Walt Disney Television/Summary

Background
Disney's TV output from 1954 until 1981 (the anthology series, Zorro, Mickey Mouse Club) had no in-credit text for "Walt Disney Productions" at all, only a copyright stamp at the end of the closing credits; also, it didn't have its own television arm until 1983 as "Walt Disney Pictures Television". The name Disney obviously required no indication, unlike other studios. Syndication of Disney's library was done by SFM Entertainment. The original Mickey Mouse Club, The Mouse Factory, and the 1970s revival of MMC were the only programs made available through syndication; in the days before the Disney Channel, the lesser movies and the short cartoons were seen only on the anthology series, while the animated films and first-tier live-action films were, of course, re-issued to theaters. When the anthology series moved to CBS however, this changed. In 2003, the Walt Disney Television Group (now the "Disney-ABC Television Group") in the U.S. was shut down and reincorporated to Walt Disney Television Animation (currently part of Disney Channel since 2005). Today, WDT is still active as in-name-only by producing programs internationally.

=== 1st Logo (March 23, 1975, September 26, 1981-February 18, 1985) ===

Logo : It's only an in-credit text saying "WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS".

Later Variants :


 * In 1983, the word "PRODUCTIONS" was changed to "PICTURES".
 * Another later variant had the text superimposed on a black-red  gradient background, with the text "WALT  DiSNEY " in the corporate font and the words "PICTURES " and "TELEVISION DIVISION " below.
 * Another variant is an in-credit notice with "WALT DiSNEY" in its corporate font with "PICTURES" and "TELEVISION" above and below each other with a line in between them. This is seen on Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : The closing theme of the show.

Availability : Fairly rare. Seen on 1981-1983 anthology series episodes (when the show was titled "Walt Disney") and on the Disney Channel Valentine's Day compilation of cartoon material entitled From Disney 'With Love. Since these are no longer being reran, one must look for the commercially released (but long out of print) videotapes of the series (the released episodes being 'The Hunter and the Rock Star" and "The Ranger of Brownstone"). It may or may not have been used on the few short-lived series the studio produced for CBS in 1982 and 1983 (Herbie the Love Bug, Gun Shy, Small and Frye, Zorro and Son), but these shows are never seen anymore. The Billcotter website has information on all TV produced by Disney and its subsidiary labels. The "Walt Disney Pictures Television Division" placeholder logo was only seen on the 1984 CBS special Donald Duck's 50th Birthday. The text most likely first appeared on the Wonderful World of Disney episode "Welcome to the World". === 2nd Logo (September 14, 1985-September 28, 2007)===

Nicknames : "The Castle", "Blue Castle", "Magic Kingdom", "Disney", "Disney Castle"

Logo : A shortened version of the 1985 Walt Disney Pictures logo, starting with the white ball of light, then extending out to form the word "W ALT  D iSNEY " but with the word "TELEVISION " below it instead. A white circular line is drawn over the castle. Two main variants of this are known:
 * 1986–1998: The logo is in the style of the 1985 variant of the then-current movie logo, but the background is royal blue and the castle is in cornflower blue.
 * 1998-2007: The logo is in the style of the 1990 variant of the then-current movie logo, but the background is a grayish aquamarine. The URL "www.disney.com" is seen below, although sometimes this was omitted. Usually there is no ball of light in this variant with the castle and the "WALT DISNEY" name already formed, but in an extremely rare case from 2000, the text and the URL appeared from a flash of light, no longer from a ball of light like the 1986 variant. This was also used with the Buena Vista International Television logo.

