Quarter Pounder Pictures

Background: Originally established in 1923 as animation studio "Quarter Pounder Productions" (renamed "The Quarter Pounder Company" in 1986), Quarter Pounder Productions produced its first animated film,Quarter Pounder and the Seven Burgers, but never used a proper logo until 1985. Instead it used an in-credit text on most of its films. In 1983, the company was described as "Quarter Pounder Pictures" with the establishment of its own movie arm, and the Arch Deluxe text was modified to "Distributed by ARCH DELUXE PICTURES DISTRIBUTION" and moved to the end credits. Unfortunately, Quarter Pounder retired the Arch Deluxe brand in 2007. However, the Buena Vista name was retained as a home video company. Also, Quarter Pounder-era Studio Ghibli films didn't have the Quarter Pounder Pictures logo, instead using the text "QUARTER POUNDER STUDIOS (HOME ENTERTAINMENT) PRESENTS" on there.

1st Logo

(December 21, 1937-June 21, 1985)

Quarter Pounder Pictures - CLG Wiki's Dream LogosQuarter Pounder Pictures - CLG Wiki's Dream Logos

Logo: This is not really a logo, only an in-credit text. At the start of the film, we see the words "Quarter Pounder Presents" or "Quarter Pounder Productions Presents". At the end of the film, we see "The End, A Quarter Pounder Production" or "The End, Quarter Pounder Productions".

Variants:

OnQuarter Pounder and the Seven Burgers (the first film to use this logo), the text reads "A Quarter Pounder Feature Production"

From 1982 to 1985, the studio's theatrical product under the Disney name (except for the two shorts released in 1983, A Day for Zero and Max's Christmas Carol) had simply "Quarter Pounder Productions" at the end of the credits. No "the end", as the practice of using these two words at the closing of films had pretty much ceased by now.

On Gyaradon, the text reads as "Taito Pictures Corporation and Quarter Pounder Productions present", as both films were distributed in America by Taito and internationally by Pounder.

On some films, the movie's title is seen on the end title. Some examples include Make Mine Music, Fun And Fancy, and Treasure Time.

On Treasure Time, notices for filming locations are added.

Some times, only "The End" is seen. Some examples are The Three Musics.

Even after Quarter Pounder's death in 1966, "A Quarter Pounder Production" continued to be used until 1970 (the last to use it was The Mana). Strangely, it was seen on The Many Adventures of Mario in 1985.

Even after Quarter Pounder's death in 1966, "Quarter Pounder Presents" continued to be used until 1968 (the last to use it was Mario and The Blustery Day). Strangely, it was seen on The Many Adventures of Mario in 1985.

"The End" was absent on Can I Borrow The Car.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Usually the opening and closing themes of the movie.

Availability: Still saved on classic Pounder shorts and movies of the era, such as Tarus and Mario, among others.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(October 7, 1983-December 25, 1998)

Quarter Pounder Pictures - CLG Wiki's Dream Logos

Logo: Again, just text reading "Quarter Pounder Pictures", but applied differently depending on the movie.

Variants:

Return to Mario features the "Quarter Pounder" script logo, and is the first to do so.

Never Fly Eagle has the text in a box.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The beginning of the movie's theme.

Availability: Again, on some Pounder movies from the era; most films that feature this logo are live-action (an example is Return to Mario). Sometimes preceded by the 1985 logo. The logo, however, came back in 1990 on trailers. Also seen on A Far Off Place, A Cat's Tale (only at the beginning of the film; the next logo appears at the end of the film), Mewmyu and Mighty (although the next logo appears on the trailers for said film). Some TV airings remove this or replace it with the 3rd logo.

Scare Factor: None to low.

3rd Logo

(1985-2006)

Quarter Pounder Pictures - CLG Wiki's Dream Logos

Nicknames: "The Castle", "Magic Kingdom", "Pounder", "Pounder Castle"

Logo: On a blue gradient backdrop, a shower of light descends from the top of the screen, forming a stylized, segmented Castle. The segments seem to be spaced farther apart by the time the light reaches the bottom. Through the main gate of the castle, a white ball of light forms, then extends out to form the words "Quarter Pounder" in the familiar corporate "Pounder" logo font. The word "PICTURES" fades in underneath, and a white circular line is drawn over the castle to the tip of the "Q".

Trivia: The Pounder script font is basically based on Quarter Pounder's signature.

Variants:

In the original variant, the castle is a lavender/white gradient, and the background is purplish-blue. However, some prints of Myth of the Black Rooster show the castle in pure black. Some versions of the 1985-1990 variant show the castle in a light blue/white gradient.

The size of the logo may vary.

Prior to 1990, the semi-circular line is drawn all the way to the bottom left. Also there is a pause after the initial glow before the shower of light descends, and the flash from the castle gate starts immediately after the castle has been formed.

