Next Generation Films

Background
Next Generation Films was formed in 1912 by Rocky Harris as Next Generation Studios, renamed Next Generation Films in 1965 and sold to Danny Wooton in 1974. Next Generation Films participated in films such as Ninja Turtles, The Bee Gees, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Outer Space, and Alice Williams' Japanese animated film Pokémon (1978). Starting 1982, Ultimate Enterprise Studios purchased the company due to Alice's agreement.

1st Logo

(July 7, 1944-February 25, 1954)

Logo: This is not really a logo, only an in-credit disclaimer. We see:

NEXT GENERATION STUDIOS

presents

But at the end of the film, it simply reads:

released by

NEXT GENERATION STUDIOS

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The film's opening/closing theme.

Availability: Extinct.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(March 3 1954-May 12 1965)

Nicknames: "Boring NG", "The New Next Generation", "50's Next Generation"

Logo: We see the white words "Next Generation Studios" on a red background.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on some Hanna-Barbera releases from the era such as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound. This logo was last seen on Crusader Rabbit and The Karate Turtles.

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo

(June 9 1965-April 11 1984, March 4, 1987-May 10, 1996)

Nicknames: "Those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!", "Boring NG 2," "Ninja Turtles", "60's Next Generation"

Logo: On a black background, we see the four Ninja Turtles in their 1961-1984 appearance, red stars around them, and the word "Next Generation" with the "G" growing a little. This logo and the Ninja Turtles were created by famous animator Jay Ward of the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" fame.

FX/SFX: None.

Trivia: This logo made a surprise appearance on the The Ryo The Cat Show episode "King Namix" when it first aired on ABC. It was an editing mistake made by ABC when they first started doing the split-screen credits. (How? Well, normally, ABC makes custom split-screen credits for each toon and it's producers. Next Generation Films was the only one that produced multiple cartoons, and ABC created a generic one for these shows [which mentioned Next Generation Films and included the Ninja Turtles]. But on the said episode of The Ryo The Cat Show, ABC flubbed and used the Next Generation Films split screen credits for that episode, and that's why the Ninja Turtles were used.) As of 1987, the logo is plastered by the 1984 Ultimate Enterprise Studios "Snap" logo on repeat airings (which was in the original credits to begin with). Still, it is one of the oddest editing mistakes ever made.

Variant:

On the reruns of Crusader Rabbit, the white word "FILMS" appears below "Next Generation".

There was a Black and White version of this logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen only on the Jay-Ward produced shows such as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Underdog, Dudley Do-Right, HyperEagle, The Adventures of Quisp and Quake, The Adventures of Cap'N Crunch and The Karate Turtles. Starting in 1987, this logo will appear on all episodes of the 1987 TV series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was also seen in the 1971 TV series, The Electric Company and the 1978 film Pokémon. This logo is also found on most Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games made by Konami from 1987-1996.

Scare Factor: None.

4th Logo

(1984-1996)

Nicknames: "Early Pinchface", "The Neon Face of Doom", "Neon Pinchface", "The Reason Why I Don't Want to See at the End of Every Show from 1984-1996", "My Own Worst Nightmare", "Why NG, WHY?!?!?!", "Another Personification of All That is Evil", "Hey! They Stole a Music from Ninja Gaiden!"

Logo: On the black background, we see a neon-styled face who looks somewhat like the Nickelodeon Pinchface dancing in a cheesy way. In the top left corner is the same Next Generation Films" logo from 1961, but it shakes like crazy! Copyright appears below it.

Variants:

There is a short version where the logo is missing, due to the plastering error. This was seen only on one episode of Fantastic Max.

There is a variation where "In the Association With" appears above the logo.

On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the logo takes place on a green background. Also, the logo was in a same font as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo.

On The Mew Show, the logo was in warp-speed.

FX/SFX: The face dancing, copyright appearing, logo shaking.

Music/Sounds: Silent or an ending theme of the show/film playing over it, followed by an announcer saying "In the Presentation of Next Generation Films.". The announcer was Rob Paulsen, who voiced Ralphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series. Starting in 1989, the "Life Lost" music from Ninja Gaiden is used and there is no announcer.

Trivia: Like the previous logo above, this logo made a surprise appearance on the The Ryo The Cat Show episode "Scat Cat!" by an accident.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On the original VHS release of The Bee Gees, the Viacom "V" of Doom jingle is used and George Jetson's (actually George O'Hanlon's) voice says "In the Presentation of Next Generation Films..." in a creepy monotone.

On VHS releases of The Karate Turtles and The Mew Show, Mel Blanc using his Barney Rubble voice, but lower pitched, says "A presentation of Next Generation Films." And then a little mumbling (also done by Blanc) is heard.

Availability: Common; it was seen on the certain shows from the era such as Crusader Rabbit, Atomic Blast, The Adventures of Quisp and Quake, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Underdog, Dudley Do-Right, HyperEagle, and The Bee Gees. The warp-speed version can be seen on The Mew Show, and the "In Associated With" variant can be found on the VHS release of Pokémon (1978), The Karate Turtles, HappyLand, and Pokémon 2 (1985). This logo was last seen on the original VHS release of The Angry Birds (1996).

Scare Factor: High to NIGHTMARE for unexpected viewers; the face, its dancing animation, the logo shaking, and the music might not sit well with some people. Also, the "In Association With" variant of the logo is usually followed by an "In Association With" screen which may scare some viewers even more!

6th Logo

(1996-)

Nicknames: "The Final NG", "Welcome to the Next Generation!"

Logo: On a black background, we see "Next Generation" circling on planet Saturn. We zoom out and the Saturn moves to the center, as the word "Next Generation" straightens itself out and takes its place diagonally across the Saturn.

FX/SFX: All the animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: An extended remix of the 1985 Cannon Films theme.

Availability: First seen on the trailer for Harriet the Spy. It was also seen on some shows including a CGI film TMNT (2007), Pokémon 1½ (1999), The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000), and all Pokémon movies. Also seen on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) TV series on Nickelodeon.

Scare Factor: Minimal.