, and a spotlight shines over the logo from left to right before the copyright text "© Cosgrove Hall Productions Ltd. MCMXCI" (1991) fades in towards the bottom of it.
On the first two series (1992-94) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, the logo is displayed on a black background, with either the text "PRODUCED FOR BBC ENTERPRISES" ("BBC" being the corporation's 1988 underlined logo) above it for the first series, or the text "PRODUCED FOR BBC CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL" ("BBC" again being the corporation's 1988 logo, and "CHILDREN'S" being their then-current Children's BBC logo) above it in series 2, with the three texts "COSGROVE HALL PRODUCTIONS LIMITED", "Based on the 'NODDY' books by Enid Blyton" (in a Dom Casual font and with "Enid Blyton" being her famous signature) and "© BBC ENTERPRISES 1992/1993/1994" ("BBC", for a third time, being the corporation's 1988 logo) displayed under it.

Technique: None. 2D effects on the animated variant.

Audio: None or the closing theme of the show.

Availability:

Seen on all episodes of Truckers and Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime on ITV, and Series 1-2 (1992-94) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures on Children's BBC and UK VHS releases, respectively.
Neither of the VHS releases of the first two shows feature this logo at the end of them, as it has been plastered with the still version of the 1991 Thames Video logo instead.

3rd Logo (16 September 1994-October 2009)

Avenger Penguins (Series 2)
Fantomcat
Oakie Doke
Sooty's Amazing Adventures
Rocky and the Dodos
The Animal Shelf
Noddy's Toyland Adventures (Series 3)
Noddy's Toyland Adventures (Series 4)
The Foxbusters
Vampires, Pirates and Aliens
Engie Benjy
Doctor Who (The Invasion Animated)
Postman Pat (Seasons 3-5)
Fifi and the Flowertots (Series 1-2)
Roary the Racing Car (Series 1)
The Likeaballs

Visuals: We see a conglomeration of a purple square, a red down-facing triangle, a yellow circle with the word "FILMS" upon it, a purple down-facing trapezoid, a light blue curved rectangle with the word "COSGROVE" on it and a light orange trapezoid with the word "HALL" on it below.

Trivia: This logo was introduced after Cosgrove Hall had signed a new deal with Anglia Television, and it reflects the network's then-current "heraldic flag" logo, introduced in 1988.

Variants:

On series 2 (1994) of Avenger Penguins, the logo is displayed on a backdrop of clips from the show, with "© Cosgrove Hall Films MCMXCIV" below.
On Fantomcat, the logo is displayed on the vortex background from the intro, and the text "© Cosgrove Hall Films (year in Roman numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen (with a grammatical error, as the first "C" in the Roman numerals is replaced with an "X").
On Oakie Doke, the logo is displayed on a green background with "A" and "PRODUCTION" above and below it, and "© Cosgrove Hall Films Limited (year in Arabic numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Original releases had it with the words "for" and the BBC Children's International logo below them.
On Sooty's Amazing Adventures, the logo is displayed above the Sooty International logo, which is Sooty (the orange bear puppet of Harry Corbett, who later passed him onto his son Matthew) peeping out from behind his own name.
On Rocky and the Dodos, the logo is displayed on an orange-light blue gradient background with "A Cosgrove Hall Films Production" below it, and "© 1997/1998" is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
On The Animal Shelf, the logo is displayed on an orange background with "A Cosgrove Hall Films Production" below it, and "© Cosgrove Hall Films Limited (year in Arabic numerals)" is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
On the last two series (1994 and 1999) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, the logo is displayed in the same way the third one was for the first two series. Also, due to the fact that BBC Enterprises became BBC Worldwide in 1995, and a new logo was introduced for the corporation in 1997, the "produced for" and copyright texts that are displayed above and below the logo were changed to "A", "Production for", "BBC Worldwide", "Enid Blyton" and "Blyton Toyland", and "© BBC Worldwide and Enid Blyton Limited 1999" for the fourth and final season ("BBC", in both cases, being the corporation's then-current logo, with "Worldwide" being in the same font. "Enid Blyton" is also, again, her famous signature, as is the "Blyton" in "Blyton Toyland").
- On the French dub of the fourth and last season of said series, the endboard is translated.
On The Foxbusters, the logo is displayed on a black-blue background above the text "Distributed by ITEL". A fox from the show then appears on the right side of the screen, looks up and screams as a barrage of eggs land upon him.
On Vampires, Pirates and Aliens (based on the book of the same name by Colin McNaughton), the logo is displayed alongside the Millimages and France Animation logos.
On Engie Benjy, the show's three main characters (Engie Benjy, Jollop the dog, and Dan the van) are standing above the logo dancing to the show's closing theme.
On the animated recreated version of part 1 and part 4 of the Doctor Who episode "The Invasion", the logo is displayed in black-and-white above the BBC's 1971 (not underlined, but slanted with round edges) logo.
On the remakes of Postman Pat (both the initial one from seasons 3-5, and the "Special Delivery Service" one for season 6), and Rupert Bear: Follow the Magic..., the logo is displayed above that of Entertainment Rights' own logo.
On the first two series of Fifi and the Flowertots and the first series of Roary the Racing Car, the logo is displayed below a decorated oval with clips of the show playing in it, with the text "A Cosgrove Hall Films Ltd" above it and "Production For Chapman Entertainment" below it.
On The Likeaballs, the logo is displayed to the left of that of another animation studio called "Animated Adventures and Pictures", which is the letters "A", "A" and "P" on a cinema-style marquee with the text "An Animated Adventures and Pictures Production" below them.

Technique: None.

Audio: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on series 2 (1994) of Avenger Penguins, the last two series (1994 and 1999) of Noddy's Toyland Adventures, and most other Cosgrove Hall shows from the time period until the company's demise in 2009.