Warner Bros. Classic Animation/History

Note: This is a work-in-progress.

Logo descriptions by

Videos by ClassicToonsLAT, Kyle Fortman and stormievbva

Editions by Emiozuna

Compiled by

1st Logo (April 19, 1930-August 13, 1932)
 Nickname:  “Bosko Titles I”

 Studio Logo:  On a gray (or black) background, the words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." are shown, and below that, "& THE VITAPHONE CORP." is shown in a much smaller font, with "VITAPHONE" using "electric" style letters. Below that is a very small WB shield, and in script, "Present". Behind it there is the drawing of a flag, "waving" so it looks like it is in three sections. On the first one, "WARNER BROS." appears, followed by the electric-letter "VITAPHONE" logo and on section three, "PICTURES". Below that is the copyright information.

 Series Logo:  A white sign in the middle has the words "LOONEY TUNES" and in black, "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING PRODUCTION" below that. Below the sign in small letters are the words "LEON SCHLESINGER, PRODUCER". Holding up the sign is Bosko, a Mickey Mouse-type character who was WB's current star at the time. Poking out from behind the sign and standing around the logo are stereotypical '30s cartoon animals (a bird, a goat, and a dog, to be exact).

 Variants: 
 * Starting with the second Looney Tune Congo Jazz, it is altogether in one card. Under “LOONEY TUNES”, it reads “A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING MUSICAL CARTOON”. Leon Schlesinger was also credited back then as “ASSOCIATE PRODUCER”. Above the sign is the WB and Vitaphone text without the WB shield. Also, an early animated Bosko is used. The very first cartoon, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, had this card animated (in fact due to the sound effects accompanying A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight), but without the WB/Vitaphone text above. Under "LOONEY TUNES", it reads "A HUGH HARMAN & RUDOLPH ISING SOUND CARTOON".
 * In later cartoons, there would be no WB/Vitaphone text above the white sign.
 * The very first cartoon, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, was preceded by the standard Vitaphone Varieties opening logo, which reads "Presented by VITAPHONE, a subsidiary of WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES, INC." with the 1923-1929 WB shield logo under it. Below the WB shield are the words "Produced with WESTERN ELECTRIC apparatus".

 Closing Logo:  Bosko peeks out from behind the left of a sign reading "A LOONEY TUNE" and emerges, along with a dog (the same dog from the series title card). Bosko holds out his hands and says "That's all, folks!", grinning in the end. The dog jumps and barks several times. Below it, in black, are the words "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING SOUND/MUSICAL CARTOON/PRODUCTION", and "Licensed under BRAY-HURD patents".

 FX/SFX:  None for the opening version, but on Sinkin' in the Bathtub, an animated opening was used.

Music/Sounds: "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" by Theodore Metz is the series theme. Starting with the 1931 short Bosko the Doughboy, in the middle of the theme, the classic WB "trombone gobble" sound effect can be heard.

Availability: Rare, as Bosko shorts are pretty much no longer seen on TV due to their "ethnic offensiveness". A handful of cartoons featuring this logo are available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 DVD release. Many of them are now in the public domain, and several of them are on various online video websites. Some Bosko cartoons, however, replace this logo with the Sunset Productions copyright card and the 3rd Series Logo (see below), and often have a Guild Films "THE END" logo plastered over the closing card (with Bosko's "That's all, Folks!" and the dog barking heard underneath), but a few of them have the logo replaced with an early-1960s Seven Arts Associated title card (with pictures of various LT characters surrounding it and the 1936-1937 LT closing theme playing underneath). The original opening credits for Sinkin' in the Bathtub are available on Disc 3 of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2.

Editor's Note: None (opening titles); Low (closing titles– the remnants of dog barking sound effect as the titles fade to black can be off-putting to some, especially if the film's tail end is accompanied by crackling and popping).

2nd Logo (September 3, 1932-August 26, 1933)
Nickname: “Bosko Titles 2”

 Studio Logo:  Same as the previous logo.

 Series Title:  Similar to the previous, but this time the only animal is a bird, and helping Bosko hold up the sign is his girlfriend Honey.

 Closing Logo:  Same as the last closing logo, except the lettering on the sign is in a different font, and the "BRAY-HURD" text is in italics.

 Later Closing Variant:  The "BRAY-HURD" text is replaced with "Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.".

 FX/SFX:  Again, none.

 Music/Sounds:  The first two cartoons with this logo used the same music as the previous logo. After that, the theme Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away was used, composed by Carmen Lombardo and Joseph Young.

 Availability:  Again, rare due to the reason listed above. A few cartoons with this logo are available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 DVD set.

 Editor's Note:  See logo 1.

3rd Logo (September 9, 1933-August 24, 1935)
 Nickname:  “The Buddy Titles”

 Studio Logo:  Again, same as the previous logo. Starting in 1934, the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." with "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& THE VITAPHONE CORPORATION" line.

 Later Studio Logo:  The standard Warner Bros. Productions Corp. logo takes place on a background similar to a ship's porthole.

 Series Title:  On a curtain backdrop to the right, WB's newest cartoon star, Buddy, appears, holding his right hand up Vanna White-style. On the upper left side of the screen, the words "LOONEY TUNES" appear, and below Buddy and the curtain are the words "Produced by LEON SCHLESINGER".

 Early Series Title:  For the first cartoons with this logo, “LOONEY TUNES” is on a sign on a fence with birds on it, and on the left, Buddy stands there, and on the right, his girlfriend named Cookie stands there in a hot pose. Under that is the Leon Schlesinger credit. An earlier version in Buddy's Day Out, had Buddy carrying two flowers, and Cookie carrying Elmer, her baby brother into a buggy. They are accompanied by Happy, a dog.

