Happy Madison Productions

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum



Background

Happy Madison Productions is a film and television production company founded on December 10, 1999 (although the name dates back to 1996) by actor/writer Adam Sandler. The company takes its name from the 1996 and 1995 (respectively) films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, both starring him. The majority of the company's films have received negative reviews from critics, yet most have performed well at the box office. The company's production office was formerly located in the Judy Garland Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot.

In October 2014, the company signed a four-film deal with Netflix, with it later being extended in January 2020. It had two short-lived subsidiaries, Madison 23 and Scary Madison.



1st Logo (October 12, 1996)

Visuals: An image of a black and white goat (a Cou Blanc Alpine) sitting in the back of a pickup truck in front of trees fades in. The text "Happy Madison, Inc." in a white-gray gradient Impact font is seen underneath.

Technique: A live-action photograph with superimposed text.

Audio: None.

Availability: This is only seen on Adam Sandler's 1996 HBO special What the Hell Happened to Me?, from which the still image was taken.

2nd Logo (May 27, 2005-)


Visuals: Over a space background, a golf ball is shown, zooming back slowly and rotating clockwise with the script text "Happy Madison" on the golf ball, and "PRODUCTIONS" spaced out in Futura underneath. Just as the ball is about to finish rotating, the background fades to a golf course. Then, the ball is smacked against the screen by a golf club, breaking the glass and leaving the text imprinted on the screen with a white outline. The logo zooms back to reveal Stanley Sandler (Adam Sandler's father) holding the club, as he says "Terrific!" The background then fades to black as the logo remains before fading out.

Trivia: Adam Sandler created this logo as a tribute to his father, in the hopes that he would enjoy his films.

Variants:

  • On TV shows from the company, the logo is shortened and has the company name smaller.
    • A longer version exists where it zooms out further, revealing more of the scenery around the logo.
  • On Rules of Engagement and The Gong Show with Dave Attell, it is cut down to just the golf ball striking the screen.
  • Starting in 2017, it shares the screen with other logos on TV shows.
  • On Goliath, the print logo is used.

Technique: A mix of CGI and 2D animation, done by Framework Studio.

Audio: A dramatic, swelling string theme that turns into a swift golf swing sound and a glass-cracking sound, transitioning into a soft upbeat breakbeat and ending with Stanley uttering his phrase.

Audio Trivia:

  • "Stanley's" voice is actually that of Adam Sandler himself.[1]
  • The breakbeat is a sample of the track "Hit It" by the Network Music Ensemble.

Audio Variants:

  • On Grandma's Boy, Strange Wilderness, and The House Bunny, a different string/breakbeat theme (that sounds similar to the music from the 1991 Universal Pictures logo at the beginning) is used. This was composed by Waddy Wachtel.
  • On Rules of Engagement, only the sounds are heard.
  • On the shortened version, only the golf swinging sound is heard, or none.
    • The longer version of this has the usual audio followed by Stanley saying his line.
  • Sometimes, the opening/closing theme of the movie/show is used instead, with the sound effects and voiceover intact.
  • On Schooled, the theme from the Adam F. Goldberg Productions logo is heard.

Availability:

  • It was first seen on The Longest Yard (2005) and has been seen on all films produced by them since, with the exceptions of Bedtime Stories and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
  • It's also seen on the TV series Rules of Engagement, Nick Swardson's Pretend Time, Breaking In, The Goldbergs, Imaginary Mary, and Schooled, as well as the three-part documentary Goliath.

Legacy: This logo has an infamous reputation for being used on and associated with the company's movies.

References

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