Background
Buena Vista International was the international distribution sub-arm of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. In the mid-80s, Disney signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. to release its pictures theatrically in some overseas territories such as U.K and Ireland,Benelux, Scandinavia, and parts of South America, where it did not have any current distribution arrangements with other companies. In 1992, Disney opted to end the joint venture with Warner and reactivated the Buena Vista International name to handle operations in countries that did not have any ongoing distribution arrangements. When the Buena Vista name was phased out in favor for the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Branding around 2007, international distribution in most countries went through the Disney branding and its subsidiaries (Miramax, Touchstone, etc). However, like United International Pictures, Buena Vista International is still active as in-name-only in some developing countries such as Latin America, and parts of South Africa.
1st Logo (1961-1983)
Logo: Same as the standard Buena Vista Film Distribution logo from 1953-1984, only "INTERNATIONAL, INC." replaces "DISTRIBUTION CO., INC.".
FX/SFX: None, same as the regular Buena Vista logo from 1953-1984.
Variants: See Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Music/Sounds: See Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Availability: Extremely rare. Was seen on international theatrical prints of Walt Disney productions from the era, but most current prints use domestic versions which means the standard U.S logo is seen instead. May be found of old 16mm or 8mm home copies of various films, or on early PAL VHS releases such as Return To Witch Mountain and The Moon-Spinners.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo (1993- )
Nickname: "Draws & Slides"
Logo: On a black background, a white line draws with the left & right drawing at the same time and then stops. The shiny grey text "BUENA VISTA" slides up the top half and "INTERNATIONAL" slides down the bottom half.
Variant: A still version exists.
FX/SFX: The line drawing and text sliding.
Music/Sounds: Usually silent, or the opening theme of film.
Availability: Rare. Seen on U.S. prints of It Runs in the Family after the 2001 MGM logo, on some Japanese NTSC DVDs of films such as Dragonfly, Kiss of the Dragon and Starship Troopers, on the English dubbed version of Die Wilden Kerle 2 (retitled as The Wild Soccer Bunch on the U.S DVD release), the Maverick Latino DVD of Tangos are for Two, the First Run Features release of Tuvalu, the Mexican Distrimax DVD of Ladies' Night and the UK DVD/Blu-Ray of The Spectacular Now. Was seen on international theatrical prints and trailers of Buena Vista/Disney films (before the main logos), as well as non-Disney productions they distributed such as Abandon, Bruce Almighty, Seabiscuit, Air Force One, Bringing Out the Dead, Snake Eyes, Face/Off, Cinderella Man and Turma Da Monica: Uma Aventura no Tempo, among others. A good amount of international home video/TV prints use U.S domestic versions, so this is no longer seen at the front. However, some versions use prints that had mandatory edits by the countries rating council for distribution, with an example being UK prints of Face/Off. Was also oddly seen on some French YouTube trailers for 2008-2009 Disney distributed films such as Ponyo. Makes a surprise appearance on U.S prints (including DVD, VHS and TV airings) of It Runs in the Family after the 2001 MGM logo. Also makes a strange reappearance on the UK DVD & Blu-Ray of The Spectacular Now.
Scare Factor: None.