Paramount Home Entertainment

Background
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly "Paramount Home Media Distribution", "Paramount Home Video", and "Paramount Video") is Paramount Pictures' home media division and was formed around 1978/1979 (some sources claim late 1975). The company owns the home media rights to films and shows owned by Paramount and shows from sister company ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks (now "Paramount Media Networks", under individual labels such as MTV Home Video and other subsidiaries). The company also licenses the right to release material from CBS Corporation (later "ViacomCBS", now "Paramount Global") (such as CBS Studios/CBS Media Ventures and Showtime Networks material released through CBS Home Entertainment, although CBS Films material is released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate Home Entertainment) and several independent studios. They formerly released DreamWorks Animation material through DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment until 2014, when the latter acquired distribution rights to their library and transferred the rights to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. On September 27, 2011, Paramount Home Entertainment was renamed Paramount Home Media Distribution after merging with Paramount Digital and Television. Starting in 2012, the Republic Pictures library and select Paramount films were licensed to Olive Films and Kino Lorber. From 2013-2016, the company licensed the home media rights to most of the Paramount Pictures (with some exceptions) library to Warner Home Video. Paramount continues to release licensed material and material from sister companies. In May 2019, Paramount Home Media Distribution was renamed back to Paramount Home Entertainment.

1st Logo (September 1979-Summer 1980)


Nicknames: "Still Mountain", "Boring Mountain", "Blue Mountain"

Logo: On a navy blue background, we see "Paramount" in the famous script, and "HOME VIDEO" below that in a wide Microgramma Bold font in between two lines, one above and one below. To the right of that, we see the 1968 Paramount print logo to the right, complete with the Gulf+Western byline. A moment later, a warning screen (also on a navy blue background) fades over this logo.

Variant: A grayscaled variant exists on releases of some black-and-white films, such as Sunset Boulevard and Paper Moon.

FX/SFX: None, unless you count the fade to the warning screen.

Music/Sounds: None, though on some tapes you can faintly hear audio from other Paramount films, such as Paper Moon, in the background.

Availability: Extremely rare. Because VHS and Beta were in their infancies at the time, releases were in lower quantities and are harder to find.
 * This logo appeared primarily on Betamax releases. This should appear on a few VHS releases from 1979 and 1980 including the first two Godfather films, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Heaven Can Wait, True Grit, Goin' South, Play It Again Sam, The Bad News Bears (1976 version), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Sunset Boulevard, Prophecy and Catch 22.
 * Among the last releases to use this logo were five volumes of Star Trek episodes as part of the "Television Classics" series on VHS and Betamax in summer 1980 (those releases are out of print, having been replaced in 1985 by Paramount's single-episode releases, and are hard to find). Other final releases with this logo were tapes of Escape from Alcatraz, North Dallas Forty, Mandingo, Malicious, Prophecy, Players, and Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman.
 * This surprisingly appears on a late 1983 pressing of The Odd Couple and a 1984 printing of Harold and Maude (usually, releases printed around that time started with the "Acid Trip" warning screen, followed by the Paramount Pictures logo).

Editor's Note: One of the first home video company logos ever made; it's very simple, but they had ways to go.

2nd Logo (October 1980-January 1981, April 1, 2019)


Nicknames: "Mountain Silhouette", "Scanimated Mountain of Doom", "Black Mountain", "Rising Mountain", "Cheesy Mountain", "In the Shadow of Paramount"

Logo: On a blue background, we zoom out on a silhouette of a mountain. After we zoom out to a comfortable distance, a bright flash occurs behind the mountain, and white "stars" (they look like circles or lens flares) appear, as well as "Paramount" (in a school bus yellow script, but closer to the pre-1975 logos). A saffron-colored trapezoidal trail zooms out from the base, and "HOME VIDEO" (set in the same font as the previous logo) zooms out soon after, tacked onto the saffron-colored trail. As that happens, the blue background gets extremely dark (resembling federal blue). The end result is similar to the pre-1967 print logo.

Trivia: The second half of the logo was once used as the 1977 Paramount Television Service logo. "PARAMOUNT TELEVISION SERVICE" was featured at the bottom, which explains the chyron for "HOME VIDEO". The original version of the logo was produced by the design firm of Sullivan & Marks.

Variant: On Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown!, the logo cuts to the last half of the film's Paramount logo.

FX/SFX: The flash and the effects are pure Scanimate (or film/cel) effects.

Music/Sounds: A pounding backbeat as the mountain zooms out, then a synth chord mixed with a brief explosion sound and synthesized "sizzling".