 Closing Logo:  Same as the opening logo, except Buddy is animated saying "That’s all, Folks", and below the Leon Schlesinger credit are the words "Distributed by WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." But from 1934-1935, "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." is changed to "WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP."

 Early Closing Variant:  Same as the early series logo, except with Buddy jumping from behind the fence saying “That’s all, Folks!”, with an iris out on the logo.

 Later Closing Variant:  A cat named Beans is shown instead of Buddy. Beans say "That's all, Folks!" to the cartoon's closing theme.

 FX/SFX:  For the last time, none.

 Music/Sounds:  A very bright, overemphatically child-like arrangement keeping with theme of the family vibe of the title cards.

 Music/Sounds Variants: 
 * For later cartoons, the theme is faster-paced.
 * On the second cartoon, Buddy's Beer Garden, it use the music from the previous logo. This is most likely because while Buddy's Beer Garden was actually the first Buddy cartoon produced, it was released second.

 Availability:  Rare again, as cartoons from this period are currently not rerun on TV anywhere. This was also attached to Sunset Productions' re-issue prints of the Bosko cartoons. Only 3 cartoons featuring this logo are available on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 DVD release.

 Editor's Note:  None.

4th Logo (September 14, 1935-September 12, 1936)
 Nickname:  “The Beans Gang Titles”, "The WB Porthole"

 Studio Logo:  At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info. The background is the same as the later variant from the last logo. And the WB shield's most famous role is cemented: it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.

 Early Studio Logo:  Same as the later variant of the previous logo.

 Series Title:  Using the same porthole background as the studio logo, in the center, "LOONEY TUNES" appears. The Beans Gang, WB's current stars, which consists of (going counterclockwise starting at the top right) Beans, his girlfriend, Oliver Owl, and Porky Pig, appear around it. Below "LOONEY TUNES", "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" appears.

 Variant:  Some cartoons may be colorized mainly for TV reruns, but not for DVD releases.

 Closing Logo:  A black screen with "LOONEY TUNES" curved at the top-left with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" on the bottom-right. "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP." is at the very bottom, and at the center, the world-famous "That's all Folks!" logo writes itself on.

 Early Closing Variant:  Same as the closing later variant of the previous logo.

 FX/SFX:  The "writing on" of the "That's all Folks!", the infamous "zooming shield".

 Music/Sounds:  Same as the later music variant of the previous logo.

 Availability:  Can be seen on a few Beans Gang LT shorts and the early Porky shorts if ever rerun. TV reruns often have them colorized (but not for DVD releases). This was also attached to Sunset Productions' re-issue prints of the Beans Gang shorts and the early Porky shorts. The early closing is seen on A Cartoonist's Nightmare, Hollywood Capers and Gold Diggers of '49.

 Editor's Note:  None really; the "zooming" shield didn't pose a possible problem until later on.

5th Logo (October 14, 1936-September 11, 1937)
Nickname: “Fat Porky Pig”

 Studio Logo:  Against a background of musical notes, the WB shield zooms in with "VITAPHONE" above and "Presents" below. Copyright info is shown below.

 Series Title:  "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top against a background of musical notes with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig’s head is in the center.

 Closing Logo:  The same black "That's all Folks!" screen as the previous logo, but with a slightly different font.

 Closing Logo Variant:  On Porky's Duck Hunt, an end title gag is used. The font is same as the last one, but Daffy jumping and dancing across the end title card.

 FX/SFX:  The "zooming shield".

 Music/Sounds:  Little Beau Porky and Milk and Money featured the same music from the previous logo. Beginning with The Village Smithy, a new theme by M.K. Jerome known as the Porky Signature is used. There were many variations on this opening theme (Soon to be added). Starting on July 24, 1937, the shield had a sound effect, namely the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown.

 Availability:  Seen on Porky Pig cartoons from the period, though mostly colorized on TV reruns (but not for DVD releases). The Porky's Duck Hunt variant was last seen on TV sometime in the 1990s.

 Editor's Note:  Low; the zooming noise can scare some, but this logo is pretty tame.

6th Logo (October 9, 1937-September 5, 1942)
 Nickname:  "Porky on Musical Notes," “Porky in a Drum”, "Porky On The Fence"

Studio Logo: Same as the previous logo, but now the cartoon's production number appears underneath "Presents" and over the copyright notice. Beginning in April 1939, "VITAPHONE" is replaced with "WARNER BROS." with a yellow brand, and "Presents" is replaced with "Present." In late August 1939 the yellow brand was retired.

 Series Title:  "LOONEY TUNES" is curved near the top against a background of musical notes with "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHESINGER" at the bottom. Porky Pig, now in his redesigned form by Bob Clampett, does the following poses listed.
 * (1937-1938) Porky is on the right side facing left with arms stretched out.
 * (1938-1939) Porky is in the center facing right with arms stretched out.
 * (1939-1940) Porky is holding a hat.
 * (1940-1941) Porky is seen sitting in an open drum.
 * (Between 1940 and 1941, two different versions of Porky are used, illustrating the evolution of the character.)
 * (1941-1942) Porky is sitting on a fence.

 Closing Logo:  Porky Pig's place in world history is assured as he breaks out of a drum saying his famous "T-T-T-Th-Th-Th-That's all Folks!" line. On the top of the drum is "LOONEY TUNES" and below it is "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER". At the bottom is "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP.". Behind the drum is a curtain background. In 1938, starting with Porky's Spring Planting, "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP." is changed to "RELEASED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES INC.". In 1939, starting with Pied Piper Porky, a new version of Porky Pig comes out of the drum. On Meet John Doughboy (1941), Porky doesn't blink.

