Disney Channel International
Exclaim Entertainment, ifyoudarethenpizzait, and Nico234
Background
In 1995, The Walt Disney Company launched the first international versions of Disney Channel in Taiwan (on March) and the United Kingdom (on October). Since then, other countries began carrying their own local version of Disney Channel and later its sister networks Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney) and Disney XD (formerly Toon Disney and Jetix), alongside other Disney Branded Television networks.
Until 2003, Disney Channel international networks generally have a different on-air look compared to the original U.S. network; all international networks would eventually follow the same on-air look as the U.S. counterpart; however, localised idents and / or on-air design packages were also produced in select countries at certain time periods.
1st ID (October 1, 1995-1997)
Visuals: Several different idents exist in this on-air design, all of which end with a Mickey Mouse head shape being formed; the text "The Disney Channel" fades in underneath.
Idents:
- Morning/Night: There is the Disney Channel logo from 1986 against an orange or violet background; the logo glows and shines throughout. Generally used for start-up and closedown.
- Bubbles: A huge bubble zooms out, which bursts into various smaller bubbles with three forming the logo.
- Fireworks: Against a fireworks backdrop, the Mickey Mouse head shape outline is formed with red firework streaks.
- Paint Splat: Various paint splats appear on coloured backgrounds; two small red splats and a large blue splat then form the logo.
- Snowflake: Two snowflakes skate around and draw the logo on a lake of ice. A special Christmas variant of this ident was also made, with a differently coloured background.
- Sparklers: Red, purple and blue sparklers move around the screen and then form the logo.
- Trumpets: Various trumpets appear, ending with the logo formed using three trumpet heads. On some airings, the trumpets at the end also begin shooting sparks after the logo is formed.
Technique: CGI by Brian Ely and Jason Keeley at Lambie-Nairn.
Audio: A different, unique musical score for each ident, ending with a three-note jingle (D-E-C).
Availability: These idents were used by Disney Channel in the United Kingdom for two years since its launch in 1995.
Legacy: The two on-air looks that followed would continue the concept of using Mickey Mouse's head shape; the logo from the Paint Splat ident would also eventually become the primary logo until 2003.
2nd ID (March 22, 1997-September 1, 1999)
Visuals: Much like the previous logo, there were several idents produced in this on-air look. The general idea is as follows: three objects — two coloured red and one coloured blue — roughly form the logo. At the end of each ident, the text "Disney Channel" draws in from the left at the bottom; "Disney" is shown in the Walt Disney corporate script, and Channel is displayed using the Globe Gothic Bold Condensed font.
Idents:
- Ice Cream Conga: Three ice cream cones are doing the conga to conga music, and when they are centred on the screen, they splat themselves against the wall where the logo is formed. An additional Pink ice cream cone congas and scrolls past.
- Bouncing Dough Balls: Dough balls of red and blue colours are seen bouncing in all directions with sentient ecstatic whoops, until a rolling pin squishes them flat, forming the logo. Two more bouncing balls bounce normally across the screen.
- Balloon Shadows: Three balloons cast shadows on a tiled pathway, forming the logo.
- Bell: On a haystack, a red ribbon wraps around a blue bell, forming the logo.
- Bobble Hats: On a windy day, there are three boys putting on bobble hats; the red and blue balls hanging from the hats then form the logo.
- Planets: In a space background, a blue planet zooms out into view; two small red planets then orbit around the blue planet before forming the logo.
- Choir: A conductor taps his baton, which signals three choir members to sing a short chord; the mouths of the two choir members on the top of the screen turn red while the mouth another choir member below them turns blue, forming the logo.
- Fox: A blue fox is seen sleeping; the dream cloud above the fox shows a line of small creatures with red capes jumping across, forming the logo.
- Fruits: On a grass background, a blue apple and an orange roll to the centre of the screen; the orange splits in half to form the logo.
- Fish Tank: A blue cat watches as two red goldfish swim in front of it; the screen then cuts to a zoomed-out view, revealing that the cat is inside a fish bowl and the goldfish are swimming outside of it, forming the logo.
- Constellations: In an observatory, an astronomer looks into the telescope to see various constellations; the telescope's point of view then pans to a constellation made out of red and blue stars forming the logo.
- Pots and Pans: Two frying pans with simmering red foods and a blue stockpot on a kitchen stove form the logo.
- Darts: Two red darts hit the blue bullseye on a dartboard, forming the logo.
- Dice: Two red dice and a blue die roll into view, forming the logo.
- Pool: A blue billiard ball rolls into the centre with two red balls, forming the logo.
- Door: A flashlight moves around a door with two lion carvings and a gold knocker forming the logo.
