Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment/Summary

Logo descriptions by Nicholas Aczel, Sean Beard, Kris Starring, WileE2005, TVBRobotnik, Sega3dmm, mr3urious, Ike Iguana and Gilblitz112

Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom and others

Revised info by V of Doom, Bob Fish, Mr. Logo Lord, Nathan B., UniversalxDisney172, MariluHennerArtist45, betamaxtheflyer, mr3urious and brichards85

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Background: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment began its life in 1978 through MCA DiscoVision as "Walt Disney Home Entertainment". In 1980, Disney content was made available on videocassette under its own division known as "Walt Disney Home Video". Prior to 1981, their first releases were only live action films such as Pete's Dragon and The Love Bug. Starting in 1981 with Dumbo, they began releasing their animated films and cartoons on video. The Walt Disney Home Video name was kept until 2001, when it was once again named "Walt Disney Home Entertainment". Starting in the late 1990s, the company began producing DVDs, and in 2006, they started to release Blu-ray discs. Since 2007, it is known as "Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment".

December 1978-June 25, 1986
Nicknames: "Neon Mickey", "Evil Mickey Mouse", "Mickey the Terrible", "The Many Outlines of Mickey", "Synchronized Mickey"

Logo: Here are the two standard variants of this logo:
 * December 1978-July 1984: On a black background, we see a large light blue outline of Mickey Mouse's silhouette appearing and then panning forward, leaving a trail of multiple outlines while rotating counterclockwise on its pivot. The outlines then start to change one-by-one to dark blue. As the text "Walt Disney" (in the original Disney signature script, as used on The Wonderful World of Disney) sketches on the screen in yellow, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to red. The outlines again one-by-one change to golden yellow (which quickly changes to light yellow) as the words "Home Entertainment", in yellow, zoom up and settle underneath. Last but not least, the Mickey outlines one-by-one change to green.
 * November 1981-June 1986: Nearly the same as the 1978 version, but with darker colors and smaller Mickey graphics, the "WALT DiSNEY" text in the current corporate "Disney" font, and with "HOME VIDEO" in a Handel Gothic-like font.

Trivia: The rotating "Neon Mickey" is a silhouetted image of the animatronic Mickey conductor that was used in the former Walt Disney World attraction "The Mickey Mouse Revue".

Variants:
 * On the original 1983 series of Disney’s Cartoon Classics, the videos featured a different variant of this logo. The animation plays as normal (the standard 1981 Walt Disney Home Video variant), but without any text animation, plus the music is time-compressed. Once the Mickey outlines become golden yellow, the screen "flips" over to another logo, which is a still shot of "WALT DiSNEY HOME VIDEO," with "The magic lives on…” over it. The Disney text is in its corporate font in red, while the other text is light blue. The only animation in this part is the "WALT DiSNEY" text, which has glitter effects all over it, and then the text flashes when the Cartoon Classics theme begins playing. Then we fade into the intro for the video series.
 * On the Walt Disney and You promo, there is a video freeze (all the outlines are dark blue, except for the outline facing us which is light blue), and the text "The magic lives on... WALT DiSNEY HOME VIDEO'' zooms in, along with a cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey (as seen on the box). An announcer says "Now available from Walt Disney Home Video".
 * On some Italian tapes, we see a light blue binder on a wooden table with the "WALT DiSNEY HOME VIDEO'' print logo and the cartoon version of Sorcerer Mickey on it (quite possibly the way the videos were packaged there). Then it opens to reveal the logo's animation, and the whole thing plays as normal. This is very rare.
 * There's an even rarer variant found on Welcome to Pooh Corner: Too Smart for Strangers and Where the Toys Come From. It is detailed on the Disney Channel Originals page.
 * On some, if not all, of Disney's 1978 theatrical releases, this logo appeared as a solid red Mickey with purple dashed outlines surrounding it, rotating a bit faster than the home video variant. The text "Congratulating Mickey Mouse on his 50th Birthday!", in white and in a fancy font, zooms in. After a few seconds, it zooms in towards the screen until vanishing from sight, and the top and bottom halves of the 1978 "Stripes" variant of the Buena Vista logo are wiped in over the logo, opening the film. This was seen on 1978 theatrical releases such as The Cat from Outer Space and Return to Witch Mountain (it is intact on current releases of the former, but is deleted from Anchor Bay releases).

FX/SFX: The Mickey outline spinning, the text appearing.

Cheesy Factor: Just about off the scale. Early computer animation effects abound (probably Scanimate), and a terrible color scheme, too. Also, the script font on the first variation is Ugly with a capital "U". The text on the 2nd variation zooms in very cheaply.

Music/Sounds: A loud orchestral fanfare, composed by Buddy Baker. On Buena Vista's Mickey's 50th Birthday promo, it is silent. The "Walt Disney and You" promo had the end theme playing over the regular animation before the video freeze.

