Imagine Entertainment/Summary

Background : Imagine Entertainment is a film and television production company that was founded in November 1985 by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer after the success of the movie Splash. Imagine's first motion picture release was Like Father Like Son in 1987, but no logo was used until The Burbs in 1989.

==1st Logo (February 17, 1989-April 12, 1996)==

Nicknames : "The Rising", "Shining Star", "Reflection"

Logo : On a black background, we see a star flashing, revealing a reflection of the shiny chrome-blue text "IMAGINE", on rippling water, and then the word "IMAGINE" rising out of the water and then the word settles above its reflection. The words "AN" above the "IMAGINE" text and "ENTERTAINMENT" in spaced-out letters, to fit the length of "IMAGINE" with "PRESENTATION" below, appear respectively, in a Serif Gothic font. The name "IMAGINE" then sparkles three times, one sparkling side was on the center of the "G", one sparkling side was on the top right of the "N", and one sparkling side was on the bottom of the "M".

Trivia : It is worth mentioning while this is the first logo used for theatrical releases, Imagine debuted its logo a year earlier for their television unit for the failed pilots Channel 99 and Smart Guys with metallic bronze text and a water background, with no company name other than the "IMAGINE" text.

Variants :
 * Another variation used the term "PRESENTS" below the logo. This can be seen on Closet Land. Strangely, this is shown at the very end of Cry-Baby.
 * At other times, "FILMS" appeared sandwiched in between the company name, in spaced-out letters to fit the length of "IMAGINE". This was seen on Backdraft, HouseSitter, Far and Away, and Cop and a Half. Also, the text is bolder, and "FILMS ENTERTAINMENT" appears in light blue.
 * At the beginning of Take Me Home Tonight, instead of the next logo below, this logo is used (owing to the film's 1980s setting) and after the text fades in, it slows down.

FX/SFX : The star shining, the word "IMAGINE" rising and the word "IMAGINE" sparkling.

Music/Sounds : Silent. In other cases, it has jazz music played over this logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the TMHT variant, the edited version of the opening song "Video Killed the Radio Star" starts over it.

Availability : Seen at the end of movies from this company from the era. Most of their films during this era were distributed by Universal Pictures including Parenthood, Kindergarten Cop, Apollo 13, Opportunity Knocks, CB4, Greedy, The Cowboy Way, Fear, The Dream Team, The Paper, The 'Burbs and others. The "FILMS" variant can be found on the aforementioned movies above. Don't expect to see this on Willow (which MGM and Lucasfilm Ltd. distributed), Vibes and both My Girl movies (which were released through Columbia Pictures), Clean and Sober (which was released through Warner Bros.), The Doors (which was a co-production with Carolco Pictures, distribution by Tri-Star Pictures), Like Father, Like Son (with was released through TriStar Pictures), Boomerang (which was released through Paramount Pictures), Sgt. Bilko or the first two Problem Child movies (despite being distributed by Universal, although the print logo appears on publicity material for Sgt. Bilko). Fear was the last movie to use this logo. Although the company introduced and began using the logo below, this continued to be used as the print logo until 2020.

Editor's Note : The logo has the most impressive animation, even for 1989 standards.

==2nd Logo (June 28, 1996-)==

Nicknames : "The Drop", "Ripples", "The Dripping"

Logo : On a black background, we see a waterdrop appear at the very top of the screen, prior to dropping. It then disappears before revealing rippling blue water. The water appears to be shone by a spotlight, before it slowly reveals that it is actually the word "IMAGINE" in a orange-yellow gradient color being reflected inside. The text waves for a few seconds before finally settling into view. Shortly after that, the word "ENTERTAINMENT", in white and in spaced-out letters, to fit the length of "IMAGINE", appears underneath it.

Variants :
 * Sometimes, the spotlight is either very difficult to see or absent on the logo.
 * A still version appears on the Curious George TV series and Rush, as well as at the end of The Dark Tower.
 * On American Gangster and Changeling, a black-and-white version is used.
 * On Katy Perry: Part of Me, the logo is sped-up.

FX/SFX : The drip, the ripples forming the word "IMAGINE". This was done by Intralink Film Graphic Design.

Music/Sounds : A calming orchestra piece composed by James Newton Howard. Sometimes, the movie's opening theme is used.

Availability : Current. It was first seen at the beginning of The Nutty Professor (1996), and has been used on all Imagine releases since. The spotlight-less variant also made its debut on 8 Mile. This was also seen at the end of Ransom.

Editor's Note : A good upgrade to the previous logo, but with much better results, and nice music from James Newton Howard. This logo is actually quite calming.

==3rd Logo (September 13, 2020- )==

Nicknames : "Enhanced Drop", "The Drop II", "Ripples II", "The Dripping II"

Logo : Same as the 2nd logo, but enhanced. The drop drops faster and falls longer, the water and ripple effects are updated to look more realistic, the "IMAGINE" text is more 3D. The logo ends on a dark grey/black gradient background as "ENTERTAINMENT" (in a Gotham font) fades in below.

Variants :
 * The logo can be cut-short or sped-up.
 * On documentary productions, the "ENTERTAINMENT" text is replaced with "DOCUMENTARIES".

FX/SFX : The drip, the ripples forming the studio's name. Excellent and well crafted CGI from Imaginary Forces.

Music/Sounds : The 2nd logo's theme, or the opening theme of the film.

Music/Sound Variants : The short version has the Imagine Television Studios theme (the last 2 notes of the movie theme).

Availability : Brand New. The "Entertainment" version appeared on a montage on the company's website, while the "Documentaries" variant first appeared on Dads. It will also likely appear on upcoming films throughout the future.

Editor's Note : A beautiful update to the 2nd logo, and as calming as ever.