Jumbo Pictures

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Jumbo Pictures, Inc. was an independent animation production company founded by animator/children's' book author Jim Jinkins (creator of Doug) in 1988. In 1996, Jinkins sold the company, and the rights to Doug with it (except Nickelodeon still owns the rights to the Nick-produced series), to The Walt Disney Company. Jumbo Pictures continued operations until the cancellation of the Playhouse Disney cartoon series PB&J Otter in 2000, and was folded into Walt Disney Television Animation after that. Jinkins is still active in animation, forming his current production house "Cartoon Pizza" in partnership with David Campbell in 2001, though the company went dormant after the last episode of Pinky Dinky Doo aired.

Logo (August 11, 1991-December 15, 2000)

Visuals:

  • August 11-December 8, 1991, 1994: On a blue background, a large white egg is seen standing in the center of the screen, casting a shadow to the right. On the egg, the tall red text "JUMBO" is seen in a slight arch formation, slight white gradient on the top, and a black drop shadow as well. At the bottom of the text, a black bar spans across and contains the text "PICTURES" in white, as well as "INC." in black below that. At the bottom of the screen, the text "GRADE A QUALITY" can be seen.
  • September 13, 1992-December 15, 2000: On a cream background, the Jumbo Pictures logo from before is seen, but there are a few differences: "JUMBO" is more angular and the letters are lower to match the placement of the "M", the black bar is removed, and the egg has different shading and a more realistic shape. At first, the shadows aren't present, but the lighting shifts to reveal the shadows on the text and egg, and "GRADE A QUALITY" fades in below as this happens.

Trivia: On Doug, the title character lives on 21 Jumbo Street, an allusion to the company. The character Skeeter Valentine also has a Jumbo Pictures poster in his room.

Variants:

  • On Nickelodeon episodes of Doug and The Beginners Bible, the logo fades in from a white background, though the former is sped up to make time for the Ellipse Programme logo.
  • On Nickelodeon Friends Variety Pack, the 1991 logo is shown in-credit in a widescreen format, as 4 copies of footage from Doug is seen taking up the bottom portion of the screen.
  • On the 1999 film Doug's 1st Movie, the logo has been modified to be smaller and more realistic on a sky blue background, where the only animation is the light changing. Also, "GRADE A QUALITY" is bigger, in white, and a different font.
    • Starting in 1999, the television logo would be modified to match the Doug's 1st Movie variant, but with a less realistic-looking egg. This was first seen on split-screen credit airings of Disney's Doug when aired on Disney's One Too.
  • On Disney's Doug and PB&J Otter, the logo is shifted up a bit to make room for a copyright stamp under it.
  • On Doug's Big Game (the final appearance of this logo outside the TV-screen) for the Game Boy Color, the logo is smaller and on a white background. "GRADE A QUALITY" is also in red.
  • On Season 1 episodes of Allegra's Window, the logo is darker.

Technique: CGI. The early version uses a still, digital graphic.

Audio:

  • Early Version: A beat boxing and scatting tune (based off a recurring music piece heard on Doug) that carries over to the Nickelodeon logo.
  • Later Version: A snippet of background music from Doug consisting of a synth organ and muted trumpet-like vocal humming that continues into the Ellipse Programme and Nickelodeon logos on Doug or the Time-Life Kids logo on The Beginners Bible (composed and performed by Fred Newman). The ending theme of the show may also play.

Audio Variants:

  • On Allegra's Window, a rooster crows as the music from the Topstone Productions logo trails off into the logo, then a dramatic rendition of the song "What a Wonderful Day" plays. On some episodes, the music is a different dramatic tune (made and performed a semitone lower).
  • On Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender, a cheeky-sounding kazoo and guitar tune plays, which continues into the ESPN and short Sony Wonder logo.
  • On Doug's 1st Movie, a sampling of the Disney's Doug theme music is heard.
  • On The 90's Are All That's airings of Nickelodeon's Doug with the split-screen credits from 2011 until 2015, only the second half of the beat boxing tune plays over the logo.
  • On Nickelodeon Friends Variety Pack, the closing theme (“Better Than No One” from Ren & Stimpy) plays over the logo.
  • At the end of the Nickelodeon Doug episode "Doug's Christmas Story", a rendition of "Deck the Halls" plays, going into "Jingle Bells" once going into the Ellipse Programme and Nickelodeon logos.
  • At the end of some airings of the Nickelodeon Doug episode, "Doug Throws a Party/Doug Way Out West", the music is delayed.
  • During airings of Disney's Doug on Disney's One Too with split-screen credits, the 1987 music for the second Walt Disney Television logo would play over it, also going into said logo.
  • On a 1998 ABC airing of PB&J Otter, a generic theme plays over the logo, along with the Walt Disney Television and Disney Channel logos.
  • On PAL prints of the company's shows, the audio is high-pitched. This also occurs on Disney+ prints of PB&J Otter, as they are presented with PAL audio and speed.

Availability:

  • Early Version: Only seen on the first season of Doug when it aired on Nickelodeon, though it appeared on the Nickelodeon Friends Variety Pack VHS.
  • Later Version: Seen on Doug beginning with its second season, Allegra's Window, PB&J Otter, Richard Scarry VHS tapes (preceding the Random House Home Video logo) and the short-lived series Hoyt'n Andy's Sportsbender. This also appeared on Doug's 1st Movie, and The Beginners Bible. This does not appear on 101 Dalmatians: The Series and Sabrina: The Animated Series, with those shows only having an in-credit text notice instead.

Legacy: Those that are fans of Doug would consider this logo a favorite.

Jumbo Pictures
Walt Disney Television Animation
Cartoon Pizza
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