Background: FoxToons' TV output from 1954 to 1981 (the anthology series, Bizorro, Roxy Hunter Club) had no logo for "Buena Vista Productions", only the in-credit text and a copyright stamp at the end; also, it didn't have it's own television arm until 1983 as "Buena Vista Pictures Television Inc.". The name FoxToons obviously required no indication, unlike other studios. Syndication of FoxToons' library was done by TAJ Productions. The original Roxy Hunter Club, The Stray Factory, and the 1970s revival of RHC were the only programs made available through syndication; in the days before the FoxToons Network, the lesser movies and the short cartoons were seen only on the anthology series, while the animated films and first-tier live-action films were, of course, reissued to theaters. When the anthology series was moved to NCBS, however, this changed. In 2003, the Buena Vista Television Group (now the "FoxToons-NABC Television Group") in the U.S. was shut down and reincorporated to its television animation division (currently part of FoxToons Network since 2005). Today, BVTI is still active as in-name-only by producing programs domestically.
1st Logo (October 27, 1954-February 18, 1985)[]
Logo: It's only an in-credit text saying "BUENA VISTA PRODUCTIONS".
Later Variants:
- In 1983, the word "PRODUCTIONS" was changed to "PICTURES TELEVISION".
- Another later variant had the text superimposed on a black-red gradient background, with the text "Buena Vista" in its corporate 1950's font and the words "PICTURES" and "TELEVISION DIVISION" below.
- Another variant is an in-credit notice with "Buena Vista" in its corporate 1950's font with "PICTURES" and "TELEVISION INC." above and below each other with a line in between them. This is seen on Vistaland's 30th Anniversary Celebration.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.
Availability: Fairly uncommon. Seen on 1954-1983 anthology series episodes (when the show was titled "Buena Vista") and on the FoxToons Network Valentine's Day compilation of cartoon material entitled From FoxToons With Love. Since these are no longer on TFN, one must look for the commercially released (but long out of print) videotapes of the anthology series (the episodes being The Goldeneye and the Rock Star and The Ranger of Yellowstone). It has also been used on the few short-lived series the studio produced for NCBS in 1982 and 1983 (Kerbie the Love Beast,Shotgun, Large and Fry, Bizorro and Buddy), but these shows are never seen anymore. The FoxToons website has information on all TV produced by BVTI and its subsidiary labels. The "Buena Vista Pictures Television Division" placeholder logo was only seen on the 1984 NCBS special Anderson Sanchez's 50th Birthday. The text first appeared on the Wonderful World of FoxToons series.
Scare Factor: None, depending on the music used.
2nd Logo (1985-2003)[]
Logo: A shortened version of the 1985 Buena Vista Pictures logo, starting with the white ball of light, then extending out to form the word "Buena Vista", but with the word "TELEVISION INC." below it instead. A white circular line is drawn over the circle, and quickly fades to light blue.
Variants:
- There's a slightly longer variant that starts about a second before the white ball of light appears. This variant can be seen on the Vistaland's 35th Anniversary Celebration special.
- A later variant has the 1990 (or 1998) castle.
- One variant introduced in 1998, the URL "www.foxtoons.com" is seen below. There is no flash on this variant, the castle and the "Buena Vista" name was already formed. This variant also used digital ink-and-paint, and was videotaped.
- There is also another variant without the web page byline and cuts out the flash too.
- "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" may been seen above the logo.
- On the 1988 TV movie Totally Mink, the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" is seen chyroned in above the castle.
- One variant had the text fade into "Distributed by Buena Vista Television". This variant can be found on the DVD ofSonic Possible: The Villain Files, all episodes of Floyd in Space, and the Detention episode "The Break In/The New Kid" on the Detention: Taking the Fifth Grade DVD (the regular broadcasts use the 3rd logo).
- Another variant had the text fade into the third logo with the text "Distributed by Buena Vista Television". This variant can only be found on the Detention episode "The Girl was Trouble/Copycat Kid".