 Colorized Variants:  Some of the hand-colorized cartoons (mostly the public domain cartoons, colorized in the late 1960s) feature "fake" redrawn versions of the opening titles.

 FX/SFX:  The "zooming shield".

 Music/Sounds:  The distinctive Looney Tunes theme, The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, is introduced, composed by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, and arranged by Carl Stalling. An abridged version at a different key is also used for the closing theme.

 Music/Sound Variants: 
 * October 1937-November 1938: Most well-known version of the opening and closing theme from the early era.
 * November 1937-January 1938: Rare, sparsely modified opening theme variant used only on three cartoons. Closing theme is the same.
 * November 1938-March 1941: Heavily modified lighter-sounding opening theme. Closing theme is the same as the 1937 theme.
 * March 1941: Specially-modified version for a one-shot cartoon called Joe Glow the Firefly, with a different key in the first section of the opening theme.
 * March 1941-June 1945: Heavily modified opening and closing themes now at a faster tempo, second most-well-known version.
 * A few of the 1990s digital colorizations of these cartoons feature this logo with the 1936-1937 opening theme playing over the opening logo instead (the later version with the zooming noise at the beginning). This was not how the cartoons originally started, and was an error made during the colorizations. Such examples include The Henpecked Duck, Porky's Pastry Pirates, Daffy's Southern Exposure and Slap-Happy Pappy. The ending titles, however, features the correct closing themes that they originally utilized.

 Availability:  Seen on many '30s and early '40s Porky Pig cartoons, though this logo is mostly colorized (except for DVD releases). They are very rarely rerun on Cartoon Network these days.

Editor's Note: Low, due to the zooming noise. The early Porky in a Drum closing variant could surprise some that were expecting to see the newer Porky design.

7th Logo (October 3, 1942-July 18, 1964)
 Nicknames:  “The Bullseye (Circles)”, “The Concentric Circles”

 Studio Logo:  Similar to the previous logos, only now the famous "Circles/Bullseye" backdrop that has become a trademark of Warner Bros. is in place. In 1944, below the "WARNER BROS.", "PICTURES INC." is added.

 Series Title:  Above the "bullseye" and on the same background, "LOONEY TUNES" appears in its now-distinctive font. Below it is "Produced by LEON SCHLESINGER". In 1944, this was changed to “Produced by WARNER BROS. CARTOONS” and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON". On color cartoons with this logo, it says “IN TECHNICOLOR” (1942-1948), "IN CINECOLOR" (some 1947-1949 cartoons only), “COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR” (1948-1956) or “TECHNICOLOR” (1956-1964).

 Closing Logo:  It started with the "That's all Folks!" script being written out, and then "LOONEY TUNES" appearing at the top, curved as in the "black screen" logo, with "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" appearing near the bottom. From 1960-1964, the titles bore an additional legend: “A VITAGRAPH RELEASE”. The background was the circles/bullseye used in the Studio Logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here.

 Early Closing Logo:  Until 1946, the Porky in a Drum closing was used on a red background; however, the Bugs Bunny cartoons Hare Tonic (1945) and Baseball Bugs (1946) have a variant where Bugs broke the drum and said "And that's the end!" while sitting in the open drum and munching on a carrot. Starting in 1944, the "LEON SCHLESINGER" text was changed to "PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS INC." and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON".

 Early Variant:  The very first two cartoons with the logo (The Hep Cat and The Daffy Duckaroo, the former being re-released as Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies) had the WB shield logo slightly bigger.

Variants: There were many variations to this logo, and here are some of them:
 * The most famous one of these, with Bugs Bunny relaxing on top of the shield as it zooms in. He chomps on his carrot for a few seconds, looks angry at the "camera", and then pulls down (like a window shade) the next logo, the Looney Tunes logo.
 * The shield fades into a face (usually oversized, jaw open) of the featured character in the cartoon it's used in. This was used mostly on Bugs Bunny cartoons, although Daffy's head was used a few times as well.
 * On the 1954 Bugs Bunny Short Lumber Jack-Rabbit the shield zooms way too far and then zooms back to it's correct position (Like a yo-yo), as this was the first Bugs Bunny short to be released in 3D.
 * Sometimes, one of the character's heads would be seen on the series logo. It is usually either Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, or both of them.
 * Some Looney Tunes were re-released as "Blue Ribbon" Merrie Melodies and lost their title cards. These re-releases kept the Looney Tunes music (first at the closing titles only and then the full opening sequence as well), so it is painfully easy to spot former Looney Tunes that were reissued as Merrie Melodies. Examples include A Bear for Punishment and House-Hunting Mice.
 * In 1995, Turner Entertainment created the infamous "dubbed version" re-releases of the pre-1948 LT and MM cartoons, which share the same end card ("Porky in a Drum" or the "Bullseye Circles" in either orange or red rings) with copyright text chyroned in below. Several of these are still seen on TV and the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs.
 * Similar re-release remastered prints were prepared by Warner Bros. in 1997-98, but this time, utilizing the original correct closing title from the original short, with copyright text chyroned in below (reading "THIS VERSION" instead of "DUBBED VERSION.")

 FX/SFX:  The "zooming shield", the "That's all Folks!" closing animation.

 Cheesy Factor:  From September 1947 until December 19, 1953, the WB shield looked rather off-model and poorly drawn after it zoomed up.