Availability: Like the first logo, this is also extremely rare, but more because of the fact that this was only used on two batches of releases and re-releases.
 * Seen on VHS/Beta releases of the time, which are not that easy to find, especially since the logo was usually taken off of post-1981 prints. However, since this was on a decent variety of movies, it may help a little.
 * Among the releases are Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!), Coast to Coast, Death Wish (reissue), Escape from Alcatraz (reissue), Breaking Glass, Friday the 13th, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Airplane!, Charlotte's Web (reissue), Little Darlings, Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown! (reissue), Barbarella (reissue), Starting Over, American Gigolo, Urban Cowboy and Shogun.
 * Some, if any post-1981 prints surprisingly keep this logo intact.
 * Also seen on certain Hi-Fi re-releases of Paramount's early releases (such as Downhill Racer and Death Wish) from 1984, and the original Hi-Fi VHS release of True Grit (1969 version).
 * Don't expect this logo on LaserDisc releases, as it was replaced with the Laservision logo. Reappears on an April Fools Day 2019 trailer of Bumblebee (2018) advertising a "VHS release" of said film

Editor's Note: It shares the same amount of cheesiness from the Paramount Television Service, with the added edition of the cheap cut to it and the chyroned "HOME VIDEO" text. It is also known to creep out some thanks to the ominous music and nature. On the other hand, it's a favorite to those looking for the tapes that have this logo, and it is definitely a very unique logo.

3rd Logo (1983-March 1987)
Nicknames: "Growing Mountain", "Blue Paramount", "Zooming Logo"

Logo: On a black background, we see the abstract mountain logo, with "Paramount" in black script in the light blue circle like the other Paramount logos, and the "A Gulf + Western Company" byline at the bottom in light blue. It begins to zoom up on us, as the stars (which are followed by light trail-streaks) and byline zoom past, and both the mountain and circle grow bigger until we are literally right on top of the peak of the mountain, with "Paramount" centering in, filling the middle of the screen. When the peak hits the bottom and "Paramount" fits the center, "Paramount" begins to shine, then there is a very bright flash, and it dies down to reveal the Paramount script logo (in blue) and a small "VIDEO" (shining a bit) between two blue lines.

Variants:
 * A black-and-white variant exists.
 * A rare, slightly longer variant exists, which starts with a still shot of the blue Paramount print logo. After a little over a second, the music starts and the logo animates as normal.
 * At the end of an April 1998 Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) airing of The Devonsville Terror, the animation is slowed down but plays as normal until all there is is "Paramount" and the mountain, when the logo freezes in place and the rest of the music is heard. It's unknown if this was used on any home media releases of the film, or any others.

FX/SFX: The growing mountain and the flash are pure Scanimate effects. Certainly a large improvement over its predecessor.

Music/Sounds: A building set of synthesized strings, ending in a new-age synthesizer tune. Composed by Richard J. Krizman.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the 1983 RCA CED videodisc release of An Evening with Robin Williams, this follows the RCA SelectaVision logo, but is silent.

Availability: Very rare.
 * Most Paramount films used the logo used on the film, but most television series (such as Star Trek, with the exception of the 1984 Television Classics Laserdisc release of the two-parter "The Menagerie", which uses no logo), comedy specials (such as Paramount Comedy Theater: Volume 1 and Eddie Murphy: Delirious), and licensed material (such as Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! and The Adventures of the American Rabbit) have this logo.
 * It was also on most prints of the 1982 VHS release of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (the earliest prints, from around 1982 to early 1983, are confirmed to not have this), and a 1990 reprint of it retained the logo.
 * It is also on the 1992 release of A Dog of Flanders (along with the warning that preceded it), also likely a reprint itself.
 * The black and white version can be found on a VHS release of The Untouchables pilot "Scarface Mob" and Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back.
 * This was also surprisingly seen on the early 1990s re-release of Strong Kids, Safe Kids, after the 5th logo.
 * Other releases that have this include films Paramount issued under license from Atlantic Releasing Corporation (starting with Teen Wolf and ending with Extremities) and tapes of episodes of the short-lived drama Call to Glory.
 * This logo, as well as the multi-colored copyright warning, appear on the 1991 VHS print of Toho Entertainment's The Wizard Of Oz (1982).
 * Paramount Video would produce 1984 to 1986 episodes of Brothers, a sitcom which aired on Showtime from 1984 to 1989. This would appear on 1984 to 1986 episodes, while 1987 to 1989 episodes would be produced by Paramount Television.

Editor's Note: This logo is a favorite of many, thanks to its soothing music and rather high-tech animation for the time.

4th Logo (April 1987-January 2007 [2012 on Asian VCDs])
Nicknames: "CGI Mountain", "90s Mountain", "Perumount"

Logo: It's the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo with no video indicator whatsoever. The difference here from the theatrical version is that the logo is videotaped; the picture quality is somewhat sharper and the color scheme is brighter than normal. On occasion, the logo begins much earlier than the theatrical variant.

