Sonar Entertainment/Summary

Background : Sonar Entertainment was founded in 1979 by film and television producer Robert Halmi, Jr. The company was originally known as Robert Halmi, Inc. before being renamed to "RHI Entertainment" in 1990. It owns the Laurel and Hardy and the Little Rascals/Our Gang films (after acquiring Hal Roach Studios and home video distributor Cabin Fever Entertainment). Hallmark Cards brought RHI in 1994 and renamed it to "Hallmark Entertainment". After Hallmark spun off the company in 2005, the RHI name was restored. In 2011, Halmi stepped down as president and CEO of RHI, and a year later RHI was renamed once again to its current name in March 2012, with Stewart Till taking over as the new CEO.

1st Logo (1983-1988)
Nicknames : "RHI Block", "Transforming RHI"

Logo : On a black background, we see the letters "RHI" coming from the bottom of the screen toward the center, rotating; when in place, they separate to show the name "Robert Halmi Inc.", then the text "A" above the name and "Production" below it fades in.

Byline : Sometimes, the logo would have a copyright byline under the name, depending on the movie.

Variants :
 * The color of the text can vary depending on the production.
 * Sometimes, "in association with" fades in along with the other text.

FX/SFX : The logo turning, and the text fading in.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Very rare. Seen on some Robert Halmi-produced TV shows and movies during the period, such as The Phantom of the Opera and Choices. The logo would be later plastered by the 3rd logo on 1990s prints of these movies, or any of the Hallmark, the 4th and 5th logos, or the Sonar logo on current prints of these movies.

2nd Logo (1990-1991)
Nickname : "Zooming RHI"

Logo : On a blue-black gradient background, we zoom up from a rotating "RHI" in a Star Wars-like fashion from the bottom of the screen and stops in the center. Below it is the silver words "entertainment, inc." in a plain font appeared.

Variant : On some shows like Dracula: The Series, "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" appears above the logo.

FX/SFX : The zooming of the logo.

Music/Sounds : A majestic orchestral tune with a flourish at the end. On Dracula: The Series, the end theme plays over the logo.

Availability : Rare. Seen on TV movies like Bump in the Night, and the TV show Dracula: The Series. Replaced by the next logo, the Hallmark logo, the fourth logo or the Sonar logo on recent reruns of TV movies.

Editor's Note : None.

3rd Logo (1991-June 13, 1997)
Nickname : "Flipping RHI"

Logo : On a black background, the large blue CGI letters "RHI" flip from the top and land in the middle of the screen, with a red line and "RHI Entertainment, Inc." appearing below.

Byline : In later years, "A Division of Hallmark Entertainment" appears under the logo.

Variants :
 * A B&W variant exists.
 * Sometimes, the text "in association with" in white (or hot pink, in the case of Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack) appears above the logo.
 * At the beginning of some programs, "Presents" is added under "RHI Entertainment, Inc.". A Spanish version of this variant exists.
 * Sometimes, the text under the red line reads "An RHI Entertainment, Inc. Production".
 * On Scarlett, a simple drawing of the logo is superimposed over the ending credits.
 * A filmed variation appears on the TV movie The Secret (1992) and Robinson Crusoe (1997).
 * Sometimes, the words "Distributed by" appears above the logo.

FX/SFX : The logo turning.

Music/Sounds : A five-note bombastic orchestral tune, ending in a four-note melody. Also it would appear silent. One time, this logo appeared with the same music from the Qintex Entertainment logo, due to this logo plastering it on Lonesome Dove.

Availability : Rare.
 * It's seen on the first season of Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack on DVD, the last two seasons of Kids Incorporated and on TV movies reran on Hallmark Channel and ION.
 * RHI slapped this logo onto its prints of Hal Roach films and Robert Halmi productions in the early 1990s, and it can be seen on the Little Rascals VHS collections released by Cabin Fever Entertainment and on Me-TV.
 * Recently, the fifth logo plastered this on Lonesome Dove, leaving again Qintex's jingle intact.

1st Logo (October 8, 1994-Late 1996)
Nicknames : "The Stamp", "The Plate", "Hallmark Plate"

Logo : A gold plate with letters to "HALLMARK" backwards fills the screen, then as the camera backs away it's revealed to be a stamp that, well, stamps a silver rectangle as the image turns around. The rectangle continues to turn around until it stops in the center, revealing that it reads:

 ________________ HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT

all against a plain black background. There are lines above and below the name.

Variant : Sometimes, "Distributed By" or "In Association With" would fade in after the logo forms.

FX/SFX : The "stamp".

Music/Sounds : None or the ending theme.

Availability : It's seen at the end of Hallmark-owned shows whenever they are reran.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo (1995-2004)
Nicknames : "The H Ribbon", "Hallmark Ribbon"

Logo : On a black background, a grey-silver line comes in and zooms under the screen, as the camera follows it; we then see the same silver ribbon twirling around and moving about. We then fade out, and we see a stylized H made of ribbons, which is surrounded by a box zooming up on us, while "HALLMARK ENTERTAINMENT" in a grey Times New Roman font moves up the place itself under the box. When it's completed, the logo zooms back from us a bit.