- Easter Eggs: Three chocolate eggs are wrapped with red and blue cellophane, forming the logo.
- Egg Yolk: An egg cracks onto a dinner plate, revealing a fried egg with a blue yolk; the eggshells settle above the yolk, forming the logo.
- Eggs: A blue egg rolls into view, along with two orange chocolate eggs, forming the logo.
- Hopscotch: Two small red footprints and a big blue footprint play a game of hopscotch, eventually forming the logo.
- Da Vinci: A set of diagrams is drawn on-screen, resulting to the logo being formed in a triangle.
- Fish: Two red fish and a blue fish form the logo in a dark blue pond.
- Flowers: A bouquet of yellow flowers open up to reveal one blue and two red flowers forming the logo.
- Hat Rack: Two red caps and a blue hat are tossed onto a rack, forming the logo.
- Ice Cream: A girl drops her ice cream cone; the ice cream scoops that landed on the ground form the logo.
- Puddle: On a tiled pathway during a stormy night, three puddles form the logo on the pathway.
- Bubble Gum: A woman with red sunglasses blows some blue bubblegum, forming the logo.
- Party Plates: A table with party food is seen consumed via time-lapse, revealing three paper plates forming the logo.
- Ladybug: A blue ladybug lands on a mushroom with red spots, forming the logo.
- Inverted Ice Cream: A girl is seen eating ice cream from a cone; the camera inverts to reveal the scoops forming the logo.
- Spaghetti: In a white room, a man wearing a yellow shirt eats a large plate of spaghetti; the camera zooms into the man's shirt, showing the tomato sauce splatters and a blue button forming the logo.
- TV: A TV showing blue static sits in a room with a lamp on the left and a clock on the right, forming the logo.
- Umbrellas: A family of three walk through a rainy day before opening their umbrellas, which form the logo.
- Lollipop: Three kids purchase some lollipops from a candy store. The kids then run to a nearby hill; two of the kids clang their red lollipops together, while the third kid plants her blue lollipop on the ground before watering it, causing the stem to grow and the blue lollipop to move closer to the red ones, forming the logo.
- Scouts: Three scouts march along a walkway; their backpacks then form the logo.
- Traffic Lights: A traffic light is seen switching to a blue signal and two red crosswalk signals, forming the logo.
- Pothole: A pair of red gloves emerges from a pothole cover, briefly forming the logo before moving back into the pothole.
- Space Doors: A set of futuristic space doors open to reveal a window with a blue light inside and a pair of red warning lights flashing above it, forming the logo.
- Inverted Fish: Two red goldfish swim with a big blue fish; the camera inverts to show the fish forming the logo.
- Paper Bin: In a classroom, a group of kids toss crumpled paper balls into a trash bin, forming the logo.
- Thinking Gears: A boy is seen having difficulty reading a book; a set of thinking gears then appear above the boy before showing one blue and two red gears forming the logo.
- Aliens: A farmer gets abducted by three UFO's forming the logo.
- Fireworks: A fireworks show is seen on a night sky; the fireworks eventually form the logo.
- Candles: There is a scenery of blue hills with various candles on top of them; the camera then pans to three candles shooting clusters of red and blue sparkles that form the logo. Used before closedown in the UK.
- Balloons: A woman on the beach is seen holding a yellow balloon; the camera then pans to the left to show a cluster of red and blue balloons forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Sandcastles: The camera zooms in on three sandcastles forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Boules: From a boule's point of view, the camera swings around a beach until it lands on the ground to show three more boules forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Beach Umbrellas: The sequence starts with an extreme close-up view of the blue umbrella. The logo zooms out to see two red umbrellas above it; forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Crabs: On a large rock by a shore, there are two red crabs and a blue crab forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Seashells: On a beach shore, three seashells form the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Deck Chairs: A man is seen walking around and sitting on three deck chairs on the beach, which form the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Swimming Inflatables: A man with inflatable floatation devices that form the logo swim on the beach shore. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Kites: Three kites fly above, forming the logo. Primarily used during the summer season.
- Window Wiping: In a winter cottage, three pairs of mitts are seen wiping the snow off a window, forming the logo. Primarily used during Christmas season.
- Baubles: A set of baubles is seen being hanged in a living room with a fireplace, forming the logo. Primarily used during Christmas season.
- Presents: A Christmas tree is seen spinning in the centre of the screen before some boxes are placed in front of it; some of the boxes are coloured accordingly to form the logo. Primarily used during Christmas season.
- Santa's Tree Ornaments: Santa Claus is seen placing red, blue, and yellow ornaments onto a Christmas tree; the camera cuts to two red ornaments and a blue one forming the logo. Primarily used during Christmas season.
Technique: Various methods of animation or live-action footage, depending on each ident.
