Universal Studios Tour

Background

Universal Studios Hollywood opened in 1964 as the Universal Studios Tour (simply known as Universal Studios) after Universal introduced the park's famous tram tour. By 1988, the park was renamed to its current name after the then-under construction sister park Universal Studios Florida was being scheduled to be opened by the following year. However, it ultimately opened on June 7, 1990 after a previous delay for May of that year.

Logo (1963-May 27, 1994)

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  First slide, standard variant

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  First slide, extra text variant

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  First slide, French variant

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  First slide, alternate French variant

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  First slide, Spanish variant

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  First slide, Spanish variant (different text)

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  Second slide, early variant

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  Second slide, standard variant

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  Second slide, scope variant

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  Second slide, John Landis variant

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  Second slide, French variant)

Visuals: Over a blue background, the logo starts with the pre-1990s Universal Studios logo in a yellow circle with a black outline. The black outline turns red with a white outline with the text "THE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER OF THE WORLD" as well as six stars (three on each side) surrounding it. The logo then fades into artwork featuring a palm tree with a "Glamor Tram" vehicle and a backlot facade along with the text "When in Hollywood Visit Universal Studios".

Variants:

• Depending on the film, the tint of the text and background may vary.
• There is a short version of the bumper where it starts with the "Visit Universal Studios" slide. This appears on such films as American Graffiti, An American Werewolf in London, and Amazon Women on the Moon.
• On films directed by John Landis, the text is in a slightly different font and the words "(Ask For Babs)" fade in below.
• Sometimes, the words "PRODUCED AT" and "CALIFORNIA U.S.A." are respectively above and below the Universal Studios logo. This variant starts with a blank background and has the Universal Studios logo zooming in along with the text within a second or two. This can be seen on productions filmed at Universal Studios, as opposed to being merely produced or released by Universal.
• Early in its life, "CITY" was placed next to "STUDIOS" and it zooms in. The next slide reads "WHEN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VISIT UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS" with a cameraman and people and (very hardly) film actors in it.
• The short version was parodied in both The Flintstones and its prequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. Here, the text is in stone, reads "WHEN IN HOLLYROCK VISIT UNIVERSHELL STUDIOS", and is redesigned to fit in with the film's Stone Age setting.
• On the 1981 MCA DiscoVision release of The Wiz, the 1984 MCA Home Video VHS releases of Smokey and the Bandit II and Where the Buffalo Roam, and the 1990 MCA Home Video VHS release of The Hindenburg, only the first screen is shown.
• A widescreen version exists for films in a Scope format in which a cameraman on a platform is added to the left side of the screen.
• A French variant has the circle logo zoom in, with the words "UNE PRODUCION" and "CALIFORNIE, U.S.A" cheaply imposed onto the background. After the logo fades into the bus set, there is the text "DE PASSAGE A HOLLYWOOD VISITEZ LES STUDIOS UNIVERSAL" cheaply imposed onto the set.
• An alternate French variant has the circle logo zoom in, then the text "UNE PRODUCTION" and "DES STUDIOS UNIVERSAL, CALIFORNIE U.S.A" and "LE RENDEZ-VOUS MONDIAL DU SPECTACLE" appears. The logo doesn't fade into the bus set here.
• On the Spanish VHS release of Earthquake, the logo zooms in normally, but then stops and the text "Producita en UNIVERSAL STUDIOS California U.S.A" fades in on top of the logo. A couple seconds later, the text gets replaced with "Realizada por THE FILMAKERS GROUP".

Trivia: The "Babs" that is being referred in the John Landis variant to is a character in his 1978 film Animal House by the name of Barbara "Babs" Jensen, and in the early 1980s reportedly if you asked for Babs at the park's admission gates, you would be given a discount for entry or free tickets (per the film's epilogue she had become a tour guide for Universal Studios). This discount program was stopped by 1989 as Universal was getting tired of the joke of "asking for Babs", though Landis continued to include the text in his later films.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: None or the closing theme.

Availability:

• Seen at the end of theatrical prints of Universal movies until mid-1993 such as Back to the Future, Smokey and the Bandit, The Burbs, and Firestarter (1984), as well as on the 1984 MCA Home Video VHS reissue of The Funhouse (the original 1981 MCA Videocassette Inc. release leaves it off) and the 1991 VHS release of Cape Fear (1962) within the logo's lifetime.
• For a long time, Universal relegated this and all logos relating to the parks exclusively to theatrical runs - though starting in mid-2021 it has shown up on the 2021 Powerhouse Films Blu-ray of Eye of the Cat, HBO Now's print of All of Me (a Kings Road release, with it also appearing on the Thorn EMI Video release and subsequent HBO/Cannon Video reissue), the 2022 Shout! Factory 4K UHD Blu-ray of Army of Darkness, and the 2023 Shout! Factory Blu-ray of Dr. Giggles.
• The John Landis variant is retained on all home releases of films that use it (namely National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, and Into the Night), with it also appearing on the original VHS releases of Continental Divide and Doctor Detroit.
• This logo also made surprise reappearances on Drag Me to Hell and theatrical screenings of Last Christmas (2019); in the case of the latter, it was presumably meant as a reference to the 1980s origin of the latter film's namesake song.

Legacy: For many years, the non-Landis variants were regarded as tough to find due to their theatrical exclusivity (with most pre-2010s findings being in poor quality). This could double as a promo to the Universal Studios tours instead of being just a usual logo.