Famous Studios

Background

Famous Studios was an animation production arm of Paramount Pictures, active from 1942 to 1967. Formerly known as "The Fleischer Studios", Famous produced every animated Paramount cartoon series. Among them were Popeye, Superman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Little Lulu, Little Audrey, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, the Screen Songs series, and the Noveltoons series. Television rights to the Famous Studios film backlog was divided into 3 main distributors. The pre-1950s library was licensed to U.M.&M. Television Corporation in 1956 and later National Telefilm Associates (now "CBS Television Distribution") through a buyout of the former in the 1960s. The Superman cartoons were licensed to National Periodicals while Associated Artists Productions (later known as "United Artists Associated" and "United Artists Television Distribution" now "MGM Television") obtained the rights to the Popeye cartoons in 1956. Harvey Films acquired the TV rights to Casper and other 1950s cartoon series in 1959. Famous Studios was renamed "Paramount Cartoon Studios" in 1956, which continued to release shorts until 1967, when Gulf+Western Industries, Inc. shut it down. Current rights to the Popeye and Superman cartoons are owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Comics for the latter while the Harveytoon collection is controlled by DreamWorks Classics. Paramount continues to hold the rights to the pre-1950 and post-1962 libraries.

Contents

1st Logo (October 16, 1942-August 24, 1945; June 7, 1946; September 27, 1946; 1956-1958)	2nd Logo (December 14, 1943-June 22, 1945; March 15, 1946; February 22, 1946; 1955)	3rd Logo (November 16, 1945-February 8, 1957)	4th Logo (March 23, 1956-January 4, 1957)

1st Logo (October 16, 1942-August 24, 1945; June 7, 1946; September 27, 1946; 1956-1958)

Visuals: Basically an in-credit title card, which has the following in the center:

Paramount P R E S E N T S

the series name, in very big letters and varying font (depending on which series it is), being placed below all of it, also centered, while more beneath there is:

A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION

"Paramount" is either in a doodly hand-written font (for Popeye The Sailor shorts), or in a more stylised hand-written font which is also used for the Paramount mountain logos at that time (for Noveltoons and Superman). "PRESENTS" and "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" are both written in crawly letters, looking like they were made out of painted wood sticks, though both words' fonts are sligthly different each ("PRESENTS" has the letters being considerably spaced out between them).

Variants:

Color cartoons would have the following additional text on the bottom, below everything: inTECHNICOLOR Meanwhile, "Paramount" and "in" are colored either in gold or sky blue, "PRESENTS" in sea blue or white, "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" in yellow or white, while "TECHNICOLOR" is colored in rainbow letters. The series' name logo depends on the color and style.
Popeye The Sailor cartoons have the following info added on the very bottom, written in very small letters: "BY ARRANGEMENT WITH KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC." (changed to "KING FEATURES SYNDICATE" on color shorts).
"Gabriel Churchkitten" (1944) has the following info below the usual text: "From the book BY MARGOT AUSTIN", "BY" being considerably small and being sandwiched in-between "From the book" and "MARGOT AUSTIN".
"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (1946) has no "TECHNICOLOR" notice, as it was moved to the cartoon's name title card.
On "The Goal Rush" (1946), "IN TECHNICOLOR" and "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" switch places on the card.

Made-for-TV edited variations:

Associated Artists Productions (Popeye The Sailor):
- Black-and-white shorts (1942-1943) have a simple, grey background. The following text hangs from the near top, written in very huge letters: Popeye THE SAILOR "Popeye" being written a bit wiggly. Below, on the very bottom, reads: A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION by arrangement with KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, Inc. A small, white dot is centered between these two text elements. On the 80s redrawn versions made by Turner for Cartoon Network, the colors of the background and text alternate between each other and vary for each short, while the dot is missing.
- Color cartoons (1943-1956) have the same-looking card, except that the background is grainy light blue while the text and the dot are ivory. Also, everything is smaller and more centered, while the text now has a shadow effect.
- The redrawn of "A Jolly Good Furlough" (1943) has a slightly unusual take on the card, where "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" is almost as big as the series' name logo, being moved way above, still below it, and being written in Arial.
- For some reason, the redrawn of "Cartoons Ain't Human" (1943) incorrectly uses the Max Fleischer title card for the series, hence being incorrectly billed as such despite being produced under Famous Studios.
National Telefilm Associates (Noveltoons): NTA had a not-so-professional mean of plastering the Paramount logos and references, by just pasting their logo over the original negative with no transition and whatsoever, while black banners were there to cover the rest of the titles where was the case. The Noveltoons/Famous Studios card has black banners that cover up the "Paramount PRESENTS" and "in TECHNICOLOR" (the latter possibly due to their prints being processed in Eastmancolor), on some prints even going as far as covering "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION".