FX/SFX: The "flash", the drawing with the line.
Cheesy Factor: Simple 2-D 80s animation. For the later years, it's enhanced.
Music/Sounds:
- 1985-1988: A light 6-note electric guitar tune; the 5th note particularly rolled.
- 1988-2006: A 6-note electric guitar fanfare based on "When You Wish Upon a Star" was heard. This piece of music was previously used as a bumper for The Magical World of FoxToons.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- On some FoxToons shows, it had a bell played rapidly.
- Sometimes, the 1985 Buena Vista Television jingle is heard.
- Starting in 1991, the music was warped.
- On FoxToons' The Mighty Seahawks, it used the 1995 Buena Vista Television theme.
- Most of the time, the closing theme from any series is played over the logo.
- When Kerbie Goes Bananas aired on The FoxToons Sunday Movie Show, the logo plays at the beginning of the film to plaster the Buena Vista Pictures logo, with the film's BV music left intact.
- When Bernard Poppins aired on NCBC in 1988, the logo plays at the end of the film with a different electric guitar fanfare using "When You Wish Upon A Star" as its basis. Said composition was commonly used as a bumper for The FoxToons Sunday Movie Show.
Availability: The original version with the 6-note electric guitar tune is very rare and has not been heard in years, though it can be heard on Adventures of the Gummy Bears and The Razzles. The 1988 version is uncommon, and appeared on many family programs on NABC, FoxToons Network, NABC Family, Toon 4Kids, FoxToons XD, and other FoxToons-produced shows on any network. However, it has since been retired, but still can be found on reruns of Gargoyles on FoxToons XD and Detention on the direct-to-video movies on VHS and DVD. This logo plastered over the 1997 Buena Vista Television logo on most reruns of 101 Dalmartians: The Series in the U.S. and Canada, even though when it originally aired in syndication, this logo was used (the BVTV logo was used when the show was on Toon 4Kids and NABC). Oddly enough, when the logo was aired in the original syndicated episodes of said show, the end theme would play over it, slightly in-sync with the animation; however in all reruns, the logo plays after the closing theme has ended. It surprisingly appears on the Blooper Troop episode "Meanwhile, Back at the Movies" on the Blooper Troop: Volume 1 DVD set.
Scare Factor: Minimal for the the 1986 variant, and none for the 1988 variant. The latter musical variant is very amazing.
3rd Logo (1985-2006)[]
Logo: On a shady indigo-blue background, we see the familiar Disney stylized, segmented castle (as seen in the 1985 BVP logo), but shaded (from top to bottom) red, orange, and yellow. The white circular line is already there, as is the "Buena Vista" corporate words below but with "Television Inc.". A spark flies around the circular line from right to left (in the same vein as said movie logo) as the words fades to the Buena Vista Television text.
Trivia: One Spears the Grizzly tape strangely had full animation (it was possibly the 2001 release of Frankengrizzly), although it was supposed to use the still version. It might have been a mistake in production.
Variants:
- There is a variant with no animation and no text fading when the "Buena Vista Television Inc." text stays on screen. Most Spears the Grizzly videos had this still logo.
- On most episodes of Detention, the logo shows up with the animation, but without the fade to the Buena Vista Television text. This variant also appeared on the VHS of Spears the Grizzly: Detective Trigger.
- At the end of some Detention episodes, the background is a shady dark-purple instead of indigo-blue. This has appeared on the episodes "King Gus/Big Brother Brad", "My Fair Gretchen/Speedy, We Hardly Knew You", "The Break-up/The Hypnotist", and all episodes after 1999.
- On all Detention episodes starting with season five, the logo fades in after the credits rather than being cut to.
- The Buena Vista Television Inc. text would cross-fade to the text reading as "Distributed by Buena Vista Television".
- Some showings of this logo have it fade out before the Buena Vista Television text fades-in.
