Gracie Films/Summary

Background : Gracie Films is the film and television production company of James L. Brooks, established in 1986. Their first production was The Tracey Ullman Show, an early hit for FOX. They soon produced Broadcast News, another hit. They began to produce hit after hit such as Big, The Simpsons, Say Anything, and The War of the Roses, making them one of the most successful independent studios of all-time.

1st Logo (April 5, 1987-January 25, 2009)

Nicknames : "Shhh!", "The Dark Cinema", "Shush Lady", "The Shushie Lady," "The Scream and Organ on Halloween Simpsons", "That Strange Logo at the End of the Simpsons", "The Cinema", "The 'Shhh, din-din-din-din-din din din-din!' Logo", "Be prepared for a movie, everybody!"

Logo : We start off in a cinema, with lots of chattering going on. Then, after a few seconds, a female silhouettethat is close to us makes a "shush" gesture. Then, the audience becomes silent, the lights dim, and the projector comes on and casts a blue light to the screen, and then these words in white appear:

GRACIE--FILMS Variants :
 * The Simpsons has featured many alternate variations of the logo over the years, with different music, sound effects, and/or dialogue. One recurring variation is on Halloween episodes, where a woman screaming is heard followed by a creepy pipe organ playing the theme. For a full comprehensive list of variations, see The Simpsons Archive's Alternate Credits Guide.
 * The only visual variation of this logo on a Simpsons episode was in the episode "Last Tap Dance in Springfield"
 * On the webisodes of The Critic, the logo is in the center of the screen, is brighter and blue, and is still. This variant uses the end theme of the show.

FX/SFX : The hand raising, the lights dimming, and the company name fading in. Cheesy Factor : The animation of the lady's hand is very choppy.

Music/Sounds : The sound of an audience muttering and murmuring is heard, followed by a shushing sound effect, and then a 9-note electric piano theme with drums composed by Jeffrey Townsend. The tune is very similar to the refrain of "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, but since this logo predates that song, this is most likely a coincidence. Music/Sounds Variants :
 * On Halloween episodes of The Simpsons, starting with II, a woman screaming very cowardly replaces "Shhhh!" and that same tune played on a creepy organ that basically matches Halloween very much. Numerous other alternate versions of the theme have been used over the years (see "Variants" above). Earlier Halloween shows lack some parts of the audio.
 * On most 1992-present episodes of the Simpsons that use the standard closing theme, we often hear the final note of the music play right as the logo starts, often drowning out the murmuring.
 * Some episodes might use a soundbite from the episode, or use a voiceover from a character in that episode that plays alongside the jingle. Others have sound effects and/or voiceovers completely replacing the jingle.
 * On some Simpsons episodes that feature songs during the closing credits, such as "Dancin' Homer" and "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", the closing song continues playing over the Gracie Films logo. This includes some syndication prints that shift the closing music so it starts after the last commercial break, causing the music to end over the logo.
 * A low pitch version was used at the end of a specific Simpsons episode.
 * On many Simpsons episodes since Season 4, the logo is shown without the murmuring (you hear the "Shhh!" right after the last note of the closing theme, which is heard right at the start of the logo). With the show's cable debut on FXX on August 21, 2014, new syndication prints which are cropped (with some parts stretched) to fill the 16:9 screen now feature two credit cards for the Spanish Language audio track inbetween the copyright card and the Gracie Films logo, so now this is not seen on the new syndication prints. However, this is preserved on the DVD releases, existing local syndication prints, and on Simpsonsworld.com (cable subscription to FXX required; 4:3 option must be selected).
 * An even shorter version is found on the short-lived Phenom, which cuts off the first two notes along with the murmuring and "Shhh!".

Availability : Common. Can be seen commonly on all episodes of The Simpsons from "Simpsons Roasting On an Open Fire" to "Lisa the Drama Queen" in local syndication and on home video. It also be seen on The Simpsons Game on the Nintendo DS and XBOX 360 ports only. Lesser known shows that have this include What About Joan',' 'Sibs, Phenom, 'The Tracy Ullman Show (which was the first show to have this logo), and The Critic'. The webisode variant can be found on The Critic webisodes on The Critic: The Complete Series box set. Scare Factor : Minimal to high, due to the sudden darkness and the woman shushing. In addition, the logo is usually followed by an "In Association With" screen which may unnerve some viewers. High to nightmare for the Halloween version; mainly due to the scream and organ. The "LTDIS" variant is raised to medium if you are not expecting it. Some of the other alternate versions may also catch you off guard if you're not expecting to see them. The scare factor is none to low for those used to seeing the original version and the variations. Nonetheless, it's a widely popular logo, especially with Simpsons fans.

2nd Logo (September 16, 2003, July 27, 2007, February 15, 2009- ) Nickname : "The Improved Shhh"

Logo : Same as the previous, but it is much more clearer with slightly better animation that looks like it was done in Adobe Flash.

Variants : *The PS2/Gamecube/Xbox/PC game The Simpsons: Hit & Run uses this logo, but with smoother animation and with flickering effects as the screen lights up. The Simpsons Game has the variant below on all ports of the game except for the ones for the Nintendo DS and XBOX 360. FX/SFX : Same as before.
 * The Simpsons Movie has this logo appear at the very end of it, but it looks like a slightly rushed attempt at recreating the original logo, as the background of the lit up screen room (apart from the "shushing woman") appears to be a photo still of the original logo, which fades into a Flash-esque animation with a darker blue light and a smoother font.
 * The Simpsons has featured many alternate variations of the logo over the years, with different music, sound effects, and/or dialogue. One recurring variation is on Halloween episodes, where a woman screaming is heard followed by a creepy pipe organ playing the theme. For a full comprehensive list of variations, see The Simpsons Archive's Alternate Credits Guide.
 * On the mobile game The Simpsons Arcade, the logo is brighter and blue, has a hideous black outline, and is up against an arcade monitor.
 * On The Longest Daycare, this logo is completely different. At the start of the logo instead of the lighted movie theater, the background is pitch black. The audience (including the "Shhh!" lady), is on a teal outline. The rest of the logo continues as normal. The finished logo looks like the print logo.
 * This logo also made an appearance at the end of the Family Guy episode "The Simpsons Guy" (crossing over with The Simpsons), with Peter Griffin singing along with the theme "And now, the show is o-ver now!"
 * The Simpsons episode "Angry Dad: The Movie" uses a very abridged version of the jingle, composed of the first four notes and the final note. There is no "Shhh!" in this version due to Ricky Gervais' dialogue going over half of the logo.
 * The Simpsons episode "Homer the Father" features a low-tone variant of the jingle.

Music/Sounds : Same as before. On The Longest Daycare, instead of the piano theme, we only hear a timpani roll.

Availability : Common. First seen on The Simpsons Hit & Run video game, and on all episodes of The Simpsons starting with "Take My Life, Please". The Halloween variant can be seen on all Treehouse of Horror episodes starting with XX. It also currently plasters over the previous version on FXX's airings of pre-2009 episodes of The Simpsons (the audio variants heard with it over time are left intact, and play under this logo as a result.) The other variants, however, you could find with the guide above. Also seen at the end of The Simpsons Movie.

Scare Factor : None, thanks to the improved animation. However the Halloween variant may be elevated to medium to high due to the creepy sound effects. All the other variants are none to low for those who aren't expecting them. Minimal to low for The Longest Daycare variant, the timpani roll could get to some people, but it is none if you are used to it. Still, this is a widely popular logo with Simpsons fans.