Technique: None. On "Gabriel Churchkitten" and "Goal Rush", traditional animation.

Audio: A tiny part of the cartoon's opening theme. A.A.P, meanwhile, changed the opening music over their logo on the color Popeye shorts to the one from "Olive Oyl for President" (1948).

Availability: It can still occasionally be seen on Popeye shorts when aired on MeTV, plus it can be found on purchased episodes on iTunes and Amazon Video. It can also be spotted on Blu-ray and DVD releases of Popeye, Superman and Noveltoons shorts from Warner Archive and Thunderbean respectively.

Public domain home video releases of Superman cartoons also retain this logo.
The A.A.P. card from the 1943-1956 Popeye shorts can still be seen on the Boomerang streaming service, while these shorts currently air on weekend mornings on TCM.
While the first offical Famous Studios short was "You're a Sap, Mr. Jap" on 7th August 1942, the name of the studio wasn't mentioned in the titles until "Showdown" and "A Hull of a Mess", both released on 16th October on the same year.
The final short to bear this united card was "Mess Production", released on 24th August 1945, although they would return using it for two one-off times in 1946 on "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and "The Goal Rush", basically because the shorts had their own special opening sequences, so the credits were placed differently on the cards.
Little Lulu was the only series to use its own separate Famous Studios logo card from the start, from 1943, that is the 2nd logo below.

2nd Logo (December 14, 1943-June 22, 1945; March 15, 1946; February 22, 1946; 1955)

U.M.&.M. edited-for-TV variation
U.M.&.M. edited-for-TV variation

Visuals: The backdrop is the Paramount mountain used for the cartoons' opening and end logos. There is a dark blue, snowcapped mountain in front of a navy blue sky. The mountain is surrounded by a semi-circle border of 24 white stars. On top of the mountain, inside the semi-circle, are the words:A------------------Famous Studios--------Production written in big yellow letters, in an italic font similar to Times New Roman. Also, the words have a strong black glow effect.

Variants:

Around 1945, the mountain's color was changed to brownish-red, while the sky is of a simple blue color. The sunlight can be seen reflected on the left side of the mountain, while the text's glow effect is less powerful.
This logo variation was also used, out of nowhere, on the Noveltoons short "Cheese Burglar" (1946), where the background is a plain blue one, typically seen on the card of the rest of the Noveltoons of that time. The glow effect of the text is also reduced here.

U.M.&M. edited-for-TV variation: When U.M.&M. got the pre-1950 Paramount cartoon library in 1955, they edited out absolutely all the original titles, the logos included, being replaced with their own cards. So was the case with the Famous Studios logo (however, some color cartoons, along with the B&W films, retained half of the original titles). While the intention was to remake the whole titles sequences, the Famous Studios card was edited in a way that it looks like this logo here. The background is plain red, while the text is positioned exactly the same, albeit the font is slightly different. While the initial logo was made for Little Lulu cartoons, this TV variation was seen on almost all the U.M.&M. cartoons reissues.

"Lulu's Indoor Outing" (1944) and "Super Lulu" (1947) have the logo on a green background instead.

Technique: A painting filmed by a camera.

Audio: A tiny part of the cartoon's opening theme.

Availability: It was originally made for to be used on Little Lulu cartoons, albeit the U.M.&M. logo variation is the one found easier, which is seen on some public domain VHS tapes of Paramount shorts.