Audio: A unique musical or sound effect score for each ident, most of which end with a new three-note jingle (E-G-C).
Availability: First used by Disney Channel France since its launch on March 22, 1997, then adapted by the international networks between 1997 and 1999.
3rd ID (September 1, 1999-March 15, 2003)
Visuals: A refined version of the previous on-air packages: three symmetrically round objects form the Mickey Mouse head shape. The text "Disney Channel" (using the same fonts from the previous logo, but coloured accordingly to the accompanying logo form-up) then fades in below.
Idents:
- The following idents were used on the mainline Disney Channel and its timeshift counterpart in select countries; the first 15 were for children's programs, while the last 10 were for family programs and evening film airings.
- Kids Zone:
- Spinning Top: A purple top spins around the floor while two green yo-yo's fall from above; the yo-yo's strings then get caught by the top and cause the yo-yo's to spin rapidly then settle next to the top, forming the logo.
- Discoball: Seven disco lights flash on screen in time with the music, transitioning to two lights and a disco ball forming the logo.
- Computer: There is a computer with several programs running; the disc drive then opens to show three optical discs (two yellow and one blue) forming the logo.
- Laboratory: A Rube Goldberg machine set in a laboratory carries two green slime blobs to a purple plasma sphere, forming the logo.
- Clouds: A blue sphere travels through a pixelated sky environment, then it zooms out to the centre of a blue background as two small clouds grow above the sphere, forming the logo.
- Chrome Blob: On a silver steel surface, various metal blobs merge together to form the logo, which is made out of two silver blobs and one blue blob.
- Basketball: Four stopwatches play basketball in an indoor court; one of the stopwatches then shoots the ball towards a hoop and onto two smaller stopwatches, forming the logo.
- Paint Blob: A red blob and a yellow blob shape-shift and interact. The yellow blob then jumps on the red blob, causing it to split into two. Finally, the yellow blob jumps to the two red blobs, forming the logo.
- Soccer: In a stadium, a soccer ball is seen being thrown around; the ball then hits the frame of a goal and crashes onto an electronic score board with two zeroes displayed, forming the logo.
- Ice Cream Float: A scoop of vanilla ice cream is dropped onto a pool of coloured soda; the scoop then floats back up to the surface along with two bubbles, forming the logo.
- Microscope: A cluster of pink and yellow amoeba is seen under a microscope. The lens zooms in on a pink cell and two yellow cells forming the logo.
- Purple Blob: A purple blob is seen on a green background. The blob stretches and retracts back to the centre, causing two yellow blobs to pop in above, forming the logo.
- Sun Cooler: A sun is seen warming the other planets in space; an electric fan then turns on and blows air towards the sun. Another fan joins the first fan as they settle around the sun and form the logo.
- Video Game: In a racing video game setting, two futuristic space pods travel around the landscape and towards a finish line; upon finishing, the two pods receive a gold medal, which forms the logo.
- UFO: A space station drops two UFO's, which glide around space until they land on a green planet below, forming the logo.
- Family Zone:
- Raindrops: On a glass window with an outside view, three raindrops fall down on the window to form the logo; the two smaller circles reflect a pink flower.
- Bathtub: A red straw rises above the water in a bathtub, which then blows three bubbles that form the logo.
- Picnic: A picnic is seen being set up on a checkered blanket; an apple then falls onto the picnic, tumbling the plates and utensils. Two apples and a yellow plate then roll onto the grass and form the logo.
- Chess: There is a chess board where the pieces interact with each other; two black pawns then move towards the white king, forming the logo.
- Peacock: A peacock is seen, which then fans its tailfeathers that contain the logo.
- Moon: In a forest at night, comets fall and strike several clouds, causing them to create two round clouds on top of the moon and form the logo.
- Dog Food: An overhead view of a house is seen, where an invisible dog follows a trail of dog snacks; the dog eventually goes into a yellow room and knocks three dog food bowls, which form the logo.
- Olives: A panning shot of a picnic table is seen, where various foods are picked up. The camera then focuses on a plate with two green olives and a black olive forming the logo.
- Turnips: Two turnips grow underneath a patch of soil; the turnips and the resulting tangle of roots form the logo.
- Spotlights: There is a view of a theatre stage with a red curtain; three spotlights (two orange and one white) then move around the curtain until they settle to the centre and form the logo.
- Kids Zone:
- In addition, various special idents were also created, usually designed for holidays or other occasions in select countries.
- Pumpkins: Two pumpkins ride a Halloween-themed roller coaster; the coaster then reaches a dead end, hurling the pumpkins towards a jack-o'-lantern, which forms the logo. Primarily used during Halloween season.