Variants :
 * There's a slightly longer variant that starts about a second before the white ball of light appears. This variant can be seen on the Fluppy Dogs pilot movie and on Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration.
 * The very first version of this logo used a shortened version of the 1985 movie logo until 1986.
 * A later variant has the 1990 (or 1998) castle.
 * One variant, introduced in 1998, has the URL "www.disney.com" below. The URL Appears With The Text.
 * There is a variant that cuts out the flash. This was also used with the Buena Vista International Television logo although it also appears on it's own.
 * A variant with "In Association With" appearing above the castle was seen on original airings of the short-lived Sidekicks.
 * On the 1988 TV movie Totally Minnie, the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" are seen chyroned in above the castle.
 * On some episodes of Smart Guy on Disney+ and on season 2 of Brotherly Love, a small copyright note is shown below, on international prints, this would fade into the 1995 Buena Vista International logo.
 * On the 1994 special Disney's Greatest Hits on Ice 1994, "Produced by", in American Typewriter, is shown above the castle, while "in association with" in the same font, is shown below.
 * A later variant, introduced in 1998, uses a grayish aquamarine  background. Also in this variant, the ball of light no longer appears, instead the whole text is formed by just a flash of light (from where the ball of light formerly appeared).
 * One 2001 episode of House of Mouse on Disney Cinemagic in the UK had a slowed down variant of the 1997 logo. This was most likely because the episode was a U.S. print and it was a plastering job turned sloppy. This also happened on an episode of Lloyd in Space on the same network.
 * A still variant exists on the 1986 TV special Disney's Living Seas.
 * On some shows, the 1985 variant crossfades to a still version of the 1998 BVI logo. This was used on international prints of Teamo Supremo.
 * On some shows, the 1998 variant may fade to the 2000 BVI logo still animating.
 * On Digital HD and Blu-ray remastered prints of the 1994 Aladdin sequel The Return of Jafar, the 1986 logo is "matted" (or cropped) to 1.78:1 widescreen. Soon, the logo itself being cropped (but color-corrected and upscaled) will be expected to be found on current 16:9 HD remastered prints of Dinosaurs and the made-for-TV movie, Toothless on Disney+.
 * One variant had the 1998 variant fade out, followed by the 2000 BVI logo.
 * On one episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, the arc fades away after it's drawn, just like the movie logo at the end of both Fantasia 2000 and The Emperor's New Groove.

FX/SFX : The "flash", the drawing with the line.

Cheesy Factor : This is really a nostalgic logo, although the 1986 version of the logo had a slight "gate weave" effect (which was abruptly due to the film stock's stability).

Music/Sounds :
 * September 14, 1985-1988: A light 6-note synth tune, the 5th note particularly rolled. This logo was played on the Roland Alpha Juno keyboard (which the patch was Bell-Chimes #1).
 * 1987-September 28, 2007: A six-note orchestral fanfare based on "When You Wish Upon A Star" was heard. This piece of music was previously used as a bumper for The Magical World of Disney.

Music/Sounds  Variants :
 * On seasons 3 and 4 of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, a short woodwind/string tune based off that season's closing credit theme is heard. This was also heard on later prints of these seasons with the 1986 and 1990 logos. It can also be heard during the end credits of certain episodes of the show's VHS releases due to the credits format used on them.
 * On Disney+ prints of Hercules: The Animated Series, and on Disney Channel and Toon Disney airings of both DuckTales (also on the iTunes airings as well) and some episodes of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, it had a series of pings due to it plastering the 3rd logo (see below).
 * Sometimes, the 1985 Buena Vista Television jingle is heard.
 * In 1988, a warp speed version of the 1987 theme was introduced.
 * On Disney's The Mighty Ducks, it used the 1995 Buena Vista Television theme.
 * Most of the time starting in 1986, the closing theme from any series is played over the logo, generic music when a series was shown on CBS from 1994 to 1996 and ABC starting in 1998 (mainly on TV specials) or the logo can be completely silent.
 * When Herbie Goes Bananas aired on The Disney Sunday Movie, the logo plays at the beginning of the film to plaster the Buena Vista logo, with the film's BV music left intact.
 * When Mary Poppins aired on CBC in 1988, the logo plays at the end of the film with a different fanfare using "When You Wish Upon A Star" as its basis. Said composition was commonly used as a bumper for The Disney Sunday Movie.
 * On Disney's Christmas Fantasy on Ice, an alternate, more majestic and fast-paced 6-note fanfare, also based on "When You Wish Upon a Star", was used.