It can be seen on a Spain DVD release of Little Lulu shorts, where most cartoons have the U.M.&M. titles while very few of them keep the original Paramount cards.
The "Cheese Burglar" variant can be found on public domain home video releases, plus on the Noveltoons DVD and Blu-ray by Thunderbean.
Somehow, this logo ended up being used in the Popeye short "House Tricks?" (1946), rather than the 3rd logo which should have been normally seen. Coincidentally, that was also the first Popeye short to have a separate Famous Studios logo card. It can be spotted on the Warner Archive Blu-ray release of Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2.
Not counting the two one-off appearances outside of Little Lulu, the last official use of this logo was in "Snap Happy", on June 22, 1945. After that, all cartoons would use the 3rd logo below.

3rd Logo (November 16, 1945-February 8, 1957)

Little Lulu / Popeye The Sailor (1945-1948)
Noveltoons (1947-1952)
Screen Songs (1947-1951) / Kartunes (1951-1953)
Little Audrey Noveltoons (1948-1951)
Popeye The Sailor (1948-1954)
Casper The Friendly Ghost (1950-1953)
Little Audrey Noveltoons (1952-1955)
Noveltoons (1952-1954)
Herman and Katnip (1954)
Casper The Friendly Ghost (1954)
Herman and Katnip (1954-1955)
Popeye The Sailor (1954-1957)
Noveltoons (1954-1956)
Casper The Friendly Ghost (1955)
Casper The Friendly Ghost (1955-1956)

"The Friendly Ghost" (1945)
"Sheep Shape" (1946) / "We're in the Honey" (1948)
"Sudden Fried Chicken" (1946) / "Hep Cat Symphony" (1948)
"The Enchanted Square" (1947)
"Madhattan Island" (1947)
"The Wee Men" (1947) / "Leprechaun's Gold" (1949)
"The Mild West" (1947)
"Santa's Surprise" (1947)
"There's Good Boos Tonight" (1948) / "A Haunting We Will Go" (1949)
"The Land of the Lost" (1948) / "Land of the Lost Jewels" (1950) / "Land of the Lost Watches" (1951)
"Popeye, The Ace of Space" (1953)
"Boo Moon" (1954)

Visuals: On the center of the screen, the following text is positioned, which is the studio's most-known trademark logo:

A F A M O U S Studios PRODUCTION

The text is written in all-capital letters, in a font similar to the one known as ITC Anna, except for "Studios" which is written in a cursive style. The spiral of "S" from "Studios" is stretched and extended, going through behind the "A" till to the top left point of "M" from "FAMOUS". "A" and "PRODUCTION" are colored in sea blue, while "FAMOUS" and "Studios" are in yellow-ish gold. The whole text has a small glow effect surrounding it.

Depending on the opening sequence, the title's background varies, being different for every cartoon series, or in some cases, unique for a specific short. Below are all the variations described for each series or individual cartoon.

Theatrical shorts series logos:

