Nelvana/Summary

Background

Nelvana was founded in 1971 in Canada by Michael Hirsh (now in the directory of DHX Media), Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith to produce and distribute children's animated shows and movies originally. Until 1985, the company did not have a animated logo separate from the credits at the end of their shows, instead using an in-credit version of its logo. Today, it's a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment.

Trivia

The company's name originally came from a female Canadian comic book superhero from the 1940s named "Nelvana of the Northern Lights", but the three decided to use a polar bear instead for a logo in order to avoid confusion.

1st Logo
(December 6, 1977-present)

Logo: It's only an in-credit text that reads: "A Nelvana Limited Production". For co-produced shows and TV specials, the name of the company is seen below the Nelvana text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Common. Seen on Nelvana shows and TV specials, starting with A Cosmic Christmas.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo
(October 15, 1978-April 2, 1988)

Nicknames: "Nelvana Polar Bear", "Boring Polar Bear"

Logo: On a black background, we see an in-credit version of the Polar Bear looking up at the star, as seen on Nelvana shows from 1985-2004, but without an arch. "NELVANA", "NELVANA LIMITED", or "A NELVANA PRODUCTION" is seen below, sometimes with copyright info below.

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: The in-credit Polar Bear scrolling up on The Care Bears Movie is very choppy.

Music/Sounds: Either the beginning or the ending theme of the movie, probably silence, or probably the ending theme of the show.

Availability: Appeared at the beginning or end of Nelvana-produced films from the '70s and 80's, beginning with The Devil And Daniel Mouse. This was also seen on Rock & Rule, The Care Bears Movie, and Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. Also seen on the Star Wars: Droids cartoon show, the live-action series The Edison Twins, and early 80s prints of Nelvana's early animated TV specials (A Cosmic Christmas didn't feature the logo, nor did the Strawberry Shortcake specials or other co-productions with Those Characters from Cleveland). This was used in tandem with the next logo from 1985 until 1986.

Scare Factor: None to low, depending on the logo variant, but generally it's boring.

3rd Logo
(September 14, 1985-November 7, 2002)

Nicknames: "Nelvana Polar Bear II", "Neon Polar Bear"

Logo: On a black background, a blue square with a  red  outline and a white star in the center flies from the top right of the screen, gradually enlarging and turning counterclockwise to fit the screen as the star multiplies into a seven star semicircle outline. The text "NELVANA" appears below the semicircle in red. The star outline shines from left to right, and the pinnacle star sends a shower of light (which starts off neon yellow, but turns neon blue) down the center of the semicircle. "NELVANA" lights up in orange, and the shower of light unfolds to the left, turning into a neon blue polar bear looking up.

Variants:

• There are filmed and videotaped versions.
• The short version, which is more common, starts off with the stars shining and the "shower of light" animation. This plays in warp speed on Eek! the Cat before the compressed or split-screen credits. This is slowed down on Beetlejuice.
• A version where after the logo forms, the polar bear stands on its hind legs for a second before assuming its normal position was seen on some theatrical releases of the era; Babar: The Movie had it with the normal blue BG, while Care Bears: Adventure in Wonderland had it on a black BG.
• The 1988 TV special Clifford the Big Red Dog has a rare gradient background variant with the logo rotating on screen from the center.
• On Fievel's American Tails, a long version of the logo is shown on the top right corner along with the 1991 Amblin Television logo on the top left and the short 1991-2006 Universal Cartoon Studios logo on the bottom center.
• On the short-lived show Family Dog, it was shown on the left alongside with the 1991 Amblin Television logo on the right (without the switch-off part).
• On some episodes of Blazing Dragons, it was shown on the left alongside with the Ellipse Programme logo on the right.
• On Season 4 episodes of Eek! Stravaganza (episodes with Klutter), it is shown in split screen on the left alongside with the 1989-1998 Film Roman logo on the right.

FX/SFX: The light effects, animated in a beautiful combination of 2D animation and early CG that holds up 30 years later.

Music/Sounds: An ascending whoosh and a dramatic synth theme, followed by a thunderclap as "NELVANA" lights up. For most of Nelvana's '90s shows, the end theme played over it, it was silent, or it uses the standard theme.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Sometimes, a mystical twinkling sound with a thunderclap played. Seen on original airings of My Pet Monster, as well as international prints of some specials and shows distributed.
• On the 1989 film Babar: The Movie, a loud whoosh is heard, followed by some dreamy "chime" sounds, then another whoosh.
• On Care Bears: Adventure in Wonderland, a dreamy synth theme is hard with a whooshing sound & wind chimes.

