One of the most recognizable and continued logos belongs to Warner Bros. Since its founding, a WB shield has been involved in almost every decade. Designs changed with new ownership in the 1960s, but returned to form in the 1980s. Since adopting the 1998 CGI logo, film variations are fairly common. A slimmer shield debuted in 2019. For music, Max Steiner's Warner Fanfare was featured in tons of films until dropping out of favor in the 1950s.
Here is a brief history of the logo and fun film variations.
Warner Bros. Logo (2019 – current)
Pan over the Warner lot (and water tower) before turning into new shield
Full version first seen in Locked Down (2021)
Here is a brief history of the logo and fun film variations.
Warner Bros. Logo (1923-1929)
Studio seen within the shield
Studio seen within the shield
Seen here in The Jazz Singer (1927)
Warner Bros. Logo (1934-1937)
Seen here in Captain Blood (1935)
Warner Bros. Logo (1937-1948)
Warner Fanfare by Max Steiner
Warner Fanfare by Max Steiner
Seen and first heard here in Tovarich (1937)
Warner Bros. Logo (1948-1967)
Wider shield often superimposed over the film opening
Wider shield often superimposed over the film opening
Seen here in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Warner Bros. Logo (1967-1970)
New W7 design with new ownership as Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
New W7 design with new ownership as Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Seen here in Bullitt (1968)
Warner Bros. Logo (1970-1972)
New shield logo under new Kinney ownership
Seen here in The Cowboys (1972)
New shield logo under new Kinney ownership
Seen here in The Cowboys (1972)
Warner Bros. Logo (1972-1984)
Branded as Warner Communications with design by Saul Bass
Seen here in Enter the Dragon (1973)
Branded as Warner Communications with design by Saul Bass
Seen here in Enter the Dragon (1973)
Warner Bros. Logo (1984-1997)
Return to stylized shield over clouds with byline changing with mergers
Seen here in Gremlins (1984)
Return to stylized shield over clouds with byline changing with mergers
Seen here in Gremlins (1984)
Warner Bros. Logo (1998 – 2019)
Ripples through the WB backlot and zooms out to CGI logo
Music: As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld)
Seen here in The Hangover (2009)
Ripples through the WB backlot and zooms out to CGI logo
Music: As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld)
Seen here in The Hangover (2009)
Warner Bros. Logo (2019 – current)
Pan over the Warner lot (and water tower) before turning into new shield
Full version first seen in Locked Down (2021)
And now onto some fun variations:
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The Searchers (1956) - logo displayed on a brick wall
Gypsy (1962) - logo is shown on the stage curtain
The Music Man (1962) - logo is shown on the marching parade banner
The Great Race (1965) - animated shield appears as part of fantastic illustrated credits
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Blazing Saddles (1974) - WB logo burns into the opening title
Follow That Bird (1985) - Big Bird pumps up the letter balloon "brought to you by the letters W and B"
Conspiracy Theory (1997) - Camera pulls back to reveal logo on a bus billboard
Batman and Robin (1997) - Darkened logo morphs into the Bat symbol which then freezes
You've Got Mail (1998) - Logo turns into a computer icon displayed on the screen
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) - 75 Years logo explodes into the title sequence
The Matrix (1999) - Green tint and dark skies used for Matrix trilogy
Scooby-Doo (2002) - We hear Scooby taking a large cartoon bite of the logo
The Polar Express (2004) - Icicles appear around the shield over a black backdrop
The Good German (2006) - Throwback 1940's logo
Fred Claus (2007) - Snow falls with Christmas lights hung around the logo
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Buttons form the logo
Watchmen (2009) - Stylized black and yellow logo
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) - Max's scribbles appear over the logo
Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Shield is a part of the London cobblestones
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) - Owl passes by the sunlit logo
The Losers (2010) - Stylized version appears in a comic book
Sucker Punch (2011) - Logo appears on the stage curtain
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 (2011) - Like the rest of the Harry Potter series, we zoom through the logo, which has deteriorated more each film
Argo (2012) - Retro Saul Bass logo with current byline
The Great Gatsby (2013) - Art deco designed to match the film
The Lego Movie (2014) - Entire logo made of Lego bricks, naturally
Suicide Squad (2016) - Shield lights and flickers in neon
Aquaman (2018) - Shield is underwater crashed into a rock
Elvis (2022) - The ornate silver logo is surrounded by gold and jewels
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Blazing Saddles (1974) - WB logo burns into the opening title
Follow That Bird (1985) - Big Bird pumps up the letter balloon "brought to you by the letters W and B"
Conspiracy Theory (1997) - Camera pulls back to reveal logo on a bus billboard
Batman and Robin (1997) - Darkened logo morphs into the Bat symbol which then freezes
You've Got Mail (1998) - Logo turns into a computer icon displayed on the screen
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) - 75 Years logo explodes into the title sequence
The Matrix (1999) - Green tint and dark skies used for Matrix trilogy
Scooby-Doo (2002) - We hear Scooby taking a large cartoon bite of the logo
The Polar Express (2004) - Icicles appear around the shield over a black backdrop
The Good German (2006) - Throwback 1940's logo
Fred Claus (2007) - Snow falls with Christmas lights hung around the logo
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Buttons form the logo
Watchmen (2009) - Stylized black and yellow logo
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) - Max's scribbles appear over the logo
Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Shield is a part of the London cobblestones
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) - Owl passes by the sunlit logo
The Losers (2010) - Stylized version appears in a comic book
Sucker Punch (2011) - Logo appears on the stage curtain
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2 (2011) - Like the rest of the Harry Potter series, we zoom through the logo, which has deteriorated more each film
Argo (2012) - Retro Saul Bass logo with current byline
The Great Gatsby (2013) - Art deco designed to match the film
The Lego Movie (2014) - Entire logo made of Lego bricks, naturally
Suicide Squad (2016) - Shield lights and flickers in neon
Aquaman (2018) - Shield is underwater crashed into a rock
Tenet (2020) - New 2019 shield is given a red tint
In the Heights (2021) - The logo transforms to graffiti
The Suicide Squad (2021) - The yellow and red logo is on a concrete wall
Elvis (2022) - The ornate silver logo is surrounded by gold and jewels
The Flash (2023) - A streak of yellow lightning goes by past WB logos (1940s, Saul Bass) leading to the current logo. The DC logo follows the same format.
2 Comments
Very nice collection. I actually look forward to seeing how the logo will be used in each of the subsequent Harry Potter films. Deathly Hallows :Part 1's rusting shield was really cool.
ReplyDeleteHello David! Thank you for sharing....I was wondering where I could find sheet music for any of these scores.
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