Little Lulu (1945-1948) and Popeye The Sailor (1945-1957):
- Keeping on with the manner of the previous two logos, the backdrop of the animated Paramount Pictures logo is used here as well. There is the brownish-red mountain on a blue sky, with the semi-circle of 24 white stars surrounding it.
- Starting from 1948, clouds were also added in the background.
Noveltoons (1947-1952):
- Initially, cartoons with no special variation or opening sequence had the logo on a plain blue background.
- In 1952, the background was modified to be red while little white-outlined stars were also wallpapered all throughout the screen.
- In 1954, following the titles' modification for being cropped to widescreen format, the Famous Studios logo got considerably shrinked in the picture. Also, the glow effect of the text got dropped.
Screen Songs (1947-1951) and Kartunes (1951-1953): There is a sight similar to the morning sunrise sky. A silhouette of a music conductor and his stand is on the left, along with some musical instruments (one of which resembles the G-clef key). On the bottom-right, from distance, two orchestra people with violins are seen.
Little Audrey Noveltoons: This has two variations
- 1948-1952: The logo is on a gradient-styled hot pink background
- 1952-1955: The background is a wallpaper of tiny grass green triangle shapes with lime-colored outlines. A thick, straight path goes from the top-left to bottom-right corners, the Famous Studios logo being inside it. The "S" from "FAMOUS" and "P" from "PRODUCTIONS" form extra corners inside the path, to fit in.
Casper The Friendly Ghost: This also has two variations
- 1950-1955: There is a blue drawing of a forest sight on a black background. Casper himself appears on the left, posing as if he is skipping around happily. (unfortunately, only a black-and-white picture of the earlier variation can be found online)
  - Around 1954, Casper is redesigned in the title card to look differently, as how his design evolved in the later cartoons he stars in.
  - Later on, also in 1954, the logo was readjusted for widescreen picture cropping, making everything look smaller and more concentrated on the screen. Also, the glow effect of the text disappears, while "A" and "PRODUCTION" are now colored in orange.
- 1955-1956: The background is fuchsia, with a branch of a tree hanging on the top of the logo. The glow of the text is also missing here, while it is colored back like it was before.
Herman and Katnip: This also has two variations
- 1950-1955: A yellow background is seen. On the top left there is Herman the Mouse, drawn in black and holding a sword which he points onwards. While on bottom right, Herman's mice cousins are acclaiming him. The Famous Studios text is all colored in khaki, while the glow effect is removed.
  - Around 1953 or 1954, the logo was a bit readjusted. The background is now blue, "FAMOUS" and "Studios" are in yellow while the rest of the text is orange.
  - Later on, in 1954, the logo got smaller for widescreen cropping efficiency. Also, the text got a big glowing effect, more so than usual.
- 1955-1956: Unknown

Logos made for individual cartoons:

"The Friendly Ghost" (1945): The background is a sky colored in sea blue, surrounded by nothing but clouds. In the middle there is a cloud taking the whole center, with what resembles on the top as heads of three ugly wizards. The Famous Studios logo is also moved a bit further below, the text colored in all white.
"Sheep Shape" (1946) and "We're in the Honey" (1948): The logo on both shorts has an all-black background.
"Sudden Fried Chicken" (1946) and "Hep Cat Symphony" (1948): The standard Noveltoons variation of that time is used, but the background looks a bit shiny.
"The Enchanted Square" (1947): The logo is set behind a view of a blocks street zone. Below the text are the MPAA, Screen Cartoonists and RCA Sound System logo stamps, along with the National Board of Review notice in-between them. While all these elements fade out and the background remains, the Raggedy Ann doll is seen being thrown into the trash bin.
"Madhattan Island" (1947): The logo is in the form of a city billboard, with dotted streaklights surrounding it and going in circling. The "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" text is written in orange and in Eastman Condensed font.
"The Wee Men" (1947) and "Leprechaun's Gold" (1949): There is the sight of a rock mountain, with half of sun alongside plus some houses below and two more mountains behind. The Famous Studios text is superimposed over the mountain, colored in grass green and in Eastman Condensed font.
"The Mild West" (1947): "A", "FAMOUS STUDIOS" and "PRODUCTION" are superimposed over each of the three boards of a fence. They are written in red and in Eastman Condensed font.
"Santa's Surprise" (1947): The logo is superimposed over a Christmas tree, while presents and toys are placed around it.
"The Bored Cuckoo" (1948): Somehow, the Screen Songs logo variant ended up being used on this cartoon instead of the usual Noveltoons variation.
"There's Good Boos Tonight" (1948) and "A Haunting We Will Go" (1949): Outside, in the dark, there is the back of a scarecrow, over which there is a woodstamp placed where is written "A FAMOUS STUDIOS PRODUCTION" in white and in Eastman Condensed font.
"The Land of the Lost" (1948), "Land of the Lost Jewels" (1950) and "Land of the Lost Watches" (1951): The logo is set underwater, with the picture water effect being used.
"The Mite Makes Right" (1948): The same logo as the 1948-1952 Little Audrey variation is used on this cartoon (as with the same "Noveltoons" title card).
"Popeye, The Ace of Space" (1953): The same 1948-1954 Popeye logo is seen, but it's been modified to look 3D-ish, like how the cartoon was produced. Also, the clouds are moving.
"Boo Moon" (1954): The logo is overimposed over a city blocks view at night, panning from right to left. Like on "Popeye, The Ace of Space", this cartoon (along with the titles) were also made to look 3D. (unfortunately, only a cropped screenshot can be found online from the 3-D Rarities Blu-ray)

Technique: Usually, none. Some cartoons with special opening sequences may have some animation, like the water effect used in the "Land of The Lost" shorts trilogy and even just the panning between the title cards on shorts like "The Wee Men" and "There's Good Boos Tonight".

