Background: MTV Films was founded in 1996 to produce films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, the Jackass film series, and Æon Flux (2005). They also produce other adaptations and original productions, such as Napoleon Dynamite and The Longest Yard (2005). Their first movie, Joe's Apartment (distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under Geffen Pictures), received negative reviews and under performed at the box-office, despite MTV's heavy promotion. However, their following movie, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (which was the first MTV film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, since MTV's owner, Viacom bought the studio) was a critical and commercial success, which led MTV Films to make more movies. On August 21, 2006, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films became full labels of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group. It has currently produced 40 films.
1st Logo (1996)[]
Logo: On a black background, we see a small MTV logo on the left and the word "PRODUCTIONS" is on the right.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the trailer.
Availability: Very rare. Was only seen on the teaser trailer for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.
2nd Logo (July 26, 1996)[]
Nicknames: The MTV Logo, "The Static-Filled MTV"
Logo: On a black background, we see the MTV logo (with "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath). In the M is some animated static. When the static disappears, the M in the logo turns into white.
FX/SFX: The animated static, and the M turning white.
Music/Sounds: The cockroaches singing the "Charge" fanfare and shouting "JOE!"
Availability: Only seen at the end of Joe's Apartment.
3rd Logo (December 20, 1996-August 27, 2004; October 18, 2019-)[]
Nicknames: "The Astronaut", "The MTV Astronaut"
Logo: We fade into space as we see an astronaut floating around from right to left. The astronaut suddenly comes close to the camera, and we see that the MTV logo is reflected backwards onto his helmet. We zoom into the reflection and out again to reveal the MTV logo (With "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact under it) with the word "PRODUCTIONS" below it.
Variants:
- Starting with Orange County in 2002, "PRODUCTIONS" is replaced by "FILMS" in spaced-out letters.
- On Eli, the MTV Films logo that's reflected into the astronaut's helmet is just the post-2010 MTV logo next to the text "Films", all in white. The logo then zooms out with the fisheye-esque effect at the end.
- Some films start with the logo at the astronaut about to zoom to the left.
- On earlier prints of Orange County, the reflection part is cut out.
FX/SFX: The astronaut floating in space, the zooming in and out of the MTV logo.
Music/Sounds: None or the movie's opening theme.
Music/Sounds Variant: On Jackass: The Movie, we hear a breathing sound and a laugh provided by Johnny Knoxville.
Availability: Common. Can be seen on all MTV films from the era. It first appeared on Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, and the last film to feature it in its original run was Napoleon Dynamite. The "PRODUCTIONS" variant was last seen on Save the Last Dance.
4th Logo (January 14, 2005-May 22, 2009)[]
Nicknames: "The Astronaut II", "The MTV Astronaut II", "The Astronaut Theater"
Logo: We see an overhead view of Earth, which turns out to be a reflection on the helmet of an astronaut. The astronaut is one of many sitting in a movie theater. Popcorn flies in zero-gravity. We then zoom out of the MTV logo (With "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath) as "FILMS" zooms out underneath it.
Variants:
- On Coach Carter, the logo turns into a drawing (for a split-second) before turning back to normal.
- There's a prototype version of the logo where it has a slower zoom-out, the astronauts in different positions and all wearing white spacesuits. The word "FILMS" appears letter-by-letter.
FX/SFX: The reflection and the zooming back, paired together with nice CGI.
Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie. On the prototype version of the logo, it starts off with an engine huffing, followed by a note reminiscent of the THX Deep Note when we zoom out of the astronaut's helmet. As we zoom out, a calm piano tune plays, accompanied by sounds of beeping. When the company name forms, a rock guitar chord is heard.
Music/Sounds Variant: On Jackass Number Two, we can hear the astronauts laughing and chuckling (provided by Steve-O and Chris Pontius), then a metal slam.
Availability: No longer current, but still very common. Can be seen on movies starting with Coach Carter and ending with Dance Flick. The prototype variant was only used as a test logo, and thus, did not appear on any movie.
5th Logo (December 26, 2007)[]
Nickname: "The MTV Logo II"
Logo: On a white background, we see the MTV logo (with "MUSIC TELEVISION" intact underneath).
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Only seen on Jackass 2.5.
6th Logo (October 15, 2010-June 15, 2014)[]
WARNING: Do not watch the video if you are prone to epilepsy.
Nicknames: "The Astronaut III", "The MTV Astronaut III", "The MTV Flag"
Logo: We see an astronaut standing on the moon surface, near the flag with MTV logo. The shot with astronaut repeats three times from various directions, but finally it zooms into the flag, which constantly changes its surface and colors.
Trivia: This was based on the very first MTV bumper, only with much cleaner graphics (as well as using the post-2010 MTV logo with "FILMS" appearing underneath).
FX/SFX: The shot with the astronaut repeating, and the colors changing on the flag.
Music/Sounds: A slightly rearranged version of the track from the bumper in which it came from.
Music/Sounds Variant: In some cases, such as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the opening theme of the movie playing over the logo.
Availability: Common. It first appeared on Jackass 3D and last appeared on Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5.
Scare Factor: None to medium; the flashing colors may cause headaches.
7th Logo (July 31, 2013, January 30, 2015-)[]
Logo: We see several flashing shots of multicultural and multicolored eyes. When we get to the last eye, we zoom in onto the iris and several flashing lights are seen before the MTV logo slides up on a box with the word "Films" in it. Inside the finished product is a live-action shot of a cheering audience, possibly taken from an EDM concert. The logo ends with several flashing shots and we get to the last eye.
Variant: On Project Almanac, the logo cuts off early.
FX/SFX: The flashing eyes and lights.
Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie.
Availability: First seen on the trailer for Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (the film itself uses the previous logo instead). The fully animated version only appeared on Project Almanac.