Variants:
 * Like its parent logo, at the end of tapes, only the finished product is seen, with the clouds moving in the background.
 * There is also a short version of this logo on screener tapes from Paramount.
 * A telecined version existed, as evidenced by the video-generated fade-ins and fade-outs. It starts with an almost fully static logo (only the clouds move), but a few seconds later, the animation starts normally. The color scheme also has a bit of a brownish/earthy tone to it. This variant can be seen on 1990-2001 VHS releases, such as Peanuts tapes, Eureeka's Castle: Wide Awake at Eureeka's Castle (1997 release, at the beginning), The Adventures of Corduroy: The Dinosaur Egg, Gullah Gullah Island: Dance Along with the Daise Family, the Paramount Family Favorites release of Charlotte's Web (1973), Rugrats: A Rugrats Vacation (at the end), Rugrats: Dr. Tommy Pickles, Gullah Gullah Island: Christmas (at the beginning of the promotional copy), Blue's Clues, Blue's Big Treasure Hunt, Rugrats: Make Room for Dil, Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Pajama Party (later printings) and Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Musical Movie (at the beginning).
 * Some tapes with the Viacom variant have the clouds become still once the Viacom byline appears.
 * A still version is seen at the end of some tapes. This version also appears on the 2002 DVD of Rugrats: Decade in Diapers, the 1992 VHS of Demonic Toys (before the Full Moon logo) and before trailers on certain Paramount releases from 2000 to 2002.
 * The Viacom variant is slightly shifted up on some PAL DVDs.
 * On the 1996 VHS of Mission: Impossible, the logo is played at warp speed. Near the end of the logo, we also hear Nick Tate saying, "Coming to theaters this holiday season from Paramount Pictures."
 * Even though Paramount debuted an updated version of their movie logo in 1999, they still used the 1995 variant for home video releases.
 * This logo was spotted at the end of some trailers on screener VHS tapes from the company. Here, the logo is already formed, but we see copyright info under the mountain. The copyright info then fades out after a few seconds to make room for the byline to fade in.

Bylines:
 * April 1987-1989: "A Gulf + Western Company". 1987 releases used the 75th Anniversary variant, while 1988-89 releases used the standard version.
 * 1989-1995: "A Paramount Communications Company" with a line above the byline fades in. 1989-90 releases had the byline and line above it in gold, while 1990-95 releases had them in white.
 * 1995-January 2007: "A VIACOM COMPANY" (in the 1990 \/|/\CO/\/\ "Wigga Wigga" font) with a line above the byline fades in, again, in white.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On the VHS tapes of Fatal Attraction (plastering the 75th Anniversary logo) and The Blue Iguana, the 1987 Paramount Pictures fanfare is heard.
 * At the end of the It's Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown 1997 VHS, the Boohbah: Comfy Armchair 2004 VHS, and one promo on the Drop Zone 1995 screener VHS, the 1989 "distorted" version of the 1987 Paramount Television theme is heard.

Availability: Extremely common.
 * This was used as a de-facto home video logo, and can be seen on every VHS and Laserdisc release from that period -- this also includes television series (such as the original Star Trek), comedy specials, and third-party acquisitions like Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (where this plasters the original Atlantic Releasing Corporation logo), Teen Wolf Too, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, and titles licensed from the Rank Organisation (such as The Red Shoes). Combine this with its 16-year span, and this may be the most common home video logo period.
 * Many videos should have either the 75th Anniversary print logo, or the standard Gulf+Western print logo (with no mention of "HOME VIDEO") on the packaging and labels. Try to look.
 * The 75th Anniversary logo plasters over the "Blue Mountain" logo on the 1987 home video releases of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Crocodile Dundee, Children of a Lesser God, Top Gun, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Meanwhile, the standard Gulf+Western version plasters over the 75th Anniversary Logo on the 1988 releases of Beverly Hills Cop II, The Untouchables, Back to the Beach, Fatal Attraction, and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles. International VHS releases of these films (all released by CIC Video, with the exception of Crocodile Dundee) will likely have the film's original logo intact.
 * This was also used on all 1994-2004 Peanuts VHS releases and all Nickelodeon VHS releases from 1996 to 2003. The 75th Anniversary variant was also used on a Showtime broadcast of Hamburger Hill from March 1991.
 * It was also seen on the direct-to-video films The Little Bear Movie and Blue's Big Musical Movie.
 * Also seen at the start of VHS releases and non-USA Network airings of TV movies from Wilshire Court Productions of the era.
 * Made an unexpected appearance on a number of demo VHS tapes from as late as 2007, despite its discontinuation on commercial releases in 2003. These include George Lopez: Why You Crying?, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks: Piggley Gets Into Trouble and The Wonder Pets: Save The Wonder Pets, released in 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively.
 * Occasionally, this will appear before the opening previews on certain tapes. One example of this is the Paramount reissue of Rugrats: A Baby's Gotta Do What a Baby's Gotta Do and some other Nickelodeon tapes from 1996.
 * It was preserved on Echo Bridge Home Entertainment's DVD releases of Puppet Master 5 and the Mexican DVD of Demonic Toys, each before the Full Moon logo, most likely due to older VHS masters being used.
 * The Viacom version was also spotted at the start of Disney Channel/ABC Family (now Freeform) airings of Teen Witch as well as Trifecta's syndicated prints of There Goes the Neighborhood and Another 48. Hrs, among others.
 * The version with the Paramount Television fanfare made a surprise appearance at the end of the 2004 VHS of Boohbah: Comfy Armchair, following the PBS Kids Video logo. It also appeared at the end of the 1997 VHS of It's Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown.
 * Paramount's VCD releases in Asian territories still used this logo until 2012, which is shown after the Movieline Entertainment logo.