Music/Sounds: The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down is still used during this period. In 1945, this theme is shortened somewhat.

 Music/Sound Variants:  Many. Here's a listing:
 * October 1942–April 1945: Same as the version first used in 1941.
 * May 1945–July 1946: Abridged opening theme, now dominated by brass and woodwinds, same closing theme as March 1941 (except for Acrobatty Bunny).
 * July 1946–June 1955: Abridged themes. Heavily modified opening and closing themes done in a "goofy" manner. Was still used for the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released up to 1955. The opening version also accidentally shows up on Boston Quackie (June 22, 1957) in place of the May 1955 theme.
 * May 1955–July 1964: Heavily modified opening and closing themes, this time arranged by Milt Franklyn. Sparsely used for Blue Ribbon reissues.
 * In 1968, Warner Bros. colorized many of its black-and-white cartoons for television. The 1979-1980 prints of these shorts plastered its opening WB shield and closing IDs with the more contemporary "bullseye" design (in most cases taken from the 1956 short Deduce, You Say), but the audio remained intact. As a result, you could still hear the drum breaking open and Porky Pig saying "Th-th-that's all, folks!" at the end of the cartoons, but you couldn't see him. In some cases, the "That's all, folks!" screen would then fade to the 1972 "Big \\' " closing "Distributed by Warner Bros." logo.

 Availability:  Was previously rare, but this logo is starting to make a quiet comeback. It can be seen on reruns of Looney Tunes cartoons on Cartoon Network as of March 14, 2011. The shorts have also returned to Boomerang as of fall 2013. It also can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection and Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs and Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Blu-ray sets from Warner Home Video. This logo was used on over a hundred classic Looney Tunes shorts, including Rabbit of Seville and False Hare, among many others.

 Editor's Note:  Low. This is a very famous and well-liked logo, but the "twanging" sound the shield makes may get to some.

8th Logo (April 27, 1963, February 29, 1964, August 1, 1964–September 30, 1967)
 Background:  In 1962, when Warner Bros. Animation was nearing the end of its classic run of Looney Tunes, famed WB cartoon director Chuck Jones created his ultimate one-shot cartoon, Now Hear This, which was done in a very artistic, abstract, and stylized manner. Chuck Jones also designed new, modern opening and closing titles intended for this cartoon only that fit with the cartoon. However, Termite Terrace also wound up using this logo on their other one-shot cartoons afterward, which were also done in a somewhat stylized manner. In 1963, Warner Bros. Animation shut down, and former staff members David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng opened their own animation studio where Termite Terrace was originally housed. A year later, they began producing Looney Tunes cartoons for WB to continue the series, and made the following opening/closing titles the permanent logos for the classic WB cartoons.

NOTE:  By this point, the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies logos are no longer distinctive to each series and are now somewhat standardized/interchangable, so both the LT and MM series will be described for the post-1964 logos.

Nicknames: “The Abstract WB,” "The New-Style Graphics Opening"

 Studio Logo:  Completely different from before. On a black background, several series of lines come from the center of the screen zooming and swirling, three purple, one orange, with two of the purple ones diagonal, one of the purple ones vertical, and the orange one horizontal. The orange line moves down and up as the purple lines disappear one-by-one and a purple abstract "WB", with the W made up of two triangles and the B made up of two semicircles, appears. The orange line turns into the word "PRESENTS" over the abstract WB while a copyright notice appears on the bottom.

Series Title: Two lines from the center of the screen swirl around and then slide away to reveal a strange series logo. On the top is "LOONEY TUNES" or "MERRIE MELODIES" in a weird font and on the bottom-right "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" appears in a rectangle in that same font. Below the rectangle is the word "TECHNICOLOR". On 1965-1967 releases, a bannerless WB shield was seen to the right of "TECHNICOLOR." The lines then come back, slide back into each other, wiping away the text, and then become the four lines from the beginning, "swirling" away into the black background.

 Variants: 
 * For the first four cartoons with this logo, this text is on a white background with no WB shield. The line animation and the studio logo still appear on a black background. The first three shorts also feature a production number on the bottom of the screen, under the copyright notice on the studio logo.
 * Starting with the 1966 release year, the line animation at the beginning is altered a bit.
 * On the last couple of cartoons to feature this logo, a Warner Bros.-Seven Arts copyright appears on the bottom.

 Closing Logo:  The abstract WB appears piece-by-piece, and "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" is wiped onto the screen. When the wiping gets to the "OO" in "CARTOON", the Os turn red and "pop out" of the logo, then pop back into the logo, like two eyes doing a take. They do this action three times fast (1963-1965) or two times slowly (1966-1967). "N" is then wiped on and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" (for Merrie Melodies) or "A VITAGRAPH RELEASE" (for Looney Tunes) appears on the bottom left.

 Early Closing Variant: 
 * For the first three cartoons with this logo, the logo/text is on a white background with no Vitaphone/Vitagraph credit.
 * On Bartholomew Versus the Wheel (1963), the "OO" bounces up and down six times instead of the usual three.
 * On Pancho's Hideaway (1964), it is similar to the early white background variant, but features "A VITAGRAPH RELEASE" in white text on a black parallelogram on the bottom left. The closing theme is an abridged version of the opening theme.

 FX/SFX:  All the animation in the logos.

 Cheesy Factor:  Shoddy animation (probally intentional for a cartoon like Now Hear This). The white background might be migrane inducing.The normal black background version adopted soon after, though still not easy to watch, is only slightly better. The version introduced with the 1966 release year has choppier animation on the closing sequence.