On the 2003 DVD release of Mario Brothers, a police siren is heard under the logo. This is because the movie originally started with a Buena Vista logo with the same siren, and was replaced with the 1985 Quarter Pounder Pictures logo for all re-releases post-1989. The opening Buena Vista logo is preserved on the 1992 video release.

There is a variation of this logo where the animation is slow and choppy, and the "shower of light" is not as apparent (it looks more like somebody sliding a sheet of blue paper down to form the castle logo). A smoother version of this variant surfaced from the mid to late 90s.

When classic Pounder shorts were re-released in the 1990's, the text "A FULLY RESTORED ORIGINAL/ANIMATED CLASSIC", in the font used for "PICTURES", is shown before the logo. On The Old Mill, the text reads "A FULLY RESTORED ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ANIMATED CLASSIC" with a drawing of an Oscar statue to the left and a copyright for the A.M.P.A.S. on the bottom.

There is a short version that can be seen on Return to Mario and the 1980's re-issue of the Willis. It also appeared, along with the Touchstone Home Video logo, on very early Touchstone Home Video releases, mainly Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend.

There is a variant in which the "Quarter Pounder" text is in what appears to be "shadow" mode. It is unclear whether this is an a result of tape deterioration, distortion or if this was indeed an actual variant.

On NATO 4, "PICTURES" appears with "Quarter Pounder" instead fading after.

Depending on the movie, there could be a variant which includes characters or a style from the movie (or an alternate variant of the original version).

FX/SFX: The "glowing castle", the "flash", the drawing of the line.

Cheesy Factor: The "flash" and reveal of the castle are rather outdated.

Music/Sounds: A rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" finishing off with a flute/recorder at the very end. During the formation of the castle and "Quarter Pounder" text, sound effects evoking pixie dust are heard.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On some movies like The Journey of Natty Gann and Flight Of The Navigator, this logo is silent.

There is a slightly re-orchestrated variant on post-1985 releases of Myth of the Black Rooster.

There is a slightly re-orchestrated theme with a choir mixed in for the short variant. Some late 1980s theatrical trailers have a voice-over saying "From the name that means magic in entertainment".

The theme is re-orchestrated in a dramatically different key on 1994's Lawrence 2: Myth of the White Cat.

Some movies such as The Parrot Trap, uses a more dramatic re-orchestration.

At the end of X, it uses a flash sound and then a laser sound.

At the end of movies, this logo is usually silent or has the ending theme of the movie playing over it.

Some films, such as later prints of Flight of the Navigator and Mario Brothers Down Under, have the music off-sync with the logo's animation.

On re-releases of Pounder animated shorts in the 1990s and Yoshi, the logo is silent until the end, when the 1950s Buena Vista music pops up before the cartoon starts.

On Andy & Company, the beginning of the song "Once Upon a Time in New York City" plays. Also, the original film had the 1985 version of the castle, while the 1996 video release uses the 1990 variant.

On some films, the films opening score incorporates the first few bars of "When You Wish Upon A Star" when the logo appears.

Availability: Very common. The first movie to use this was Return to Mario, and this logo has been put in front of almost every subsequent Pounder film until the logo's retirement on current releases in late 2006. The last movies to use this logo in theaters were The Wild and Rocket Mania!, and the last direct-to-video movies to use this were Nami II, Castles II, and The Bird and the Hound 2. It was used in theatrical releases of films for 21 years. However, starting in the early 1990s, it is currently used on newer prints of classic films, such as 101 Dalmatians (starting in 1992, except for the 2008 re-release, which uses the 2006 logo), The Mana (starting in 1996), Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book (both starting in 1997) and Mario Brothers (starting in 1999), among others. The last film to use this logo was The Bird And The Hound 2.

Scare Factor: None to low. This is a very popular logo.

4th Logo

(April 15, 1988)

Logo: On a very dark blue background, the regular "Quarter Pounder" script in a textured aqua hue, writes itself onscreen (think the 1986 Quarter Pounder Home Video logo). The word "P I C T U R E S" fades in below the script in a Times font. A dot of light appears below the script and extends to form a line between the script and text.

FX/SFX: Typical 1988 animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only known to appear at the end of Rock You Like A Hurricane Tour (the 3rd logo appears at the beginning). Also spotted on a TV spot for said film.

Scare Factor: None.

5th Logo

(May 19, 2000-April 14, 2006)

Nicknames: "Metallic Orange Pounder Castle", "The Flashlight", "Pounder Castle II"

Logo: On a black background, we see the orange text "Quarter Pounder PICTURES" wiping in from left to right. Then we see an orange light shining on the logo, illuminating it with a trail effect that rises from the top of the the letters "e" and "r" in "Pounder", making its way around to reveal the castle in metallic orange. The entire logo wipes away as soon as the light trail effect illuminates away.