Editor's Note: Same as the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo.

5th Logo (May 17, 1989-December 27, 2008, April 1, 2019)
Nicknames: "Feature Presentation", "Abstract Mountain", "The Bumper-esque Logo"

Logo: On a background filled with blue/indigo squares, we see a blue square with the Paramount print logo on it, with an embossed mountain and the stars and script in gold. The stars shine from left to right, then the square moves and zooms away as the squares behind it move off, revealing the stacked words "FEATURE PRESENTATION" in gold zooming in on a heliotrope gradient background. The words shine, and after that, it zooms towards us at breakneck speed. Just when the text engulfs the screen, it cuts to a warning screen, which has a pattern of Paramount mountains in the background.

Bylines: This used whatever byline Paramount was using at the time:
 * May 17-October 16, 1989, April 1, 2019: "A Gulf + Western Company" (used for only six months that year)
 * November 9, 1989-May 16, 1995: "A Paramount Communications Company" (the "Feature Presentation" versions have a different font for the Paramount Communications byline: sans serif)
 * June 13, 1995-December 27, 2008: "A VIACOM COMPANY" (in the same font as the 1990 Viacom logo)

Variants:
 * There was a special bumper used for trailers from 1989 to 1998 or 1999, with the words "COMING ATTRACTIONS" over the heliotrope gradient background, which cuts off after the zoom in.
 * On the 1989 re-releases of Sunset Boulevard on VHS (reissued from the 1988 printing) and The Courageous Dr. Christain on Laserdisc (reissued from the 1987 printing), the logo and warning screen is in black and white.
 * On the 1989 releases of Coming to America (the first release to use this bumper) and Distant Thunder, the logo cuts to black after "FEATURE PRESENTATION" zooms in, then the warning screen fades in.
 * A 2000 printing of This is America, Charlie Brown: The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk retains the Paramount Communications variant of the Coming Attractions version from the original tape, while the Feature Presentation logo appears in its Viacom version.

FX/SFX: The CGI squares moving away and the animation on the Paramount square, which held up pretty well throughout the logo's lifespan, and was pretty advanced for 1989.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: The 1987 fanfare (originally composed by Jerry Goldsmith), with a male voiceover (Brian Cummings) saying "And now, we're pleased to bring you, our feature presentation."

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants:
 * A variation exists where the announcer says "Paramount is pleased to bring you our feature presentation". This was used with all three byline variants, and can be found on all Laserdisc releases, as well as any VHS releases which have no previews before the film (such as the 1989 releases of the first four Star Trek films, the 1998 release of A Separate Peace, the 2000 release of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, the 2005 remake of Yours, Mine, and Ours, the 2001 release Nick Jr.'s Imagine That!, any promotional copies of movies released by Paramount (except for several of them such as Harriet the Spy, The Ghost and the Darkness, The General's Daughter, Coach Carter, The Longest Yard, Aeon Flux, A Night at the Roxbury, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Teletubbies: Naughty Noo Noo!, Boohbah: Hot Dog, Ghost Town, Rugrats: Phil and Lil Double Trouble, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Rugrats: Grandpa's Favorite Stories, Midnight Man, The Phantom, The Score, A Very Brady Sequel, Beavis and Butthead Do America, The Ghost and the Darkness and Nickelodeon Super Toons), and the 1998 widescreen VHS release of Forrest Gump, while the full screen version has the standard voice-over). This variant also appears on tapes made and sold exclusively through Columbia House (usually identifiable by the presence of an orange sticker on the cover). On rare occasions, this variation did appear right after previews, such as the 1996 VHS of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and its 2000 reprint, some demo and screener tapes, and a series of four videocassettes sold as part of a 1993 McDonald's promotion, including The Addams Family and Ghost (these releases have the Rank Home Video print logo on one of the spines on the slipcovers for those films and a face label on the tapes with a special red, yellow, black and white color scheme).
 * On the "COMING ATTRACTIONS" variant, the announcer says "Here are some exciting coming attractions from Paramount."
 * On the 1991 screener VHS of Subspecies, the logo is silent. This is probably an error on Paramount's part.