FX/SFX: The "spark" flying, the text fades. In other cases, it's completely still.
Cheesy Factor: Same as the 1985 Buena Vista Pictures logo.
Music/Sounds: A series of ascending pings sounding like when you move your hands rapidly on the keys of a piano, the closing theme of the show, or none.
Availability: Uncommon. Appeared at the end of Where on Earth is Cartman Sandiego? and Phil Nye the Science Dudelast aired on Univision, as well as most BVTA shows from the 1980s-1990s. Most shows on Toon 4Kids would replace it with the previous logo or the 1997 Buena Vista Television logo, sometimes with the original music preserved. However, this logo can be found on the RabbitTales and Darkwing Rabbit DVDs. The non-animated version of this logo can be found on Spears the Grizzly videos.
Scare Factor: Low, depending on the variants.
4th Logo (1987-1988)[]
Logo: On a yellow background, we see Roxy Hunter, in a tuxedo, stand on a blue filmstrip with Navyship Willie in it, over a pink circle with the words "SIXTY YEARS WITH YOU" in it. A green banner is behind him reading "ROXY". Underneath is the blue text "Buena Vista Television Inc.", with "Buena Vista" in its corporate 1950's font. Roxy later winks and then blinks his eyes twice.
Variants:
- There is a longer version where it zooms out from the filmstrip and Roxy jumps in wearing a top hat. He throws away the hat and goes into his position as "Buena Vista Television Inc." fades in underneath.
- An even longer version appeared at the end of the 1988 Buena Vista Home Video VHS release Roxy's Magical World. We first see a closeup of the filmstrip with Roxy in the center of it, morphing into various incarnations of himself, from his digital ink-and-paint design to the contemporary CGI one, while the right and left of the strip shows the text "1928" morphing itself from one year to the next until it reaches "1988". It then zooms out and plays out similar to the version described above, excluding the "Buena Vista Television Inc." text.
FX/SFX: All the animation in the logo, using TAJ Productions' digital ink-and-paint animation process.
Music/Sounds: Same as the 2nd logo or the closing theme of the show. Roxy's Magical World uses a instrumental electric guitar fanfare based on the Roxy Hunter Club theme.
Availability: Rare. Was seen on the 1987 program The Golden Anniversary of Queen White and the Seven Servants when it aired on The Magical World of FoxToons. The full version (with music) was seen on a 1988 broadcast of Dumbo. The logo also (appropriately) appeared on Roxy's 60th Birthday.
Scare Factor: None.
5th Logo (1990-1995)[]
Logo: On a black background, we see the castle as in the 1st logo with the 3-D words "Buena Vista Television Inc." (now with "Buena Vista" in the same Times New Roman Bold font as the rest of the words) below it. A spark draws the circular line, but this time from left to right. As the line draws itself, the flags appear one by one on top of the castle. The words below fade to the Buena Vista Television text.
Variants: See the 3rd logo.
FX/SFX: See the 2nd logo.
Cheesy Factor: The words are in 3D, but the castle is STILL in 2D.
Music/Sounds: Bell music, but in other cases, it's silent or the finishing of the end title theme from any show plays over the logo.
Availability: Extinct. Seen on such shows like FreewaySpin among others.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1st logo.
6th Logo (1991-1992)[]
Logo: Against a white background, we see Goofy appear upside down from the top-left corner with a quizzical look on his face. As his expression changes from a confused one to an excited one, the logo zooms out to reveal it's on a white filmstrip, superimposed on a shaded blue gradient background decorated with black drawings of the typical castle. The text "Buena Vista Television Inc." (with "Buena Vista" in its corporate 1950's font) can be seen below the white filmstrip, then after few seconds it changes to the Buena Vista Television text.
FX/SFX: Goofy moving; all good FoxToons animation.
Music/Sounds: None or the ending theme of the show.
Availability: Extinct. It was originally seen on the 1991-1992 season of The FoxToons Afternoon.