DePatie-Freleng Enterprises/Summary

Background : The men of this company are David H. DePatie and Isadore "Friz" Freleng. Most famously known for The Pink Panther, the company released theatrical Looney Tunes cartoons under Warner Bros. from 1963 to 1967, as well as original theatrical series for United Artists from 1963 to 1980. After Freleng's departure from Warner Bros. in 1980, the company was sold to Marvel Comics as their new animation division in 1981. Today, with some exceptions (all co-produced cartoons with UA/Mirisch such as Pink Panther are currently owned by MGM, the Dr. Seuss cartoons from 1971-1982 are currently owned by Dr. Seuss Enterprises [with licensing and distribution by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, previously held by Universal Studios], and the Looney Tunes shorts and specials are currently owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment), the remaining properties in the DePatie-Freleng/Marvel library are owned by the Walt Disney Company with the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide Inc. in 2001. Ironically, on August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire Marvel, and it was completed on December 31 of that year.

1st Logo (1964-1980)

Logo : Superimposed on the screen, this is the opening text saying: "(David H.) DePatie-(Friz) Freleng Presents", in some cases with the title of the show or short below. At the end, this is the text saying: "A DePatie-Freleng Production", in some cases with a copyright stamp or a byline below.

FX/SFX : The letters appearing, or none.

Music/Sounds : The opening and closing themes of the show or short.

Availability : Appears intact on various DFE shorts and early shows, included on later theatrical Pink Panther and The Inspector cartoons on DVD.

2nd Logo (September 10, 1966-January 21, 1967)

Logo : On a pink background, the "DFE" text can be seen in yellow, but without the stern and oval on the words "F" and "E". The yellow stern then wipes in on the words "F" and "E" and leading off to an oval, forming an paintbrush-like shape. The oval itself has "films" in a pink bold and curved cartoony font. The words "Released by United Artists" appears below in a small white cursive font down below the DFE Films logo.

FX/SFX : The wiping of the stern and oval.

Music/Sounds : A 11-note trumpet fanfare, with the last note held out.

Availability : Rare. It was only seen on DFE's first animated television series, The Super 6.

3rd Logo (September 16, 1967-December 28, 1968)

Logo : On a black background, an mixture of colors wipe into the screen, revealing the DFE Films logo from before, except "films" has a less bold and curvy effect. The colors continue to scroll through the logo as text from before appears, also with the flowing colors. The words "Released by United Artists" in the same font as before, and in the same color as the DFE Films logo fades in.

FX/SFX : The wiping and colors moving.

Music/Sounds : It begins with a 6-note trumpet fanfare, which then is followed by a clarinet playing the exact same notes, only in a lower key pitch, and brass instruments that play out two notes. This was composed by William Lava.

Availability : Rare. It was only seen on DFE's second animated television series, Super President.

4th Logo (1969-1971)

Nickname : "(Zooming-Out) DFE Films"

Logo : We see a maroon colored screen, you can barely see a giant black "DFE" (with the letters F and E connected in the middle) in the center of the screen. The letters begin to fill one by one with a flowing assortment of colors. The "DFE" zooms-out to reveal the "FE" is connected to what appears to be an abstract ending of a paintbrush, which has the maroon word "films" inside. The screen then turns navy blue, with a light gray DFE Films logo, a light green with a black DFE Films, then back to a navy blue screen with a light gray DFE Films. Finally, the screen goes back to the normal color scheme.

FX/SFX : The "DFE" zooming out and the flowing colors.

Music/Sounds : A brass score that appears to be in synchronization with the logo's animations.

Availability : Rare. It appears on early 70s episodes of the TV Pink Panther cartoons and DVD releases of Here Comes the Grump. It was also on the short-lived TV series Doctor Dolittle.

5th Logo (July 4, 1971-May 2, 1980, 1994?)

Logo : At the end of the credits, we see the DFE Films logo (as in the 2nd logo). Below it we see the text "A DEPATIE-FRELENG PRODUCTION".

Variants :
 * On The Cat in the Hat, the Cat's hat appears on "films". Plus, the DFE Films logo is larger, and in white on a red bar.
 * On The Incredible, Indelible, Magical Physical, Mystery Trip, the text reads "IN ASSOCIATION WITH SIENNA PRODUCTIONS" is shown below the logo.
 * On The Hoober-Boob Highway, the logo is similar to the Cat in the Hat variant, except the cat's hat is omitted, and there's more of the red background half is shown above.
 * On The Blue Racer, the logo appears on a light blue background, we see the letter "D" fading-in and flashing in multi-colors, followed by part of the letter "F" fading-in and part of the letter "E". The line fades in through the letters "F" and "E" to reveal the 1969 logo. The logo would turn solid red and the word "Presents" fades-in below. Sometimes, it would zoom-out while animating.
 * On The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas, we see the text "A DePatie-Freleng Sed-Bar Production" below instead of the normal text.

FX/SFX : None. On The Barkleys, it's superimposed, otherwise placed on a background in the color scheme of the show's credits (i.e. pink on Pink Panther). On The Blue Racer, the logo would sometimes zoom-out while animating.

Music/Sounds : The opening/closing theme to the show.

Availability : Should still show up when DFE shows and specials from the late '70s are reran, as it is in-credit and usually left alone. It's most likely to be found on Dr. Seuss specials from 1971-80. It made its debut on The Cat in the Hat.