 Music/Sounds:  A weird '60s version of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, arranged by William Lava. Unlike the pre-1964 logos, music no longer differs to each cartoon series, and has become somewhat standardized. The first three shorts using this logo mixed the zooming sound from the 1955-1964 LT theme with the zooming sound from this logo's theme and a cymbal clash was heard when the lines stopped zooming. The end titles originally used Big Ben chiming instead of music, and then a tricycle horn honking for the "OO" animation. Starting in 1964 with Pancho's Hideaway (the first LT short produced by DePatie-Freleng), the 1955 zoom sound and the cymbal clash were dropped from the opening theme, and the end titles began using an abridged version of the opening theme music, with the "OO" animation synchronized with the theme.

 Music/Sounds Trivia:  Apparently there was a jazzy rearrangement version of Merrily We Roll Along made for this logo, composed by Milt Franklyn. It was never used, because around this time Franklyn unfortunately died of a heart attack in the middle of composing the score for the Tweety cartoon The Jet Cage. The recordings of Milt Franklyn's versions can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 DVD set.

 Availability:  Fairly common; still saved on the mid-1960s Road Runner and Daffy Duck shorts when reran on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. A handful of cartoons with this logo, including the first three using this logo with the original white background variant (with Big Ben closing) can be found on later Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets and Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs.

 Editor's Note:  Medium, mainly due to the dark mood, strange music, in-your-face animation, and creepy-looking WB.

9th Logo (October 14, 1967-September 20, 1969)
 Nicknames:  “WB-7”, “W7,” "The Abstract W7", "Lucky Number 7 on WB Shield"

 Studio Logo:  The same as the previous logo, but the background is now blue, while the three purple lines are now yellow and the orange one is now more pinkish-red. The three yellow lines disappear at the same time, as the W7 logo "draws" itself (see the W7 film logo), and the shield appears around it. The horizontal line animation is the same, though “PRESENTS” is now more pinkish as well.

 Series Logo:  Again, same as last time, only the WB shield is dropped, as Warner had retired it by this time due to the merger. The rectangle is now centered and reads "A WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS CARTOON".

 Closing Logo:  Same as the last logo, although the "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" line is changed to add in the Seven Arts information and the abstract WB is replaced by the W7 logo, which merely "appears" at the beginning of the end title without any forming animation. The "OO" goes up and down three times fast now.

 Variants: 
 * For the first three cartoons with this logo, it reuses the color scheme of the “Abstract WB” logo, with a black background and purple W7 shield. This was only used in the 1967 release season.
 * Shorts produced in 1969 (Except The Great Carrot Train Robbery) remove the copyright info from the studio logo (instead moving it to the short's opening title card), and instead of the blue background remaining on before cutting to black at the end before the cartoon's opening titles appear, the logo now fades to black after the lines swirl away.
 * The 1969 short Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too had bad film deterioration to it on TV reruns in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the opening/closing logos had a dark red tint to them as a result. A restored version with the proper color scheme has been spotted on Boomerang UK. The unrestored version continues to be seen on Boomerang LA at the start of 2015.
 * On the 1968 short Norman Normal (based off the Paul Stookey song of the same name), the series logo is modified so on the top it has a rectangle reading "A WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS" and underneath the rectangle is "CARTOON SPECIAL" in the LT/MM font. Underneath that is the "TECHNICOLOR" rectangle. The opening to the cartoon's theme music (Paul Stookey's Norman Normal) plays under this logo instead of having its own music, and at the end, the Norman Normal song also plays over the standard closing animation.
 * Also on Norman Normal and on Hocus Pocus Pow-wow, the "W7" graphic is off-centered inside the shield during the studio logo.
 * A rare still variant was seen on The Door (an independent animated short not produced by Warner Bros. Animation), which merely consisted of the yellow W-7 shield on a blue background. This was at the beginning of the short before the opening credits. No music was used here.
 * Beginning with Hippydrome Tiger, the Vitaphone/Vitagraph legend is switched around: Looney Tunes are now branded as "A VITAPHONE RELEASE," while Merrie Melodies get the Vitagraph equivalent.
 * Some copies of the late-1960s redrawn-colorized Looney Tunes shorts from the late 1930s/early 1940s have a variation of this logo plastered onto the beginning, where it does not have the "TECHNICOLOR" rectangle on the bottom and has the second half of one of the 1935-1943 Looney Tunes opening themes playing under it, which does not fit with the logo at all. The ending has the Seven Arts closing plastered on, with either the ending of the cartoon's theme playing underneath (1935-1937) or the 1937-1943 closing themes, with Porky's "Th-the-th-the-th-the-that's all folks!" line coincidentally timed almost impeccably to match the bouncing of the "OO"s in the word "CARTOON". The redrawn print of Porky's Road Race with these logos use the 1967 opening theme music with the logo and the 1964 closing theme during the end titles.
 * Reruns of The Great Carrot Train Robbery in TV had the zooming line ommited. The DVD version restores the zooming lines.

 FX/SFX:  The lines, the wipe, the "OO", the W7 trace.

 Cheesy Factor:  The animation on the opening is a little smoother, but the closing "OO" animation now looks cheaper than before.

 Music/Sounds:  A newer variation of the same bizarre music used last time, which is generally less annoying, but stranger-sounding in most cases.

 Music/Sound Variants:  Here's a listing:
 * October 1967-September 1969: Small amount of instruments and rather cheap-sounding guitar "twangs" during the line animation. The closing music is the same as the 1964 version.
 * June 1968-August 1968: Heavily modified opening theme with guitar, horn and piano combo on the zooming line animation. Closing music is unchanged.
 * March 1969: Opening theme sparsely modified, sounding like a hybrid of the October 1967 and June 1968 themes. Closing music is unchanged.