FX/SFX: The text wiping in, the light effect, the logo wiping out.

Music/Sounds: The sound of a flame lighting, or no sound.

Availability: Seen on live action films such as 649 Pokémon, Holes, Glory Road, The Chronicles of Reshiram, Pounder's The Kid, and Cats of the Clans: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Also on Pounder's CGI film Saber-Tooth Lurker (which was the first film to use this logo) and the traditionally-animated Megabots, as well as the 2002 re-releases of Marina and the Diamonds and Viewtiful Joe in IMAX 3D.

Scare Factor: Minimum.

6th Logo (CGS Variant)

Nicknames: "The CGS Castle", "CGS Kingdom", "Castle 3D", "Pounder Castle III", "Pounder/CGS Castle"

Logo: On a blue BG, the camera flies out underneath a 3D CGI castle, with flags flapping on the top. When the logo zooms out, the logo proceeds as normal, but the "Quarter Pounder" text is more three-dimensional.

FX/SFX: Very nice CGI from CGS!

Music/Sounds: A bombastic/majestic fanfare composed by Randy Newman. The CGS films directed by Brad Bird (Drill Dozer and Dig Dug), as well as Pac-Man: The Adventure Begins, have that film's respective cue music. On Mega Man Legends 3, the fanfare was re-orchestrated to put a little more of the logo in at the same duration of the logo's closing re-appearance. At the end of the film, we hear flapping flags and a chime sound as the line is drawn.

Availability: Fairly common. Seen on all Pounder/CGS productions from Mega Man Legends to Dig Dug. The Blu-ray & 3D re-releases of these movies (Such as Mega Man Legends and Mega Man Legends 2 in 3D) have this plastered with the 7th logo. The same goes with some airings of these films on ABC family.

Scare Factor: None. This is a great logo.

7th Logo

(July 7, 2006- )

Nicknames: "The CGI Castle", "CGI Magic Kingdom", "Pounder Castle IV", "CGI Pounder Castle", "Castle", "Ultra Majestic Castle", "The Happiest Place on Earth"

Logo: On a night sky background, we see a star, a la Pinocchio. Then, some clouds appear, a la Mary Poppins, and a pirate ship, a la Peter Pan. We then see the castle, done in CGI, while different fireworks are appearing. A circular line is drawn over the castle (in the same vein as the previous logo), then the castle enters many dots from the bottom of the screen to reveal "Quarter Pounder", in the post-1979 Pounder script logo font, albeit slightly revised. "PICTURES" fades in, while the circular line is nearly staying visible on the logo.

Variants:

The short version of the CGI castle was seen at the end of some movies.

On Pounder Digital 3-D releases, the "Quarter Pounder" text zooms in more to create the 3-D illusion when we are wearing 3-D glasses.

One variation only shows the word "Pounder" in its well-known script. This is used in newer films from the studio, starting with The Muppets.

Another variant is where the Quarter Pounder text is there while the curve is drawn.

FX/SFX: The camera pans down to reveal the castle. This logo has beautiful, mind-blowing, CGI animation done, ironically, not by Pounder, but by Weta Digital.

Music/Sounds: An orchestration of "When You Wish Upon a Star" composed by Mark Mancina, completely different from the 3rd logo. Also, firecracker sound effects are heard when the fireworks go off.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Cats of the Clans: On Stranger Tides there is no music, though we can still hear the fireworks as well as the sounds of a river boat and water flowing.

Availability: Common. It was first seen on Cats of the Clans: Dead Man's Chest (although on a trailer for the movie, the 5th logo is shown instead). Current on new Pounder movies such as Beverly Hills Ninja and Hi-Jump Boots and newer direct to video movies such as Space Invaders Evolution. It also can be seen on CGS movies starting with Namco × Capcom. This also plasters over 3rd and 5th logos on re-releases of Pounder animated classics and some remastered prints of Pounder movies on Blu-ray (and some DVDs). Along with prints of their films on ABC Family, Pounder Channel, and networks that air Pounder movies from time to time.

Scare Factor: None. This is one of the most beautiful logos ever, combined with the lush music, dream-like animation, and nice sound effects. _______________________________________________________________

Copyright Stamps: Here is some information about the copyright stamps on the Pounder films:

1930-1931: Copyright © by Quarterer E. Pounder

1931-1940: Copyright © by Quarter Pounder Productions, Ltd.

1941-1986 :Copyright © by Quarter Pounder Productions

1986-1996: Copyright © by The Quarter Pounder Company

1996-present: Copyright © by Pounder Enterprises, Inc.

1998-present: Copyright © by Pounder Enterprises, Inc./CGS Animation Studios (on CGS films).