Availability: Seen on Disney videos from the period. The best way to find it is to look for a Disney video (usually VHS, but some on Betamax, and also LaserDisc and CED Videodisc) with white clamshell packaging and the Sorcerer Mickey print logo on the cover. The early "Home Entertainment" variant from 1978 can be found on several early 80s tapes where the Sorcerer Mickey takes up nearly half the box (with red/orange lines in the center), but many tapes that have the "HOME VIDEO" variant from 1981 also use this artwork style. Later copies from 1985-1986 using the "HOME VIDEO" variant have a smaller Sorcerer Mickey on top of the border (surrounding the cover art). The versions on the Cartoon Classics series as well as the "Walt Disney and You" promo are extremely rare, since that promo was only seen between 1982 and 1986. The original releases with this logo from 1978-1979 can be seen on MCA DiscoVision releases with a print logo featuring Mickey Mouse switching on an old videodisc player with "Walt Disney Presents" underneath, but these are even harder to find than the VHS tapes! This logo was also present on the Disney Cartoon Parade CED Videodiscs released and manufactured by RCA in 1981, following the RCA SelectaVision fanfare on side 1, and by itself on the second side. It has also showed up following the RCA Selectavision Fanfare on various Disney feature films released by RCA from 1981-82. (From 1982 to 1986, Disney released CEDs under their own label.) It also showed up on the earliest prints of the Classics releases of Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, and The Sword in the Stone, but some later prints prior to October 1986 replace it with the first Walt Disney Classics logo from 1984.

Scare Factor: High. The bad quality of the Scanimated graphics, as well as the loud fanfare, might not sit well with some people. The intimidating, somewhat monstrous silhouetted Mickey isn't exactly that friendly-looking, either. Low for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant and "Mickey's 50th Birthday" promo variant.

Annoy Factor: Some to medium. Mickey and the fanfare can annoy some. Medium to nuts for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant and "Mickey's 50th Birthday" promo variant because of the silence.

Relax Factor: Mild to small. What would you expect a logo with a high scare factor, a high relax factor?! Large to XL for the "Walt Disney and You" promo variant and "Mickey's 50th Birthday" promo variant.

October 14, 1986-November 6, 2001, January 3-January 16, 2006
Nickname: "Sorcerer Mickey"

Logo: On a black background, we see Mickey Mouse dressed in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit from Fantasia, standing on a blue spotlight on a black background. The camera slowly begins zooming up to his hand as the stars and crescent moon on his hat flash one-by-one, and then a magic spark flashes and appears above Mickey’s hand. We zoom past Mickey as the spark begins swirling around and begins to write "WALT DiSNEY" in the corporate Disney font in red. As we zoom out, the words "HOME VIDEO", also in red and in the same font as before, zoom out and settle underneath "WALT DiSNEY". The logo "shines". The text may vary from a magenta color (which seems more common) to a regular red color (as in picture #1) or a vermilion color (as in the "ALSO FROM" variant picture).

Variants:
 * Sometimes, this logo is shown without Mickey, leaving a blank space until the spark writes out the words. This was seen on the 1990 VHS release of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
 * Sometimes, "presents" in white, or in all-caps "PRESENTS" in 3D red, fades in below. The "presents" version has it fading in with spark effects, while the "PRESENTS" variant has it simply fading in without sparks. On some rare occasions, this is seen blacked out or covered with a gray box on some tapes. The former variant appears on early tapes with this logo, as well as on Wonderworks episodes and several tapes of The Adventures of Spot. The 'PRESENTS' variant appears with a different font on the UK rental VHS of The Hunted.
 * On Disney's SAS: Collection of All-Time Favorites, the opening theme plays over the logo, which is sped up to accomodate it.
 * Sometimes, the "HOME VIDEO" text will be blacked out and either "Coming to Home Video", "Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" (only seen during the "Coming to Home Video" variation on the later 1992 video reprints of 101 Dalmatians), "Coming This Fall to Home Video" (without music; only seen on 101 Dalmatians and The Great Mouse Detective) or "Now on Home Video", in the Laser font, replaces it. The "Coming to Home Video/Coming on Video Cassette This Summer" variation, from 101 Dalmatians has Mark Elliot saying "Stay tuned for a preview of two new Disney classics coming to home video. Coming on videocassette this summer...", with a remix of the 1986 WDHV jingle. The "Coming to Home Video" variation later reappears on the 1992 prints of The Rescuers and Beauty and the Beast, with the 1989 Feature Presentation jingle. The Rescuers has a shortened version of the FP jingle with Mark Elliot saying "Coming soon from Walt Disney Home Video", while Beauty and the Beast has both the "Coming to Home Video" variation with the full 1989 FP jingle and Brian Cummings saying "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video", and the "Now on Home Video" variation, with Brian Cummings saying "Now on Walt Disney Home Video."
 * On tapes released in Spanish-speaking and Italian-speaking countries, "presenta", in red, fades in below, cheaply inserted. No spark effects are seen. The same thing happens on Swedish tapes with "présenterar" (sometimes without the acute accent), Finnish tapes with "esittää", and French tapes with "présente".
 * Sometimes, just the end of the logo is shown. On the 1992 print of The Rescuers, Mark Elliot says, "And available now on videocassette..." while the 1989 FP jingle plays. On the 1992 print of So Dear to My Heart, Mark Elliot says, "Now available on videocassette..." with the same FP jingle.
 * On some UK releases, the short version was used and shifted down in order to make room for "COMING SOON/ALSO AVAILABLE FROM". This has also been seen on the long version a couple of times as well. The text appears in a different font on the rental release of The Hunted. Another rare version of this logo appears on a blue background at the beginning of a VHS promo for Disney's Sing-Along Songs.
 * Wonderworks episodes, including the 1987 VHS of Anne of Green Gables, had the tail end of this logo (with "presents") segue into the Wonderworks logo.
 * There is a variant at the end of some Disney international promos where the logo shines twice.
 * There is a variant where the shining plays backwards after playing normally.
 * Sometimes, the logo fades out earlier than usual.
 * Sometimes the logo incorporates a computer-generated fade out.
 * On the 1991 VHS of Three Men and a Little Lady, we see the logo with the red words "ALSO FROM" on top, connecting at a fast speed. During this, Brian Cummings says "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video".
 * On some tapes, the Mickey part is replaced with the spark swirling around in slow-mo until the regular animation plays. This was seen on a VHS release of Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree.
 * At the end of some early 90s Disney VHS tapes from the UK such as A Walt Disney Christmas and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, there is red text above the logo which reads "LOOK OUT FOR FUTURE RELEASES FROM". A male voice-over says "Look out for future releases from Walt Disney Home Video."