Availability: Depending on the version, but as a whole, ultra common, since it was used for 19 years. It appears on the majority of Paramount's home video releases.
 * The "COMING ATTRACTIONS" version was only used until the late 1990's.
 * The original Gulf+Western variation (which is the least common) made its debut on the May 1989 home video release of Coming to America (also the first tape to use this as a whole), and can be found on releases such as the first four Star Trek films, Distant Thunder, The Experts, The Best of Eddie Murphy: Saturday Night Live, Cousins, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Major League, Pet Sematary, and Puppet Master, among others.
 * The Paramount Communications variation (which is easier to find) debuted on the November 1989 VHS release of Scrooged, and is also on the 1990 VHS release of Grease, the 1991 VHS and Laserdisc releases of Ghost, both Wayne's World films, the 1993 release of Charlotte's Web, and the 1998 widescreen VHS release of Forrest Gump.
 * The Viacom variant is extremely common and appears on nearly every Paramount VHS release from 1995 onwards, starting with the June 1995 VHS release of Drop Zone.
 * The final Paramount film released on VHS and to use this logo was the 2006 VHS of Yours, Mine & Ours (2005 remake), and the last retail tape to use it overall were the 2006 VHS of Go Diego Go!: Diego Saves Christmas, which is also the final retail Paramount VHS ever released. This bumper continued to be use on rare screener tapes until December 27, 2008, such as An Inconvenient Truth, The Wonder Pets: Save The Wonder Pets!, and Ghost Town, all of which have no retail VHS counterparts.
 * On the 1991 LaserDisc release of Apocalypse Now, the demo VHS releases of Scrooged and Hawks, the 1991 VHS of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the 1998 VHS release of Titanic, most French Canadian Paramount tapes after Malofilm Video ceased distribution of Paramount titles, and CHC prints of Payback, this logo is not shown at all, it just goes straight to the warning screen, while on the 1997 releases of The Godfather trilogy, the logo cuts to black before the 1995 THX logo, as the warnings are placed at the beginning, separate from the logo.
 * The normal version strangely appears on the original 1989 VHS release of Major League, a Columbia House print of the VHS of The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, the 1991 Star Trek: The Movies VHS box set (pan and scan version only; the widescreen edition of the box set uses the other voiceover), a 1995 reprint of Black Rain, the 2005 reissues of Mean Girls and School of Rock, certain prints of Paycheck, and the promotional copy of Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, despite all of those releases having no previews before the film.
 * The "COMING ATTRACTIONS" and alternate voiceover versions very rarely appear on the same tape. One tape where this happens is the 1993 release of Delicatessen.
 * This and the preceding Stay Tuned After the Movie bumper make surprise appearances on British VHS releases that have special features at the end of the tape, such as The Italian Job and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. All other UK VHS releases from 2003-06 just use a variant based on the UK coming attractions bumpers.
 * This appears on demo and screener VHS tapes of PBS Kids shows from 2004 to 2006, which were those of Boohbah, Caillou, Teletubbies, Cyberchase, and Postcards From Buster. The normal releases just start with the warning screen used on Paramount DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
 * Used in tandem with the 10th logo on 2002/January 2003 releases, as seen on Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, SpongeBob SquarePants: Halloween, Babalu Music! I Love Lucy’s Greatest Hits, Clockstoppers, ,We Were Soldiers, Blue's Clues: Meet Joe, 9/11: The Filmmakers' Commemorative Edition, Rugrats: Halloween, the original releases of Crossroads, Vanilla Sky, and Orange County, the Special Edition VHS release of Rat Race, the retail versions of Hey Arnold!: The Movie and Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat, the demo VHS releases of SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories, Rugrats: Mysteries and The Sum of All Fears, and later prints and the demo VHS of Changing Lanes.
 * Again, it strangely reappears on the rare promotional release of Bumblebee (2018) VHS released on April 1, 2019 just like the 1980 logo.

Editor's Note: Perhaps one of the most famous logos in home video history, and has become a favorite of many.

6th Logo (December 1993)


Nicknames: "Lined Mountain", "Perumount II"

Logo: On a black background with blue filmstrips, "Paramount" is seen being written in a gold color in its trademark font. As this is occurring, the background is opening up in segments to reveal the 1986 Paramount logo, without a byline and the stars in a light gold color.

FX/SFX: The background opening up, "Paramount" being written, and the Paramount Pictures logo being revealed. All of this is very nice CGI.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A male announcer (Gene McGarr) says, "Paramount Pictures, bringing you the finest in holiday entertainment, and the best of the new year". All of this is said against a bombastic fanfare, an excerpt from the end theme of The Untouchables, composed by Ennio Morricone.

Availability: Very rare. This logo was seen on VHS releases by the company from the era around the Christmas season of 1993 that were available in McDonald's restaurants. The releases included Charlotte's Web, Ghost, The Addams Family, and Wayne's World.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (November 12, 1996)
Nicknames: "Gold Mountain", "The Best Show in Town"

Logo: On a gold background, we see the text "Paramount" move into its usual position onto the company's print logo, which is engraved onto the background. Once the text settles, the Viacom "Wigga-Wigga" byline fades in underneath.

FX/SFX: The text zooming back.

Music/Sounds: A male announcer (Nick Tate) says, "Paramount Pictures, the best show in town!" In the background, the same music from the previous logo (albeit abridged) is heard.

Music/Sounds Trivia: The tagline is a nod to Paramount's slogan in the 1920s: "If it's a Paramount picture, it's the best show in town."

Availability: Rare. Seen only on the original North American release (both United States and Canadian prints) of Mission: Impossible.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (Early 1998-1999)


Nicknames: "Pittard Sullivan Mountain", "Unused CGI Mountain", "Millennium Mountain"

Logo: Over a cloudy sunset background, we see a different CGI rendition of the famed Paramountain; it's covered with snow and ice, with the "Paramount" script and stars already formed on top of it, albeit without a byline. The camera slowly zooms in and rotates around the logo, showing us the back of the mountain as a lens flare flashes.