Availability: Rare to uncommon. Plastering with the 2004 logo has made it not nearly as common, but it's still easy to find. Seen on The Magic School Bus, and the Nelvana version of the Care Bears. The theatrical version can be seen on the recent DVD release of Babar: The Movie. Also found on Beetlejuice, and the pilot episode of Donkey Kong Country called "I Spy With My Hairy Eye". Netflix's prints of The Adventures of Tintin retained it.

Scare Factor: Minimal for the short variant. Low to medium for the long variant, especially the dark theatrical variant. However it's harmless and a favorite of some.

Final Note: Most shows had this logo until 1997 (after being used in tandem with the 4th logo below) when they then switched to the next logo. However, even though the logo retired in 1995, Franklin used to use this logo until sometime in 1999, and Little Bear used this logo until the very end in 2002.

4th Logo
(December 2, 1995-2004)

Nicknames: "Nelvana Polar Bear III", "Space Polar Bear"

Logo: On a space background, there is a flash of light and the Nelvana logo appears in CGI on the background looking similar to the 1st logo, with some exceptions: the seven star semicircle has a blue chrome outline, as does the polar bear and the "NELVANA" text. A comet flies from the right, and as it passes the pinnacle star and the 2nd star to the left in the semicircle, each star lights up.

Variants:

• There is a rare extended version of this logo which has a more delayed zoom-out. It ends with the logo animating backwards.
• An even shorter version of the logo starting from when the comet flies from the right exists. Sometimes this is played in slow/delayed motion.
• Some episodes of Donkey Kong Country have a still shot of this logo.
• Starting in 2002, after Corus Entertainment acquired it, the byline "Nelvana is a COrUs Entertainment Company" was added (with "COrUs" written in its corporate font).
• For international distribution, it's on a black BG and "Distributed By" and "INTERNATIONAL" were chyroned in above and below the logo, respectively.
• The URL "www.nelvana.com" was added for a short time in 1999.
• An in-credit version has appeared on Tales From the Crypt on the final episode (and the only animated one), "The Third Pig".

FX/SFX: Excellent use of CGI on the starry background, blue chrome, and the comet flying.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of a show, the generic network theme, or silence. In 2002, the same music from the 3rd logo seen on Babar: The Movie was used on some shows, but sometimes, only the first note (a "WHOOSH" sound) was played. This was used on the extended variant of the logo.

Availability: Uncommon, once again, due to plastering with the 2004 logo, but it's still easy to find. First seen on The NeverEnding Story: The Animated Adventures of Bastian Balthazar Bux. It can be seen on early episodes of Cyberchase, Rolie Polie Olie, Max and Ruby, post-1999 episodes of Franklin, and international prints of The Fairly OddParents, among others. Also found on their English version of the anime Cardcaptor Sakura, known initially as Cardcaptors, as well as All New Tales from the Cryptkeeper. The extended variant where the logo plays in reverse at the end can be found on Cardcaptors: The Movie. The Nebular Polar Bear In Space Variant was shown on the DVD of "Friendship Collection: Making New Friends" released by Funimation Entertainment

Scare Factor: None to minimal. Great CGI, nothing to worry about. May get a little higher when the music is added and the spark flying, however.

5th Logo
(1997-2000)

Nickname: "Space Polar Bear II"

Logo: On the zooming starfield, a flash brings forth a enhanced version of the Nelvana's corporate logo of the time.

FX/SFX: CGI and Effects for the forming and shining.

Music/Sounds: The trailer's sounds or the closing song of the movie.

Availability: Seen at the end of Pippi Longstocking (1997) and Babar: King of the Elephants (Including its teaser trailer).

Scare Factor: None.

6th Logo
(2001-2004)

Nicknames: "Nelvana Polar Bear IV", "Still Polar Bear", "Polar Bear of Boredom"

Logo: On a white background, we see the seven star semicircle, polar bear, and "NELVANA" text as from the previous logo but with a dark blue outline. Underneath the "NELVANA" is the URL "www.nelvana.com", and underneath that is the byline "A CORUS Entertainment Company"(written exactly like the way you see it, only with a trademark(TM) symbol next to "CORUS").