Availability : The original version with the 6-note synth tune is very rare and has not been heard in years; while the 1987 version is very common, and is seen on lots of family programs on ABC, Disney Channel, ABC Family (now Freeform), Disney XD, and other Disney-produced shows on any network. Today, it's not used anymore; it survives on PB&J Otter, Disney's House of Mouse, Fillmore!, The Weekenders and early episodes of Kim Possible and Lilo & Stitch The Series, when any Disney network decides to run it. Currently, it is seen on Gargoyles on Disney XD and Recess on the direct-to-video movies on VHS and DVD. It also appears at the end of the Aladdin sequel The Return of Jafar, even on Blu-ray copies with the logo being cropped to 16:9 widescreen. This logo plastered over the 1997 Buena Vista Television logo on all reruns of 101 Dalmatians: The Series in the U.S., even though when it originally aired in syndication, this logo was used (the BVTV logo was used when the show was on ABC). Oddly enough, when the logo was aired in the original syndicated episodes, the end theme would play over it, slightly in-sync with the animation, however in all reruns, the logo plays after the closing theme has ended. It's mostly seen outside the US. It surprisingly appears on the Goof Troop episode "Meanwhile, Back at the Ramp" on the Goof Troop: Volume 1 DVD set.

Editor's Note : This is a very iconic logo and a favorite of many, especially due to the beautiful music used from 1987 onwards.

=== 3rd Logo (Fall 1986-2007) ===

Nicknames : "Abstract Castle", "Multicolored Kingdom", "Disney Castle II", "Rainbow Disney Castle"

Logo : Same as the 1st Buena Vista Television logo, except instead of the usual text, we see the "W ALT  D i SNEY " corporate words below but with "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">Television " in the same font. Instead of going from left to right, a spark flies around the circular line from right to left (in the same vein as said movie logo) as the words fades to the Buena Vista Television text.

Trivia : One Winnie the Pooh tape strangely had full animation, although it was supposed to use the still version. It might have been a mistake in production.

Variants :
 * There is a variant with no animation and no text fading when the "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">W <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">ALT  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">D <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">i <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">SNEY  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">Television " text stays on screen. Most Winnie the Pooh videos had this still logo.
 * The "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">W <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">ALT  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">D <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">i <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">SNEY  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">Television " text would cross-fade to the text reading as "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Distributed By Buena Vista Television  (USA) or "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc.   (Internationally)".
 * Some showings of this logo have it fade out before the Buena Vista Television text fades-in.
 * There is a variation where the background is black, the castle and curved line do not appear, and only the text appears and does not fade. This was used on the 1995 made-for-TV remake of Escape to Witch Mountain.
 * Occasionly the logo animates, but the text doesn't fade.

FX/SFX : Same as the 1st Buena Vista Television logo.

Music/Sounds : Same as the 1st Buena Vista Television logo. There was also a variant where it used different-sounding pings (sounding like a super high-pitched version of the theme), the 1985 synth theme or the 1988 long and warp-speed themes from the previous logo (both likely due to plastering jobs), the closing theme of the show as was the case of most shows (such as Raw Toonage, Marsupilami, and other Disney shows, starting in 1988), or none as was the case with the DVD's and Disney+ prints of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

Availability : Rare. Appeared at the end of Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? and Bill Nye the Science Guy, and before every Disney movie shown on TV outside the US. Most shows on Toon Disney (now "Disney XD") would replace it with the Walt Disney Television or then-current Buena Vista logo, sometimes with the original music preserved. However, this logo was found on the DuckTales and Darkwing Duck DVDs. The non-animated version of this logo was found on Winnie the Pooh videos, except for the last 2 releases, because the long 1997 Buena Vista TV logo is seen. Surprisingly, the version that fades to the Buena Vista International text appears at the end of the DVD print of the season 2 Home Improvement episode "I'm Scheming of a White Christmas". Most reprints plaster this with the previous logo (the 1986 or 1997 version with or without URL). TVP1 airings of Sidekicks also used this logo. As of 2021, the logo can still be seen on Disney+ airings of older shows.

=== 4th Logo (1987-1989) ===

Nicknames : "Sixty Years of Mickey with You", "Happy Birthday, Mickey!"