Variant: Paramount adapted this logo for use in two trailers (see here for more details). This logo appears to be filmed, so it's possible it was intended to be a new theatrical logo but ended up being unused for that purpose (since Paramount re-did their 1986 logo in 1999).

FX/SFX: Excellent CGI that still holds up today, created by Pittard Sullivan.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare ("The Crimson Gump" from the score of Forrest Gump) is heard throughout as Jim Cummings intones:
 * Early 1998: "In celebration of the end of one millennium and the dawn of another, Paramount Pictures is preparing to bring to movie lovers everywhere a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."
 * March or April 1998-1999: "...In celebration of the end of one century and the dawn of another...Paramount Pictures is proud to present a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."

Availability: Rare. This was only ever used on Paramount's "Millennium Collection" video trailer, which can be seen on the VHS releases of In & Out, Sliding Doors, Hard Rain, A Simple Plan, Event Horizon, Switchback, Twilight (1998), and A Smile Like Yours.

Editor's Note: A fantastic CGI effort that sadly was never used on an actual movie (not counting its usage in trailers). It also appears to be the base for the Paramount Classics logo, which virtually has the same animation albeit in reverse.

9th Logo (May 7, 2002-Late 2008)
Nicknames: "CGI Mountain II", "Mount Paramount", "2000s Mountain", "Perumount III"

Logo: Same as the 2002 movie logo, but it's videotaped and zoomed out (also known as open-matte). Releases from 2002 to 2003 used the 90th Anniversary logo, while releases from 2003 onwards used the standard one.

Variants:
 * There is a shorter, more common version which starts with the stars zooming down through the clouds.
 * In extremely rare cases, the logo doesn't fade in or out. An example of this is the 2005 VHS of Dora the Explorer: It's a Party!
 * A widescreen version exists. This can be seen on widescreen releases from Paramount.
 * Even though the clouds in the movie logo were updated on the movie The Sum of All Fears, Paramount still used the prototype variant of the clouds for most home video releases until 2003. However, the 90th Anniversary version with the finalized clouds was seen on Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, the only home video release to use this variation.
 * A filmed version of the 2003 variant exists.
 * At the end of tapes, the finished product is seen, with the clouds moving westward in the background.
 * On the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS, the logo is zoomed in, like the Paramount Network Television logo.

FX/SFX:: Same as its movie counterpart.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * At the end of the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS, the 1989 version of the 1987 Paramount Television theme is heard. It's not heard on the demo version of the VHS, however.
 * Mean Girls and The Longest Yard (2005) use the Paramount on Parade fanfare and the custom fanfare by Teddy Castellucci, respectively.

Availability: Fairly common. This was used as another de-facto home video logo.
 * The 90th Anniversary version is used on 2002 VHS and DVD releases such as Trading Places, SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories, MTV Yoga, Dora the Explorer: Move to the Music, The Day Reagan Was Shot, Flashdance, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (on the VHS only, where this oddly plasters the 1999 Paramount logo that the film used), Black Sheep, Vanilla Sky, Major League, Damaged Care, Bleacher Bums, My Horrible Year!, all 3 Jackass volumes, Rugrats Christmas, Clockstoppers, Hey Arnold!: The Movie, and K-19: The Widowmaker.
 * The standard version is used on almost every Paramount VHS released from 2003 onwards. It also appears on the European versions of SpongeBob SquarePants DVDs Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies and Halloween.
 * The standard version plasters the 90th Anniversary variant of the 2002 Paramount Pictures logo on the 2003 VHS releases of Extreme Ops, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure, and The Hours.
 * The zoomed-in version as well as the closing version with the Paramount Television fanfare is extremely rare, and as such only appeared on the Dora the Explorer: It's a Party! 2005 VHS.
 * The closing version is seen at the end of all Paramount VHS releases from 2002-2006.
 * Demo tapes still used this logo through the end of 2008 (a few demo tapes from 2004-2007 oddly used the 4th logo), while VCD releases continued using this logo until 2007. (such as the 2007 VCD of Flushed Away)

Editor's Note: Same as its movie counterpart.

10th Logo (May 21, 2002-January 28, 2003)
Nicknames: "Feature Presentation II", "CGI Mountain III", "Mount Paramount II", "Perumount IV"

Logo: An enhanced version of the previous "Feature Presentation" logo. A full color version of the 2002 Paramount logo appears in a square that overlaps a background of four purple squares. A line of light passes over it, and then the Logo flies off and the squares peel off, pretty much like before. They reveal "FEATURE PRESENTATION" in a gold-yellow font flying into place, each word from a different end. The words now float against a dark cloud background, eventually zooming out towards the screen in a trail of gold light. The warning post appears as always, but with a dark blue background in place of the usual logo wallpaper.