 Availability:  Extremely rare (as of this writing); the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoon output was coming to a stop by this time. It is still saved on shorts of the period, but because many of them do not feature main/recurring Looney Tunes characters (such as Sylvester or the Road Runner) and are of a more inferior quality compared to the 1940s and 1950s shorts, they are currently not being shown when Looney Tunes are rerun on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. The "Norman Normal" variant is available, fully restored, on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 DVD release, the standard variant can be seen on the two "Bunny and Claude" shorts on the Looney Tunes Super Stars Porky & Friends DVD, and the early variant (unrestored) can be found on the 1967 short Merlin the Magic Mouse on the Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles DVD/Blu-ray set. The Door variant has been restored on the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One Blu-ray set. Reruns of these cartoons was seen on Boomerang Latin America in March-July 2015.

 Editor's Note:  Low, as the design is less "in-your-face", although on the closing titles, the redrawn colorized closings could startle a few people due to Porky's "That's All Folks" line accompanying the bouncing "OO"s in "CARTOON". Minimal for the Norman Normal variant, the song being used may surprise people expecting the standard theme music.

Background
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969. The sister series to Warner's Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies were originally one-shot musical cartoon shorts before gradually featuring recurring characters. By 1944, no distinctions existed between the two series. Originally produced by Harman-Ising Productions, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, and the newly renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons continued production until 1963. Merrie Melodies were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. Animation (then-owned by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts) re-assumed production for the series' final two years. The name is a play on Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, which is what the MM cartoons are based on.

1st Logo (August-October 31, 1931)
Nickname: "Foxy Titles"

Studio Logo: On a gray (or black) background, the words "WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." are shown, and below that, "& THE VITAPHONE CORP." is shown in a much smaller font, with "VITAPHONE" using "electric" style letters. Below that is a very small WB shield, and in script, "Present". Behind it there is the drawing of a flag, "waving" so it looks like it is in 3 sections. On the first one, "WARNER BROS." Appears, followed by the electric-letter "VITAPHONE" logo and on section 3, "PICTURES". Below that is the copyright information.

Series Title: Against a gray background, the words "MERRIE MELODIES" in white are seen at the top of the screen, with the M's made out to look like musical eighth notes. Foxy is banging on a white drum (mounted on his chest as if he were playing it in a marching band), which reads (in black text) "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING CARTOON PRODUCTION" and below that, "With ABE LYMAN'S BRUNSWICK RECORDING ORCHESTRA" and "LEON SCHLESINGER, PRODUCER". The cartoon's production number is seen to the right of the drum.

Closing Logo: Against a gray (or black) background, Foxy stands in front of his marching-band drum reading "A MERRIE MELODY" (in plain black text) and says "So long, Folks!" or "That's all, Folks!" Below it, in white, are the words "A HUGH HARMAN-RUDOLF ISING CARTOON PRODUCTION" and below that, in italic script, is "Licensed under Bray-Hurd Patents".

FX/SFX: None, except for the closing title.

Music/Sounds: "Get Happy" by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.

Availability: Extremely rare. This logo was only used on the first three Merrie Melodies. Two of them are spotted on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets, and one on another unknown set.

Editor's Note: None, but the "That's all, Folks!" announcement in the closing title may startle some.

2nd Logo (November 28, 1931-August 26, 1933)
Nicknames: "Piggy Titles", "Various Cartoon Character Titles"

Studio Logo: Same as the previous logo.

Series Title: On a BG of blurry musical notes and a staff, we see the Merrie Melodies logo at the top of the screen, along with the usual Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising credit. We see Piggy (or another cartoon-specific one-shot character) on the left. The following text is also different: below the Hugh Harman-Rudolf Ising producer credits, we see the text below which now reads "LEON SCHLESINGER, PRODUCER" and sometimes, below that, "WITH GUS ARNHEIM'S BRUNSWICK RECORDING ORCHESTRA", separated by a musical eighth note.

Closing Logo: Same as logo 1, except for Piggy (or a cartoon-specific one-shot character starting with You're too Careless With Your Kisses!) in place of Foxy. Also different, later in this logo's run: the words "Licensed under Bray-Hurd Patents" are replaced by "Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc." (the former words were also seen below this new block of text on a few cartoons from this season). The words "CARTOON" is removed.

FX/SFX: Same as logo 1.

Music/Sounds: Same as logo 1.

Music/Sound Variants:  3 versions where used:
 * October-November 1931: Same as logo 1.
 * December 1931-March 1932: Slighty sparsely modified opening.
 * April 1932-August 1933: Another modified opening now in a fast tempo.

Availability: Rare; a handful of cartoons with this logo can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 6 DVD release.

Editor's Note: Same as logo 1.

3rd Logo (September 30, 1933-November 20, 1935)
Nicknames: "B&W Titles", "Cinecolor/Technicolor Titles"

Studio Logo: Again, same as WB logos 1 and 2, though it may be shown against a background of musical notes. However, from 1934-1935, the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." with "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& THE VITAPHONE CORPORATION" line.

Series Title: On a background of musical notes, in the middle of the screen (with a drawing of the C diatonic musical scale), in a curved musical note font, are the words "MERRIE MELODIES". Below that, to the right, are the words "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER" and the production #.