Trivia: This logo was used in foreign countries from April 1987 to early 1995. Some of the last titles to have this logo were the Spanish-language version of Disney's Sing Along Songs: Friend Like Me, a rental tape of Man of the House from the UK, and a Brazilian VHS print of The Lion King. Also, in North America, while this logo was primarily used from 1986-1992, this became an alternate logo beginning in 1991 with the next logo until 2001, usually reserved for tapes of Disney's Sing Along Songs or releases of some television shows such as Doug. This is also an animated version of the WDHV print logo from 1984 until 1995.

FX/SFX: The spark flying and writing, the logo shining. The animation was produced by Hal Miles.

Music/Sounds: A low-key, gradually rising synth theme with a held-out synthesized tuba note at the beginning. On some UK releases, an announcer says "A world of magic which can be yours to treasure for a lifetime, from Walt Disney Home Video."
 * In its early years, the music was more synthesized.
 * There is an extremely rare short version with a different synth theme which incorporates "dings" that are perfectly synchronized with the logo "sparkling". This can be seen on a handful of early 90s re-releases, including Something Wicked This Way Comes and Babes in Toyland. An even rarer long version without the "dings" can be found on a few international releases.
 * Some UK tapes overlay whooshing and sparkling sounds over the music.
 * A few releases that use this logo before the previews have Brian Cummings saying "Coming from Walt Disney Home Video." This would be used for the short version on the 1991 video release of The Jungle Book, and for the long version on DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp and early prints of Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.
 * Also, on some PAL tapes, there's a high pitch that also exists. Some tapes in the UK use this version in tandem with the standard version, even on the same tape.
 * On an Australian PAL release of Pete's Dragon and on a demo VHS of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the logo is silent.

Availability: Quite common. Seen on home video releases of Disney shows such as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Disney's Sing-Along Songs, Dinosaurs, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, classic Disney cartoon collections, and Walt Disney Mini Classics. Also seen on a few Classics (including Robin Hood and The Rescuers Down Under) and Masterpiece Collection (including Melody Time) videos before the previews as well as the 1991 and late 1994 prints of The Brave Little Toaster. It also shows up on the 2006 DVD release of My Dog the Thief, which is most likely due to the DVD using a circa-1990s VHS tape master of the film, along with the 2006 DVD release of Disney's Sing Along Songs: You Can Fly at the beginning of the program (the 6th logo appears before the DVD previews). The variant with "presents" can be found on various tapes, including the 1991 and early 1994 VHS of The Brave Little Toaster, the 1986 release of A Tiger Walks, Canine Commando, The Unsinkable Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the mid 90s Schoolhouse Rock! tapes, as well as on a 2001 re-print of the 1994 re-release of Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (surprisingly following a late 1990 promo for the series); this was also seen on the original 1986 release of said title. The Mickey-less variant (without the blank space) can be seen on various early-mid 90s releases, including Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree and Frankenweenie (early-mid 1990s re-release). This logo was last seen on a late 2001 re-print of Disney's Sing-Along Songs: The Twelve Days of Christmas. Some tapes that have a smaller version of the Sorcerer Mickey packaging use this logo instead of the 1st logo, like A Tiger Walks. Earlier prints of the first 10 Masterpiece Collection titles like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Mary Poppins use this logo instead of the Masterpiece Collection logo (however, prints from early September 1994-onwards use the Masterpiece Collection logo). Also seen on prints of Disney's Favorite Stories. The high-pitched variant can be seen on the UK rental release of Hocus Pocus.

Scare Factor: Minimal; this logo is very clean and professional, compared with the predecessor. However, the deep synthesized chord at the beginning may get to some.

Annoy Factor: None to berserk: Depends on whether you hate Mickey Mouse or not.

Relax Factor: Large to XL: The music is pretty neat.