Variants :
 * A more common short version exists.
 * A filmed version exists.
 * Sometimes, "Distributed by" would be seen on top.
 * There is a variation where "in association with" was seen above the logo. This was seen during the final two seasons of The Secret World of Alex Mack.
 * At the beginning of some TV movies, "PRESENTS" appears below.
 * Occasionally, the copyright stamp is omitted.
 * There is a version where the logo appears on a dusty light yellow background. The border is smaller while the text is much larger. Both of them are in black.

FX/SFX : The zooming.

Music/Sounds : The closing theme of the show, silence, or a short fanfare.

Music/Sound Variant: Sometimes used the early 8-note orchestral fanfare.

Availability : Rare. It was also seen on TV shows and movies made by Hallmark Entertainment of the era.
 * It's seen on The Secret World of Alex Mack and Farscape, which was retained on DVD releases.
 * This can be seen on the TV movie Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, followed by the first NBCUniversal logo.
 * On recent prints of Alice in Wonderland (1999 TV movie), the Sonar Entertainment logo plasters this one.
 * The IAW variant make a surprise appearance was seen a French airing A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (has a 2012 Sonar Entertainment logo instead), before the AB Distribution logo.
 * The IAW variant was seen a CBS airing Mama Flora Family and Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story and final two-seasons The Secret World of Alex Mack on Nickelodeon.
 * As for the distribution variant was seen a CBS airing TV miniseries Titanic.

Editor's Note : It's a well-crafted logo for its time, though some might mistake the H ribbon as resembling an X.

3rd Logo (2004-June 17, 2006)
Logo : On a black background, we see the Hallmark Entertainment text from the previous logos with nothing whatsoever.

FX/SFX : The fade-in and out.

Music/Sounds : None or the end theme of the show/TV movie.

Availability : Seen on various TV movies Hallmark made from 2004 to 2006, most notably The Poseidon Adventure and FarScape: The Peacekeeper Wars.

Editor's Note : None.

1st Logo (Early-Late 2006?)
Logo : On a black background, we see the white text:

     RHI ENTERTAINMENT

in the same font as the Hallmark Entertainment logo.

FX/SFX : None, a simple fade-in and out.

Music/Sounds : None, or the end theme of the TV movie.

Music/Sound Variant: Sometimes, use the early Hallmark Entertainment theme.

Availability : Seen on various RHI TV movies from the era before being plastered by either the next logo or Sonar logo on current prints. It was kept intact on Desolation Canyon as well as all episodes of Finley the Fire Engine. This logo plasters Hallmark logo or the previous logos on recent prints of TV movies from the 90s.

Editor's Note : This is likely a placeholder before the next logo came out.

2nd Logo (Late 2006?-January 2, 2012)
Nickname : "Blue Lights"

Logo : On a black background, we see spotlights moving around. Then more spotlights appear, and the same RHI Entertainment logo from before partially appears. Then a blue light appears. The spotlight moves, revealing the text:

     RHI ENTERTAINMENT

in the same font as before, only in chrome. The spotlights then continue moving, and then blurs, and a blue light appears from the bottom.

Variant : A short closing version exists.

FX/SFX : The lights revealing the text.

Music/Sounds : A five note piano tune combined with some small whoosh sounds, followed by an orchestral finish, or the ending theme of the movie. This plasters the previous logo on Lonesome Dove but still keeps the Qintex music.

Availability : Uncommon. It's seen on Hallmark Channel TV movies. The longer version is very rare.

1st Logo (2012-2017)
Logo : On a black background, we see several rapidly colored lines zooming out from us. Then, as we zoom out, we see them, at a angle forming the word "S O N A R". Once the word shifts into the place, the word "E N T E R T A I N M E N T" fades in below, and we several thin colored lines appear vertically above and below the words.

FX/SFX : The colored lines moving, zooming out, etc.

Music/Sounds : Either the 2-note synth choir theme, or just a silence.

Availability : Common. Plasters the RHI logo on almost every new print of their movies. Can be seen on an Starz Encore airing of Legend of Earthsea and Sonar's TV shows from 2012 to 2017.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo (2017-present)
Logo : On a black background, we see the text "SONAR" in the same font as before with "ENTERTAINMENT" below "SONAR" zooming in.

Variant : On Go Away, Unicorn!, the text "PRODUCED & DISTRIBUTED BY:" is above the logo. Plus, it is inverted, and "SONAR" is in blue. A copyright notice appears above the logo.

FX/SFX : The zooming in.

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

Availability : Seen on current Sonar shows since 2017. Plasters the RHI or Hallmark logos, or the previous logo on recent prints of their material.

Editor's Note : None.