Logo : On a <span style="color:rgb(255,255,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">yellow  background, we see Mickey, in a tuxedo, stand on a <span style="color:rgb(0,0,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">blue  filmstrip with Steamboat Willie in it, over a pink circle with the words "SIXTY YEARS WITH YOU" in it. A <span style="color:rgb(0,255,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">green  banner is behind him reading "MICKEY". Underneath is the <span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">blue  text "<span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">WALT  <span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">DiSNEY  Television", with "W<span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">ALT  D<span style="font-weight:normal;color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;">iSNEY <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:15.2px;">" in the corporate "Disney" font. Mickey later winks and then blinks his eyes twice.

Variants :


 * There is a longer version where it zooms out from the filmstrip and Mickey jumps in wearing a top hat. He throws away the hat and goes into his position as "<span style="color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">WALT  <span style="color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">DiSNEY  Television" fades in underneath.
 * An even longer version appeared at the end of the 1988 Disney video Mickey's Magical World. We first see a closeup of the filmstrip with Mickey in the center of it, morphing into various incarnations of himself, from his original design to the contemporary one, while the right and left of the strip shows the text "1928" morphing itself from one year to the next until it reaches "1988". It then zooms out and plays out similar to the version described above, minus the "<span style="color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">WALT <span style="color:rgb(46,140,255);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;"> DiSNEY  Television" byline.

FX/SFX : Mickey taking his position. The circle and banner zooming out on the long variant.

Music/Sounds : The 1988 theme from the 2nd logo or the closing theme of the show. Mickey's Magical World uses an instrumental synth orchestral fanfare based on the Mickey Mouse Club theme.

Availability : Rare. Was seen on the 1987 program The Golden Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when it aired on ''The Magical World of Disney. The full version (with music) was seen on a 1988 broadcast on Dumbo''. The logo also (appropriately) appeared on Mickey's 60th Birthday.

===5th Logo (1990-1996, 1998) ===

Nicknames : "Abstract Castle II", "Multicolored Kingdom II", "Disney Castle III", "Rainbow Disney Castle II"

Logo : Same as the 2nd Buena Vista Television logo, except the text below reads "Walt Disney Television" (now with "Walt Disney" in the same Times New Roman Bold font as the rest of the words) below it. The words below fade to the Buena Vista Television text.

Variant : A still version was used on the 1996-97 season of The Disney Afternoon, this faded into the 1995 Buena Vista Television logo.

FX/SFX : Same as the 2nd Buena Vista Television logo

Music/Sounds : Same as the 2nd Buena Vista Television logo.

Availability : Very rare. Seen on such shows like TaleSpin (including its original pilot), among others and also used on 1994 re-runs of The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh in syndication. It was also seen on the Christmas episode of Bonkers titled "Miracle at the 34th Precinct", and surprisingly appears on the Goof Troop episode "Calling All Goofs" on the Goof Troop: Volume 2 DVD set.

=== 6th Logo (September 5, 1992-September 3, 1993) ===

Nickname : "Goofy Filmstrip"

Logo : Against a white background, we see Goofy appear upside down from the top-left corner with a quizzical look on his face. As his expression changes from a confused one to an excited one, the logo zooms out to reveal it's on a white filmstrip, superimposed on a <span style="color:rgb(0,55,222);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">shaded blue  gradient background decorated with black drawings of the typical castle. The text "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">W <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">ALT <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">D <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">i <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">SNEY  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">Television " (with "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">W <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">ALT  <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18.6667px;font-weight:normal;">D <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">i <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">SNEY " on its corporate font) can be seen below the white filmstrip, then after few seconds it changes to the "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">Distributed By Buena Vista Television " text.

FX/SFX : Goofy moving, all good Disney animation.

Variant : There is a longer version where we see Goofy's legs first, then the legs, walk off, and the animation continues as normal.

Music/Sounds : None or the ending theme of the show.

Availability : Extinct. It was originally seen on the 1992-1993 season of The Disney Afternoon.

=== 7th Logo (December 17, 2008) ===

Nicknames : "The CGI Castle", "CGI Magic Kingdom", "Disney Castle IV", "CGI Disney Castle", "Cinderella Castle", "Ultra Majestic Castle", "The Happiest Place on Earth"

Logo : We see the completed current 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo, with "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">STUDIOS " instead of "<span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Times,TimesNewRoman,serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:normal;">PICTURES ".

FX/SFX : Same as the movie logo.

Music/Sounds : TBA.

Availability : Rare. Only seen on A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.