FX/SFX: Same as the 5th logo, albeit with a moving cloud background and added flashing effects.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: Same as the 5th logo.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variant: There is a very rare variant which uses the "Paramount is..." voiceover. This can be seen on Damaged Care, Bleacher Bums, My Horrible Year!, Bobbie's Girl, all demo VHS tapes with this logo, The Day Reagan Was Shot, and alternate prints of The Sum of All Fears. Depending on the release, there is no previews or this appears right after them.

Availability: Rare, due to its short lifespan, and this logo was only used for less than a year.
 * The first release to use this was the second VHS print of Vanilla Sky, and was seen on certain other 2002/January 2003 Paramount Home Video VHS releases from the time frame after that, such as SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories, The Sum of All Fears, Lucky Break, MTV Yoga, subsequent prints of Crossroads and Orange County, Dora the Explorer: Move to the Music, The Day Reagan Was Shot, Damaged Care, Bleacher Bums, My Horrible Year!, five demo VHS tapes from the era (the demo versions of Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat, SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom Bash, SpongeBob SquarePants: Deep Sea Sillies, Blue's Clues: Blue's Big Band and Hey Arnold!: The Movie), all 3 Jackass volumes, Rugrats: Christmas, Dora the Explorer: Christmas and Little Bill: Merry Christmas, Little Bill, and K-19: The Widowmaker. The final release to use this was Serving Sara.
 * Some 2002 releases, strangely, have this logo's print version on the label and packaging, but do not have this logo on the tape, as they use the 5th logo instead. See the list above for details.
 * The original VHS of Changing Lanes also has this logo, but it cuts to the 1995 warning screen instead of the 2002 one, due to a tape manufacturing error, and is probably due to the fact that the later release and the demo VHS use the previous Feature Presentation screen instead of this one.

Editor's Note: A worthy successor to the 5th logo, even if it was short-lived, though this can startle viewers who were otherwise expecting the 5th bumper and got this.

1st Logo (January 2002)


Nicknames: "CGI Disc Mountain", "Perumount V"

Logo: It starts with the 1999-2002 enhanced Paramount logo with the stars encircling the mountain. After a few seconds, a DVD disc flies in from the bottom zooms towards in-front of and behind the mountain. The "Paramount" script zooms out from the top of the screen to take its position above the mountain, like the 2011 Paramount Pictures logo. Then a brilliant flash of light appears underneath, revealing the "DVD" text, as the 1995-2010 Viacom byline fades in below it. The background fades to black as a laser scans the disc, turning the mountain into black-and-white.

Variant: A short version of this exists on a 2002 TV spot for the Rat Race DVD. It starts with the "DVD" appearing out of the flash and the Viacom byline fading in under it.

FX/SFX: Same as the movie logo with the additional animation.

Music/Sounds: The Jerry Goldsmith fanfare, or none or the opening theme of the TV spot.

Availability: Extinct. Was seen on a 2002 TV spot for the DVD release of Rat Race. It is unknown if this appeared anywhere else, but don't expect to see an animated variant on early Paramount DVDs, as they jump to the warning screen at the beginning instead, sometimes with previews preceding to match their VHS counterparts.

Editor's Note: Its existence was debated for a while, since its rushed look (particularly the "DVD" text) does make it look like a fanmade logo. This may have been a placeholder for the next logo below.

2nd Logo (January 7, 2003-March 5, 2019)
Nicknames: "CGI Disc Mountain II", "Dark Mountain of Steel", "Dark Perumount", "Perumount VI"

Logo: It starts off with the 2002 Paramount logo animation with the stars flying through the clouds, the zoom out of the "Paramount" script, and the stars coming in and circling around the mountain. When we are at a comfortable distance, a DVD disc flies in from the bottom, glides and settles behind the summit and the Paramount script. Then, a bright flash underneath the peak brings forth "DVD" with a line below it, and the Viacom byline (in the same font as the 1990 Viacom logo) below the line. The background fades to black, and a white laser scans the disc in a downward motion, turning the entire DVD Paramountain silver. The finished product almost resembles the Paramount DVD print logo.

Trivia: This logo appears on the original Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment DVD releases of The Avengers and Iron Man 3, alongside the Marvel logo and in place of the current WDSHE logo. This is because The Walt Disney Company (owner of the films' production company Marvel Studios) and Viacom came to an agreement for the films' distribution to transfer from Paramount Pictures to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, but Paramount still had two films left in their six-movie contract with Marvel. So, Paramount's logo would appear on the films and promotional material for legacy credit.

Variant: At the end of the logo, a menu would appear with two selections which are "PREVIEWS" and "MAIN MENU", both of which would take you there. When either one was selected, the Paramount logo fades out, with the selections disappearing a second afterward. This was seen on some early DVD releases with this logo, such as The Italian Job (2003 version), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Rugrats Go Wild, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, The Ren & Stimpy Show: The First and Second Seasons, South Park: The Passion of the Jew, and All Grown Up: Lucky 13 (the last release to use this variant). Also seen on some CBS DVDs from 2006, like the Season 1 DVD of NCIS.

FX/SFX: The DVD disc gliding on the 2002 Paramount Pictures logo animation.