Audio: A tiny part of the cartoon's opening theme.

Availability: The logo can be mainly seen today on Popeye cartoons.

The Popeye and Little Lulu variants can be found on the Warner Archive releases of the 40s color Popeye shorts, which are also aired occasionally on MeTV. The 50s shorts, meanwhile, are mainly seen with the a.a.p. titles, with few exceptions, but the original logo can be still seen on public domain tapes of shorts released after 1955 that didn't fall in the a.a.p. package. Little Lulu prints mainly cover the logo with the U.M.&M. title, but it's retained on at least two shorts on public domain tapes ("Bargain Counter Attack" and "Bored of Education").
The Noveltoons variant is generally pretty common on public domain tapes of pre-1950 shorts (unless covered by U.M.&M. titles), while it's also available on the DVD and Blu-ray release by Thunderbean.
The first Little Audrey variation is common on public domain tapes of most cartoons. The second logo, meanwhile, was still impossible to find until Steve Stanchfield released a raw transfer of "Seapreme Court" (1954) with original titles, as part of his Thunderbean Thursdays program on YouTube.
The Casper The Friendly Ghost logos are nowhere to be found today, as all prints of the cartoons today have Harvey titles (be it the original Harvey Films sequences from the 60s or the short Harveytoons Show versions). Same can be said for the Herman and Katnip variations, but recent raw tapes of "Rail-Rodents" (1954) actually keep the logo.
As for the other logo variants, all are from individual shorts and are mainly from the pre-1950 packages. The "Boo Moon" logo was impossible to find until a print with the full original titles was released on the 3-D Rarities in 2015, on Blu-ray.
The logo made its first appearance on the Noveltoon cartoon "The Friendly Ghost", released on November 16, 1945. While the rest of the cartoons started using the temporary 4th logo below in 1956, this one remained on Popeye shorts until the studio's renaming to Paramount Cartoons Studio. The final cartoon to "normally" use this logo was the Herman and Katnip short "Mouseum", released on February 24, 1956, while its last appearance overall would be on the Popeye The Sailor cartoon "Nearlyweds" on February 8, 1957.

Legacy: It is well remembered by the Paramount cartoons fans for being the core of the studio's brand name, as well as the main stamp to recognise the Paramount cartoon characters.

4th Logo (March 23, 1956-January 4, 1957)

Visuals: There is, almost near the top left, a yellow vertical line, while a horizontal one is on the almost bottom of the screen. Both lines intersect each other. Near the 90 degree angle formed by the two lines are the words:

a
Famous Studios
production

also colored in yellow. "a" and "production" are written in the Rockwell Condensed font, while "Famous Studios" is in a font similar to Tahoma.

The background is either orange (on Noveltoons), lime-colored (on Herman and Katnip) or hot pink (on Casper The Friendly Ghost).

Technique: A painting filmed by a camera.

Audio: A tiny part of the cartoon's opening theme.

Availability: The only way the cartoons are seen today are through either the Harvey Films or the modern Harveytoons Show versions, this logo being partially lost.

It was only used for a very short period, as Famous Studios would be renamed "Paramount Cartoon Studios" in 1957 so this was basically a temporary placement.
Popeye cartoons released on this season would keep using the previous Famous Studios logo.
The Herman and Katnip cartoon "Hide and Peak" and the Noveltoon cartoon "Swab The Duck", however, have kept their original titles intact on recent raw tapes.
It premiered on the Noveltoon cartoon "Sleuth But Sure", released on March 23, 1956 and made its final appearance on the Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoon "Spooking About Africa", released on January 4, 1957 and being the final official short to bear the Famous Studios name.

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