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None. In other cases, the end theme of a show or the generic network theme.

Availability: It was used as an alternate logo between 2001 and 2004. It appears on reruns of 2003 episodes of Cyberchase on PBS, some episodes of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast on Nick Jr. and some international episodes of The Fairly OddParents. The version with normal font byline appeared on the GBA game Beyblade V-Force.

Scare Factor: None. It's a clean but boring logo.

7th Logo
(2004)

Nicknane: "Space Polar Bear III"

Logo: On the backdrop of zooming starfield, we see the small white polar bear with a dark blue outline. Underneath it is the big word "NELVANA" in the same color scheme as the bear with a byline "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" with a TM mark at the top-right next to "CORUS". A comet shoots at the right bringing forth a flash to reveal a star (Also in a color scheme of the bear and "NELVANA"), which is next to the bear.

FX/SFX: CGI for the starfield and the comet. FX for the flashing star.

Music/Sounds: Extremely rare.

Availability: Seen on earlier reruns of Braceface. Later reruns replaced it with the next logo.

Scare Factor: None.

8th Logo
(September 7, 2004-present)

Nicknames: "Nelvana Polar Bear V", "Nebular Polar Bear"

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "NELVANA" with a byline underneath it. A white polar bear then swims onto the screen and then stops onto the text. It bumps a star onto the screen, which twinkles, and a white haze of light forms and dissipates behind the logo. The logo looks similar to the in-credit logo seen before 1985.

Bylines:

• 2004-: The byline reads "A CORUS(TM) ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY", all in capital letters, and in the same font used in the alternate 2003 logo.
• 2006-: Because of parent company Corus Entertainment Inc.'s "growth" in it's company (hence the "Inc." for incorporated), the byline reads "A Corus(TM) Entertainment Inc. Company"(exactly like that). This became an alternate variant beginning in 2006.

Variants:

• A more common variant begins with the star already on the screen and the polar bear bumping it.
• Sometimes no haze is shown for the standard logo.
• A variant exists with the words "A NELVANA PRODUCTION" above the polar bear. No haze is shown.
• On international airings of Grossology, there is a version in which the polar bear gets slimed, instead of the usual haze.
• There is a variation where "INTERNATIONAL", in a rounded rectangle, is sandwiched in between the company name and the byline.
• A still version of the logo exists on at least the U.S. airings of Grossology.
• Some episodes of Corduroy have the logo starting after the star is bumped.
• There's a superimposed variant on Max and Ruby. Once Again. No haze is shown.
• On Handy Manny, it uses the same variant "A NELVANA PRODUCTION" over the logo, except the haze does appear as usual. The 2004 byline is also seen under the logo.
• On My Friend Rabbit, the logo "stalls" a bit, where the polar bear does not bump the star exactly when first seen, after that, the animation is seen as usual. The 2004 byline is seen here, also.
• The logo appeared on Beyblade G-Revolution, the game for GBA. The bear is placed to the left, and there's an "INTERNATIONAL" plate below. Another game, Bakugan: Rise of the Resistance, shows the logo in outlines.

FX/SFX: A combination of Flash animation and CG.

Music/Sounds: Usually, the end theme of a show or the generic network theme plays over, but sometimes this logo has its own music, a nice guitar theme with some children laughing towards the end.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Shows plastering the 1985 logo may use the dramatic synth theme instead of the normal music. This appears on newer prints of T and T and My Pet Monster.
• For the Grossology variant, the first three notes of the guitar theme is heard, but it's interrupted by the sound of slime splashing and dripping.
• At least on one episode of Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, the logo is silent.

Availability: Very common on all current Nelvana shows, such as The Backyardigans, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, Grossology, Babar and the Adventures of Badou, Handy Manny, and Wayside. It also appears tacked onto the end of some shows that had older Nelvana logos, such as Babar, Bob and Margaret, Wild C.A.T.S., and The Adventures of Tintin. Also, older Horrid Henry DVD's had this logo. This logo also plasters the 3rd logo on The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series DVD box set, released in 2012.

Scare Factor: Low. The sudden light haze in the background may freak some out, but it's an okay logo. However, it may be annoying to some due to its omnipresence. The Grossology variant leans slightly toward medium, due to it being so sudden. The plaster variant leans toward medium as well.