Background[]
Family Channel is a child/pre-teen oriented channel launched on September 1, 1988. Until 1999, Family Channel's programming format mirrored that of then fellow U.S. premium service the Disney Channel. Family's programming lineup consisted mainly of domestic and foreign-imported live-action and animated series (with many of the imported series produced by The Walt Disney Company's television production units – Walt Disney Television, and eventually Touchstone Television, now ABC Signature), feature films from the Walt Disney Pictures library (including a few Pixar Animation Studios films), classic films from other American and Canadian film studios, and specials (mostly concerts, documentaries and animated specials). The channel first aired original programs in 1999, the channel was originally owned by Astral Media, it was acquired by DHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2014, after Astral Media was sold to Bell Media, In 2015, Family Channel lost the rights to broadcast Disney Channel programs in Canada to Corus Entertainment, which launched Canadian versions of the 3 Disney Channels. Currently, the channel started airing DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures TV shows and films in 2016.
1st Logo (October 1, 1999-January 11, 2011)[]
Logo: On a black background, a teal circle with a white border and a black "f" inside it zooms in and flips a few times, forming dust. Then, the circle stops flipping and shakes, causing the dust to travel down below the circle and form the word "family" (in a bold, stretched out font and in white) below the circle.
Trivia: The then-new 1999-2011 Family Channel logo was designed by Pittard Sullivan (rebranded as Troika Design Group), who also did both the 1995 and 1997 Buena Vista Television and 1998 CTV logos with the now-defunct King World Productions, having its own logo.
FX/SFX: The spinning of the logo.
Variants:
- On some shows such as Franny's Feet, an in-credit version appears.
- On Season 2 of King, the logo is superimposed alongside Russell and his dog, Gus. A small disclaimer is displayed below.
- A still version appears on shows like the 2nd season of Hoze Houndz and Henry's World.
Music/Sounds: None, or the ending theme of the show.
Music/Sounds Variant: On Connor Undercover, we hear an electronic door-like sound.
Availability: Common. Seen on every show aired on Family in Canada from 1999 to 2011. In the USA, this logo appeared on some shows such as Franny's Feet on Sprout (now Universal Kids), Radio Free Roscoe on The N (now TeenNick), and Life With Derek on Disney Channel.
2nd Logo (January 12, 2011-2017)[]
Logo: On a black background, a light blue sphere flies in from the right and stops at the center. It then zooms out turns around to reveal a white "f" on the sphere. The logo also changes to a purple background. Many multicolored abstract shapes and spheres fly on screen as this happens. When the shapes and spheres fly in, the word "family" (in the same style as before) fades in below the sphere. The logo slowly zooms out until the logo is over.
FX/SFX: CGI animation.
Variants:
- In this logo's later years, the sphere would zoom out further and the byline "A DHX Media NETWORK" (with the 2010-2019 DHX Media logo instead of the text "DHX Media") fades in below.
- A still version exists on a white background with the "family" text in black.
- A still and in-credit variant exists, sometimes with blue text.
Music/Sounds: Usually the ending theme of the show, but sometimes plays some water splashing sounds or is silent.
Availability: No longer in use at all, but can be seen on The Next Step on Disney Channel Australia, Space Ranger Roger, 2017-18 episodes of The Deep, and Canadian prints of Degrassi: Next Class. (On Netflix, the latter had it plastered with the their own logo.) Used in tandem with the next logo.
3rd Logo (2015-2018)[]
Logo: The animation of the previous logo starts off the logo, however the sphere zooms out faster and further out, the "f" on the sphere looks bigger and it reveals a white background with some blue and white spheres floating in it. The word "family" (in the same font as before but in light blue) fades in below the sphere. Below that, a black line draws itself. Another black line followed by the text "ORIGINAL SERIES" in light blue drops down from the line.
FX/SFX: Again, all CGI animation.
Music/Sounds: A rhythmic, modernized synth tune.
Availability: Uncommon. This was seen at the beginning of every Family Channel original show and was used in tandem with the previous logo.
4th Logo (2018-present)[]
Logo: On a teal/white gradient sunburst background, we see a modernized version of the yellow circle with a white "f" on it, which zooms in and settles in the center of the screen, and the magical dust brings forth the black text "family" (in the same style and its corporate 1999 font from before) appearing below. Colorful circles appear behind the logo, as it shines.
Variants:
- There is an extremely rare variant where the logo is on a background of colorful circles. The words "ORIGINAL SERIES" is shown below in blue.
- On Lucas the Spider, the animation is different.
- Sometimes, the logo itself is blue, and the circles behind it are eliminated.
FX/SFX: The logo zooming and the circles appearing with all the magical effects shining throughout.
Music/Sounds: A "whoosh" sound and a chiming noise as the magical sparks became effectively enchanted in the logo's sequence. Sometimes, Lucas the Spider uses the ending theme.
Availability: Current. Seen on the final episodes of The Deep, as well as Chip & Potato and Lucas the Spider.
Editor's Note: An upgraded rendition of both the 1999 and 2011 logos, but this time, without containing a plastic feel. The logo's sequence produced a special enchantment during Canadian programming.