Music/Sounds: It starts off silent, but when the stars fly by some whooshing sounds are heard, culminating in a synthesized explosion effect with a thunderclap. As the white laser scans down, a humming sound can be heard.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the post-menu-selection variation, a soft "bong" is heard as the logo fades out, followed by a whirling sound when the selections disappear.

Availability: Very common.
 * It's seen on many post-2003 DVD releases released by the company, starting with the 2003 DVD releases of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (even though the print logo on the cover has "90th Anniversary" tacked on to it) and SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom Bash.
 * This logo was seen on DVD releases of Paramount Television-owned series from 2003 to 2006 (when the rights went to CBS Home Entertainment after Viacom and CBS Corporation became separate companies), such as the 2004 releases of season 1 of Happy Days, and season 1 of The Andy Griffith Show and the 2005 release of season 2 of the latter.
 * After 2004 on Nickelodeon TV shows on DVD, this logo doesn't show up; however, non-Nickelodeon shows kept using this logo.
 * Don't expect to find this on 2006-2012 DreamWorks Animation films on DVD or 2006-2010 DreamWorks Pictures films on DVD, as they use their own logo. However, it does appear on the UK DVD of Transformers, despite the US DVD using the DreamWorks Home Entertainment logo (due to Paramount distributing the film internationally).
 * Some DVD releases have "90th Anniversary" added on to this logo's print version, but they just contain the normal logo. Examples of this are the 2002 DVD releases of SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories, Clockstoppers, Flashdance, Urban Cowboy, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Black Sheep, Vanilla Sky, Trading Places, Hey Arnold: The Movie, and K-19: The Widowmaker, among others.
 * Even though Paramount Pictures debuted a new logo in late 2011, this logo continued to be used until 2019, as seen on such releases from the era.
 * Don't expect to see this logo on the 2010 DVD release of Apocalypse Now (1979) as it uses the 2006-13 Lionsgate Home Entertainment logo, due to the Lionsgate purchase of the majority of the American Zoetrope catalog of films in the late 2000s. It is still present on 2006 and earlier prints of the film.
 * The last release to use this logo was Instant Family, released on March 5, 2019.

Editor's Note: Even though Viacom changed their byline in 2010, and the Paramount logo in 2011, this logo continued to be used throughout the 2010s. It's a great logo overall, with the DVD near-seamlessly blending into the main logo. However, some have been rattled by this logo's rather loud sound effects.

(2006-March 5, 2019)


Nicknames: "Digital Mountain", "From SD to HD", "Digital Paramount", "Perumount VII"

Logo: We first see the effect of a television being switched on, zooming out from one of the stars and transitioning to the middle of the 2002 Paramount logo in poor image quality. When the star reaches the mountain's peak, two white lines appear and move across the picture vertically from the center, sharpening the picture and forming the silver text:

HIGH DEFINITION

which zooms out into place. The Viacom byline (without the line) from the previous three logos fades in below and the HD text shines.

Trivia: This logo appears on the original Disney Blu-ray releases of The Avengers and Iron Man 3 (see the Trivia section for the previous logo).

FX/SFX: The television static, the zooming away from the star, and the revelation of the text.

Music/Sounds: Some television static sound effects and a few loud whooshes and shining sounds.

Availability: Very common. It's seen on Paramount's Blu-ray releases from 2006 to early 2019.
 * It was also seen on Paramount HD-DVD releases from 2006 to 2008, such as Four Brothers and The Italian Job (2003).
 * Starting sometime in 2007, Paramount's high definition releases were exclusive to HD-DVD until the format was discontinued. When Toshiba announced they would discontinue HD-DVD, Paramount Home Entertainment, like all other home media companies, became Blu-ray only. Their first film on Blu-ray since HD-DVD's discontinuation was The Spiderwick Chronicles.
 * Again, this does not appear on 2006-2012 DreamWorks Animation films on Blu-ray, as they use their own logo.
 * This logo can be found on releases with the print version of this logo on the box art. It was also found on the 2008 Blu-ray release of Last Holiday, in which the print logo was absent on the box art, meaning this logo was still in use, but no longer had a print counterpart.
 * This logo did not appear on UHD 4K Blu-ray Discs, as they use the 2011-present film logo.
 * Even though Paramount Pictures debuted a new logo in late 2011, this logo continued to be used until 2019, as seen on many releases from the era.
 * Don't expect to see this logo on Blu-ray releases of Apocalypse Now (1979) as they use Lionsgate Home Entertainment logos, due to the Lionsgate purchase of the majority of the American Zoetrope catalog of films in the late 2000s.
 * The last release to use this logo was Instant Family, released on March 5, 2019.

Editor's Note: Another great logo, though like the DVD version, it's still puzzling why this remained in use after Paramount changed their main movie logo.

Final Note
Beginning with the release of Bumblebee, released on DVD and Blu-ray (as well as 4K UHD Blu-ray) on April 2, 2019, all Paramount DVDs and Blu-rays began using the 2011-present theatrical logo as a de-facto home video logo, even under the Players and Animation divisions.