Closing Logo: On a stage, we see a one-shot character featured in the cartoon just ending announcing "That's all, Folks!" (or "So long, Folks!"). To its left are the words "MERRIE MELODIES" in its musical-note font, and "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER". Below all that are the words "DISTRIBUTED BY WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC." (changed to "DISTRIBUTED BY WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS CORP." in 1934). An animated Jester closing logo was used in Those Beautiful Dames.

Variant: On 1934-1935 cartoons, the studio logo, series titles and closing titles are takes place in the red (later green) closed curtains.

FX/SFX: Same as logo 1.

Music/Sounds: "I Think You're Ducky" composed by Gerald Marks, Sidney Clare, and Charles Tobias. Starting with Honeymoon Hotel, the theme was shortened.

Availability: Rarely seen on TV, but thankfully, this can be found on some of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets.

Editor's Note: Low, thanks to the new Marks/Clare/Tobias score.

4th Logo (January 11, 1936-June 27, 1964)
Nicknames: "The Merrie Melodies Bullseye", "The Merrie Melodies Concentric Circles"

Studio Logo: At the top of the screen, curved, the word "VITAPHONE" appears in the same electric letter font used previously, and on the very bottom is the word "Presents" in script, followed by the copyright info. The background is the famous "bullseye". And the WB shield's most famous role is now cemented: it zooms in from a long distance in the center of the screen to a huge size.

Series Title: In the middle of the "bullseye" and on the same background, "MERRIE MELODIES" again appears in its curved, musical note font. It was changed in 1937 to look more square-cut, and by late 1940 was now in its famed distinctive font. Below it appears "PRODUCED BY LEON SCHLESINGER." In 1944, this was changed to "PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, INC." and then "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON." All cartoons from this era are in color, and thus would bear the additional legend "IN TECHNICOLOR" (appearing first inside of the rings varying color, size, and font from 1936-43 and then as a separate legend from 1944-48), "IN CINECOLOR" (some 1947-49 cartoons only), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1948-56), or "TECHNICOLOR" (1956-64).

Closing Logo: Starts with the "That's all Folks!" script being written out (or just "THE END" in plain letters, which were used on reissued prints from 1952-53), and then "MERRIE MELODIES" appearing at the top, curved as in the 3rd logo (and later refined). Near the bottom, either the Leon Schlesinger (or Warner Bros. Cartoons) text/Distributed (or Released) by WB Productions Corp. combo (1936-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1944-64) was used. From 1960-64, the titles bore the additional legend: "A VITAPHONE RELEASE". The background was the circles/bullseye used in the studio logo. The colors of the backdrop vary by year, but a list of the colors would be too long to put here.

Blue Ribbon Reissues: The Blue Ribbon program began in late 1943 with about 13 classic Merrie Melodies being recycled each release season for another go-round. These reissues featured revised title cards that cut out the original production numbers and screen credits. The Blue Ribbon series logo consisted of a red background with a blue ribbon on the left (hence the name) and the Grand Shorts award on the right. In the middle of the screen was the 1940-style Merrie Melodies logo, and below that appeared either "produced by LEON SCHLESINGER" (1943-44) or "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" (1945-61) as well as the following additional legends: "IN TECHNICOLOR" (1943-49), "COLOR BY TECHNICOLOR" (1949-58), "PRINT BY TECHNICOLOR" (seen on 1955-58 reprints of Cinecolor issues) or "TECHNICOLOR" (1958-61). It would then fade into either the title of the cartoon (1943-57) replete with MPPDA/MPAA and Cartoonists union bugs below, or cut to the original screen credits (1957-61). Most early reissues had the cartoon title fade-in on a dark background.

Variants: There were many variants of this logo, and here are some of them:
 * For the very first cartoons using the "bullseye", a logo similar to MM logo #1 appears, but the "WARNER BROS. PICTURES" line is shortened to only "WARNER BROS." with "PRODUCTIONS CORPORATION" underneath it, then the "& the Vitaphone Corporation" line. Also, starting in 1939, "VITAPHONE" was changed to "WARNER BROS.," and "Presents" was changed to "Present". From 1944 on (after Leon Schlesinger's retirement from the studio), it bore the additional legend "PICTURES, INC.".
 * Some older Merrie Melodies were re-released as part of the "Blue Ribbon" series, and lost their title cards as a result. The re-releases of the pre-1941 cartoons kept whatever music variation it had at the end (except for the 1935 cartoons that originally ended with the jester's sign-off), and any cartoon re-released before 1945 would retain its original end title as well. Most of the pre-1948 cartoons had the long version of the "Merrily" opening theme. The re-releases of the post-1948 cartoons had the short version at the open and retained their full credits. Oddly enough, however, one pre-1948 Merrie Melody from 1940 (which was reissued in 1953-54), Mighty Hunters, retained its original screen credits.
 * The most famous one of these, with Bugs Bunny relaxing on top of the shield as it zooms in. He chomps on his carrot for a few seconds, looks "angry" at the "camera", and then pulls down the next logo, the Merrie Melodies logo, like a window shade (Was also used in The Heckling Hare). The 1941-1945 variation has Bugs merely chomping on his carrot and then giving us an annoyed look, as it then fades to the Merrie Melodies logo.
 * The shield fades into Bugs Bunny's head. This was used only on Bugs Bunny cartoons.
 * On The Old Grey Hare (1944), an ending gag involving a stick of dynamite had a still "That's All, Folks!" title card fading up a the fuse was heard sizzling, and then the logo shakes violently to the sound of the dynamite exploding.
 * On The Major Lied 'Til Dawn (1938), it ends with a zoom-up of the elephant with him saying "That's all, folks!". The usual text fades in in white, with a much quicker and higher-pitched version of the end theme playing over it.
 * A still variation of the end title as seen on the 1953-54 season re-releases of the pre-1948 cartoons (with the early 1300 series production #s) had the phrase "THE END" (in the Mixolydian font) in place of the "That's all Folks!" script with the original closing music from whatever short's end title was originally there. This also happened on United Artists prints of these films as an attempt to remove any reference to Warner Bros.
 * Another still variation of the end title, this time with the usual "That's all Folks!" script, was spotted on the 1954-55 season re-release of the last 2-strip Technicolor-processed MM short, The Cat Came Back (Blue Ribbon #1361, originally released in February 1936).
 * On the 1961 short Nelly's Folly, this cartoon had a different end card, in which after the cartoon faded out with the title "THE END", it fades up to the Merrie Melodies text in purple, with "A WARNER BROS. CARTOON" and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" underneath it, on a black background. There was no music used here.
 * In 1995, Turner Entertainment created the infamous "dubbed version" re-releases of the pre-1948 LT and MM cartoons, which share the same end card ("Porky in a Drum" or the "Bullseye Circles" in either orange or red rings) with copyright text chyroned in below. Several of these are still seen on TV and the "Looney Tunes Golden Collection" DVDs.

