Radical Sheep Productions

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Radical Sheep Productions was a Canadian children's television production company who's most popular production was The Big Comfy Couch. Founded in 1985 by Henson puppeteer Robert Mills, the company also once housed the "Sheep Shop", which provided puppet construction and design services until 2003 when it closed its doors. In 2016, Boat Rocker Media purchased Radical Sheep, folding it into its family and children's media unit two years later.



1st Logo (March 2, 1992-2000)


Visuals: On a black background with blue light in the lower right corner, there is the text "RADICAL SHEEP" in a white Gill Sans Bold font. Below it, a star writes the words "Radical Sheep Productions" in Mistral with a little shine when it ends. Everything casts a shadow.

Variants:

  • A rumoured variant has said to have occurred on one episode of The Big Comfy Couch, during the lamb bleating sound effect, where the puppet of Molly (Loonette's doll) pops up in the bottom right corner of the screen, moving her head upwards with her arms raised as if she's jumping.
  • On seasons 3-4 of The Big Comfy Couch, there is no fading, cutting straight to the Owl Communications logo.
  • Starting in 1999, the URL "www.radsheep.com" fades in below.
  • On 2010 prints of Ruffus the Dog, the logo is still with the text already written and is very brief. On some episodes of said show, Ruffus and two piggies dance under the logos, however still. Their dancing continues to the Hunkey Dorey logo, where they reveal the show's URL with a fade wiping effect.

Technique: Either 2D computer animation or none.

Audio:

  • 1992-1993: None.
  • 1993-1999: A music box rendition of the first five notes of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", followed by a lamb bleating. From 1994 to 1995, the lamb bleating is delayed for a bit.

Audio Variants:

  • On Amigo and Me, the music box theme and "Baa!" are different sounding.
  • On 2010 prints of Ruffus the Dog, a condensed, reorchestrated version of the 2010 Maryland Public Television jingle is heard over the logo, even though the show predates that logo. This was probably done either intentionally, or as a result of a plaster/editing error. Some episodes feature a drumbeat with cymbals as the characters dance.

Availability: Seen on 1992-1996 episodes of The Big Comfy Couch, which can be found on VHS and DVD. It is also seen on Amigo and Me, Ruffus the Dog, and Panda Bear Daycare.

Legacy: This logo is well remembered by those who grew up watching The Big Comfy Couch and other Radical Sheep shows. The Molly variant is also infamous for being one of the hardest and rarest logos to find.

2nd Logo (January 29, 2001-December 29, 2006)


Visuals: On a blue background, there is a gray sheep with orange wings in the back. The word "RADICAL SHEEP" is below, with "RADICAL" in a futuristic font and "SHEEP" in-between two curved lines.

Variant: On Land O’ Hands, the text is as big as the screen (although the sheep is the same size), and the top half of the background is purple while the bottom is covered in a shadow. Below is copyright info saying "c. Radical Sheep (Hands) Inc. 2000", with the website URL below.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: A remade version of the music with a different-sounding lamb bleating. However, later PBS airings of The Big Comfy Couch use the 1993 music.

Availability: Seen on later episodes of The Big Comfy Couch and Land O’ Hands.

3rd Logo (October 3, 2010-December 13, 2017)


Visuals: On a white background, an orange wing zooms out and quickly spins in a 360-degree loop, revealing the rest of the winged sheep from the previous logo. As it zooms out, "RADICAL" in the same font as before writes in below, and "SHEEP" fades in below and quickly moves up, with it and the two curved lines slowly moving away from each other. The logo slowly zooms out.

Variant: An early version of the logo exists where the sheep flies in, with its wings quickly flapping, and rests in its position. The text simply wipes in below and there is a copyright for Stella and Sam Productions, along with an ISAN code.

Technique: 2D digital animation.

Audio: The end theme with a different lamb bleating sound and a boing.

Availability: Seen on Fangbone!, The Next Step, The Bagel and Becky Show and Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate. The early version is seen on Stella and Sam.

4th Logo (May 26, 2017-October 28, 2018)


Visuals: On a gradient white background, there is a purple sheep made with two parallelogram ovals for the ears, a triangle for the head, a cloudy aqua green wool and two rectangles for legs. Below him, there is the text "Radical Sheep". The sheep nods his head and stomps his legs repeatedly.

Variants:

  • There is a version where the sheep is the "O" in the big word "Junior" below the company name and set on a green background.
  • It may often share the screen with other logos.

Technique: 2D digital animation. For the "Junior" variant, a still digital graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: First seen on season five of The Next Step. The "Junior" variant was seen on Radical Sheep's preschool-oriented shows, including The Polos and Ollie: The Boy Who Became What He Ate.

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