Alliance Atlantis Communications, Inc. (Canada)

''Logo descriptions by MiaFan2010, Nicholas Aczel and Sean Beard Logo captures by Eric S., V of Doom, and Subzero917 Editions by MiaFan2010, V of Doom and Eric S. Video captures courtesy of EnormousRat''

Background : Alliance Atlantis was founded in 1998 as a merger of Alliance Entertainment Corporation and Atlantis Communications, both which were founded in 1985. Alliance Atlantis was acquired by CanWest and an affiliate of Goldman Sachs in 2007. The television distribution arm of the company was transferred to Echo Bridge Entertainment, while the movie business was relaunched as Alliance Films. Eventually, Alliance Films was acquired byEntertainment One.

1st Logo

(1998-1999)

Nickname : "Chyron" Logo : It's just the same as the final Atlantis logo, only "ALLIANCE" and a red line appears above "ATLANTIS". Sometimes the URL website "www.atlantis.ca" would appear under the logo.

Variant : On eXistenZ, the logo and music are in slow-motion. FX/SFX : Same as the final Atlantis logo. Music/Sounds : Same as the final logo of Atlantis. Availability : Rare. It appeared on The Famous Jett Jackson and NightMan, among other shows. Still survives on middle seasons of The New Outer Limits on Chiller and local syndication and the 1999 film, eXistenZ. Scare Factor : None.

2nd Logo (1999-2000)

Nicknames : "The Metallic A", "The Frontier of the Australian Logo", "The Alliance A"

Logo : Same the 1991 Alliance logo, but with the word "ATLANTIS" appearing below "ALLIANCE".

Variant : On French-language theatrical films, "VIVAFILM" appears under the rest of the text.

FX/SFX : Same as the 1991 Alliance logo. Music/Sounds : Same as the 1991 Alliance logo. Availability : Extremely rare. The logo can be seen the 1999 Canadian VHS of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the 2000 Canadian VHS releases of Animal Farm and Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and is also said to have been found on the 1999 Canadian VHS release of The Care Bears Adventures in Wonderland. It also appears on some Alliance Atlantis distributed DVDs such as Robocop 1 & 3, Friday, and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Scare Factor : Same as the 1991 Alliance logo.

3rd Logo (1999-2005)

Nicknames : "Gold-Black A", "Alliance Atlantis A", "The Alliance Atlantis Boomerang" Logo : We see a cloudy gray sky with snow-capped mountains of gold-black metallic gemstones below. Two of the gemstones streak into the air, positioning themselves to the shape of a long isosceles triangle, in a nod to the Alliance logo. The image fades into the boomerang-shaped Alliance "Metallic A" but with the bottom left gold and the top right black. The text "ALLIANCE ATLANTIS" is seen below. A spark flies from the bottom to the top.

Variants :

FX/SFX : The flying spark, the CGI. Music/Sounds : An orchestral tune which sounds similar to the 1996 Tyne Tees Television Channel 3 North East logo.
 * As with Alliance logo #2, only the short version is used on TV shows, but the long version opens some made-for-TV-movies.
 * The company's URL www.allianceatlantis.com sometimes appears below the name.
 * On French-language theatrical films, the word"VIVAFILM" appears under the rest of the text. Vivafilm Ltée. is now called Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm and is their French-Canadian division.

Music/Sounds Variant:  An alternative fanfare exists on some films where some of the music is replaced with a few reverbrating notes, in different pitches. Availability : Common. Can be seen on older Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes on DVD, among other shows. Also seen on a few VHS tapes from the era including Little Bear: Dreams & Make Believe, Red Scorpion 2, and Scary Movie 3. Scare Factor : Low. This logo is not all that scary.

4th Logo (2004-2007)

Nicknames : "Golden A", "Alliance Atlantis A II", "The Alliance Atlantis Boomerang II"

Logo : On a dark cloudy background with a yellow light (a la NBC Universal) with a couple yellow lines, we see the "A" logo from before, in various close-ups. We see part of the text "ALLIANCE ATLANTIS" (or for French-Canadian releases, "ALLIANCE ATLANTIS VIVAFILM") in Wide Latin, rotating, and finally we zoom out as the logo and text rotate into place, and then turn to face the screen. A spark appears on the bottom-left, and moves to the top and brightens. Copyright info fades in below. Variant : The short version has the logo in place and shining.

FX/SFX : The spark, the sky moving.

Music/Sounds : A majestic fanfare.

Availability : Uncommon. Still seen on episodes of the CSI franchise from 2004-2007 on local syndication and A&E, and all episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2004-2008. Also seen on Alliance Atlantis DVD releases of the period. A sped-up PAL version can be found on the Echo Bridge Home Entertainment DVD release of Prom Night (1980), as the print used appears to be sourced from a PAL master converted into NTSC. Scare Factor : Low.