FX/SFX: The "zooming shield".

Cheesy Factor: From January 1936 until August 14, 1954, the shield looked rather off-model and poorly drawn after it zoomed up.

Music/Sounds:  The abridged "I Think You're Ducky" from January-September 1936. Starting in late 1936, the music changed to "Merrily We Roll Along", arranged by Carl Stalling, first heard during Eddie Cantor's scenes in the 1935 short "Billboard Frolics". In mid 1937, the WB shield has its sound effect--the famous "twanging" noise created by Treg Brown. In 1945, this theme (the opening version) was shortened somewhat. The long version of the opening theme was used up through the Blue Ribbon reissues of the pre-1948 cartoons. Oddly enough, however, one Merrie Melodies short, "Horton Hatches the Egg" (originally from 1942) did air in syndication (at one time) with the Looney Tunes sig "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing at the end, which is standard for Looney Tunes re-issued as Merrie Melodies. Also, the Merrie Melodies short, "Tweety and the Beanstalk", released in 1959, features the Looney Tunes sig "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing at the beginning and the end.

Closing Logo Music: Until early July 1937, the last piece of score music heard during a certain short from the Merrie Melodies library played over in the end title. Starting in mid July 1937, an abridged version of the famous "Merrily We Roll Along" theme (first used as the main title music beginning with the short "Boulevardier from the Bronx" released Oct. 10, 1936) was heard in the end title.

Music/Sound Variants: Many. Here's a listing:
 * October 1936: Fast-paced opening theme more dominated with woodwinds, which may be scary to some.
 * November 1936-Janurary 1937: Similar to October 1936 theme, but has some of the more distinct traits in the theme now.
 * March- June  1937: Slower-paced version of above opening theme.
 * June-July 1937: Another similar variant of the previous one.
 * Late July-early September 1937: Opening theme now begins with the aforementioned (yet famous) "twang" sound. The closing theme version also makes its debut, on Plenty of Money and You, which also begins with the "twang" sound.
 * Late September 1937-early January 1938: Opening theme now has a largely woodwind-dominated arrangement, same went for the closing theme.
 * Late January-July 1938: Opening theme sparsely modified, same closing theme version as late September 1937.
 * August 1938-early January 1939: Opening theme now dominated by brass and strings. Closing theme is also adapted from the opening version beginning in November 1938.
 * Late January 1939-early September 1940: Second most well-known version of "Merrily We Roll Along." Heavily modified, first "perfected" version of the opening theme. Same closing theme as November 1938 version.
 * Late September 1940-March 1941: Opening theme modified somewhat, which sounds like a hybrid of the August 1938 and late January 1939 versions. Same closing theme as November 1938 version.
 * Early March 1941: Prototype of the 1941-1945 version of "Merrily We Roll Along". It was only heard in the closing of The Cat's Tale due to the Blue Ribbon reissue.
 * April 1941-March 1945: Most well-known version of "Merrily We Roll Along". Heavily modified opening and closing themes. The long version continued use through the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released prior to December 1948. There's a slighty different variation used in "The Wacky Wabbit" (1942) and its also heard in June to early August 1950 and Early March 1951 blue ribbon reissues.
 * May 1945-June 1955: Abridged opening theme, same closing theme as April 1941. Was still used for the Blue Ribbon reissues of cartoons originally released up to 1955.
 * May 1955-July 1964: Heavily modified opening and closing themes, this time arranged by Milt Franklyn. Sparsely used for Blue Ribbon reissues.

Availability: Was previously rare, but this logo is starting to make a quiet comeback. It can be seen on reruns of Merrie Melodies cartoons on Cartoon Network as of March 14, 2011. It was used on over a hundred Merrie Melodies shorts, including famous ones like What's Opera, Doc? and One Froggy Evening. They can be found on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets. The I Wanna Play House variant is ultra rare. The "THE END" reissue closing variant is not easy to find, as many cartoons that used it have had a "That's all, Folks!" closing plastered over during the 1990s.

Editor's Note: Low; it's a popular logo. However, it could be worse for some (esp. the "twanging" sound of the WB shield) who have heard this music playing in the AAP logo (referring to that company's reprints of the cartoons mentioned here) before the Merrie Melodies main title appears.

Color Backdrops
Comming Soon!