Imagi Studios

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Imagi Studios was a CGI company from Hong Kong, formed in 2000 as the animated feature film division of Hong Kong-based investment company, Imagi International Holdings Limited, with their first project being the 2000 animated series Zentrix. Their first feature film, TMNT (2007), was a box office hit, but their second film, Astro Boy (2009), was a financial failure, which resulted in the company's eventual bankruptcy in February 2010, leaving remaining films (Cat Tale, T28, Gatchaman, The Legend of Zelda, and Tusker) that were in production at the time abandoned and unfinished. The company was then acquired by Brad Foxhoven and absorbed by his own production company, Blockade Entertainment.

1st Logo (March 23-June 5, 2007)


Visuals: Over a black background, the logo starts with some white flashes in the middle of the screen. They then form a stylized red "A", and the white text "IM" and "GI" appear on both sides of the "A", in a connected, stylized font. Two large dots appear on both of the "I"s in "IMAGI", which glow. The text "IMAGI ANIMATION STUDIOS" flips up letter-by-letter underneath.

Variants:

  • On the teaser trailer for TMNT (2007), a still version is seen where the "IMAGI" text is made of steel with spherical dots, with various spots being seen throughout that text.
  • An alternate variant (used after the Animation Studios variant) exists where the "STUDIOS" text from the next logo appears instead of "IMAGI ANIMATION STUDIOS". This has been spotted in, among other places, Astro Boy: The Video Game for PS2 and Wii, as well as the film's teaser.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only appeared on TMNT and Highlander: The Search for Vengeance.

2nd Logo (October 23, 2009)


Visuals:

  • Opening: On a black background, two red lines come in from both sides of the screen and move up to form an "A". The rest of "IMAGI", in the same font as before but without the dots, draws itself in, and "STUDIOS" flips in letter by letter, moving from the left and right sides of the text to the middle.
  • Closing: In a parody of the "When in Hollywood, Visit Universal Studios" closing card from the 70s-80s, an illustration of a tram can be seen passing by a fake movie set, with Astro Boy being seen waving at the movie's own Peacekeeper. The text "When in Hong Kong" in a small font and "Visit Imagi Studios!" in a scripted font in orange can be seen on the top left.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The opening theme of the movie. None for the closing variant.

Availability: Only seen on Astro Boy, before they shut down in February 2010. The opening variant has also been spotted on Imagi's website's copy of the trailer for the cancelled Cat Tale.

Legacy: This logo is considered a wasted effort, especially the closing variant since it quickly became irrelevant just months later.

Imagi Studios
Blockade Entertainment
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