- Wreath: A cottage is seen in a winter forest. A wreath falls down from the front door and rolls into a snowball around the forest; the snowball then hits a Christmas tree, causing the wreath and two red baubles to fall onto the snow and form the logo. Primarily used during Christmas season.
- Valentine's Day: A bunch of pink flowers formed in the shape of a heart are seen, before opening up, showing four dishes. A large cake, three pieces of cake, two strawberry pies, two coffees, and one muffin come in, as the white placemat wipes out the dishes. The three pieces of the cake form with the missing pieces of cake, forming a whole, and the muffin and the two coffees move out. The two strawberry pies and one whole cake come together, and resize themselves, forming the logo. Primarily used during Valentine's season.
- Popcorn: A popcorn maker is seen, where the popped kernels make their way through a film projector; the logo is then formed with two film reels and a bucket of popcorn. Primarily used before movies.
- Button Soccer: In a stadium, buttons with the Brazilian soccer uniform colours and a different team's colours are seen tossing a ball around, a bigger Brazil button scores a goal past a rectangular goalie, two smaller buttons from the opposing team stay in front of the bigger button to form the logo as the camera pans out. Aired exclusively in Brazil.
- Chameleon: In a forest, a green robotic chameleon is seen chasing a blue robotic fly. As the chameleon moves, it changes its colour in accordance with background elements, once the chameleon gets the fly with its white tongue, the chameleon's head turns yellow, the blue fly stands in front of it with the chameleon's tongue wrapping it, and the chameleon's eyes above turning blue, forming the logo and the Brazilian flag. Aired exclusively in Brazil.
- Swimming Pool: Two beach balls and a swim tube float around the ball until they land next to each other, forming the logo. Used in rotation during the summer season exclusively in Italy.
- The following idents were used during pre-school programming on the mainline Disney Channel and/or on the Playhouse Disney block/dedicated channel, depending on the country/region.
- Amoeba: A yellow blob interacts with two green blobs then forms the logo.
- Marching Band: A group of circles perform a short band routine; a blue circle (representing a bass drum) and two yellow circles (representing cymbals) form the logo.
- Balloon: Two orange circles bungee-jump around a blue circle then form the logo.
- Bumper Cars: Two multicoloured circles collide with each other and around the screen; a larger multicoloured circle travels towards the other two and forms the logo.
- Dance: One red circle and two blue circles perform a stop dance game, eventually forming the logo.
- Frogs: Three green circles (representing frogs) attempt to catch flies with their tongues; the frog in the centre catches a big fly, causing it to grow bigger and turn purple, forming the logo.
- Figure Skating: Three spotlights skate around the ice; the resulting skate trails then form the logo.
- Car: A purple circle and two yellow circles are drawn, representing a car. The car then zooms around the screen until it flips over to the centre, forming the logo.
- Paint: A red paint circle is drawn in the centre of the screen, a yellow circle and a blue circle play around the red circle then merge to create two green circles, forming the logo.
- Jumping: Two purple scribbled rounds jump on the screen; a blue scribbled round then joins the two and forms the logo.
- Birds: An orange circle (representing a mother bird) interacts with two yellow circles (representing baby chicks) and form the logo.
- Snow Slope: Two blue circles push a red circle (representing a sled) atop a snowy slope; the circles then slide down the slope and form the logo.
- Squeeze: A purple circle falls and lands onto a blue circle; another blue circle attempts to push the purple circle out of the way, eventually causing the circles to bounce and form the logo.
- Space: Two blue circles, one of which has a cold, fly towards the sun and form the logo.
- Strings: A ensemble is seen, with two yellow circles representing a flute and a bass and an orange circle representing a harp. The harp then breaks, and the other two circles fix it and form the logo.
Trivia:
- This ident set and the accompanying on-air design package was primarily created by French design agency Gédéon. Several other animation studios also contributed idents to this set, such as Gamma Studios, LOBO (lobo.cx) and Estructura7, the latter of which produced the pre-school idents.
- The pre-school "Birds" ident was recreated as an Playhouse Disney UK website intro, used from 2002 until the rebrand in June 2003 (see here).
Technique: The mainline channel idents use either CGI, live-action, or hand-drawn animation, depending on the ident. The pre-school idents all use simple 2D animation. [possible misuse]
Audio: Various musical scores relating to each ident's theme; all idents end with the same three-note jingle from the previous ident set.
Availability: It was seen on all Disney Channel international networks between 1999 and 2003.
Legacy: This would mark as the final unique on-air look for the international versions of Disney Channel before adapting the same logo and on-air design from the U.S. network.
4th ID (2017-2022)
Designed by NoddyDog for the European versions, while MakinÉ designed the rest of the countries' idents.