FHE's Logo History

1st Logo (June 1981-1985, 1987)

Nicknames: "Soda Pop", "Cheesy FHE", "The Fizzling Sun"

Logo: The screen fades to a space background as a large pink/purple "sun" slowly moves towards us. After a few seconds of sizzling, it then transforms into the words "FAMILY HOME", set in "Baby Teeth" (whose digital incarnation goes by "Surfside"), a font very reminiscent of Pac-Man. Then, "ENTERTAINMENT" in the same font flies from behind the text on top of the screen and settles underneath the "FAMILY HOME" text. The logos then flash and become white. After a few seconds, the logo flies up with computer effects and we are left with only a shot of the stars before we fade out.

Variants:

At the end of some tapes such as Beauty and the Beast (the 1983 Ruby-Spears version), the "Prevues of Coming Attractions" ID (which was also used on Warner Home Video releases, albeit with a alternate soundtrack) fades to this logo when the "sun" appears. This also appeared on pre-1985 tapes from Monterey Home Video and U.S.A. Home Video.

Sometimes, there are screen cuts at the beginning and end of the logo.

Shortened versions exist. Some tapes start the logo just as the "sun" appears, others start the logo right as it morphs into the words "FAMILY HOME".

FX/SFX: The transformation of the star into "FAMILY HOME ENTERTAINMENT" and the "flying" effects for the logos. All really cheap, but pretty unique as well.

Music/Sounds: The space background has electronic popping/fizz noises. When the logo forms, a 4-note synthesized chord/whoosh fanfare can be heard, which came from a stock music library.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen on early Gumby and Care Bears releases by FHE. Other releases that may include this logo are Beauty and the Beast (Ruby-Spears version), Blackstar, The New Adventures of Zorro, Journey Back to Oz, Dorothy in the Land of Oz, Panda and the Magic Serpent, Gaiking, The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas, a few Spaceketeers releases, and some Inspector Gadget tapes; just look for an over-sized box containing an early FHE print of this logo on the cover; this may also appear on early tapes with the next logo on the packaging. This logo made a surprise appearance on the 1987 reprint of A Gumby Summer and the 1986 re-print of Peter Cottontail's Adventures. It first appeared on The Adventures of Little Lulu and Tubby Volumes 1 and 2, Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas, The Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor, The Littlest Warrior, Panda and the Magic Serpent, Space Angel Volumes 1 and 2, Peter Cottontail's Adventures, Spaceketeers Volumes 1 and 2, The Return of Gumby, Gumby Magic, The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo Volume 1, The Adventures of Buster the Bear, The Adventures of Reddy the Fox, Candy Candy, Captain Harlock Volume 1, The Adventures of Captain Future Volumes 1 and 2, and The Flower Angel. Rather interestingly, this can be seen on the Amazon Prime print of The Great Bear Scare. It also makes a surprise appearance on the 2015 Paramount/CBS DVD of Peter and the Magic Egg.

Editor's Note: It's certainly one of the cheesiest logos out there, with the cheap animation, tacky space background, and the "sun" looking more like a fizzing tablet. The logo is also somewhat ominous with the somewhat unique and strange animation and the cracking and popping sounds (earning its nickname "Soda Pop"). Still, it's a favorite to those who grew up with it.

2nd Logo (1985-Winter? 1991)

Nicknames: "F.H.E.", "Lowercase f.h.e.", "Handwriting Pad", "Cheesy Writing", "Another Cheesy F.H.E.", "Handwriting Pad of Doom", "Cheese Colored Writing Pad"

Logo: We start on a black screen. A school bus yellow screen "flips" in, with a design consisting of two solid lines and a segmented line in the middle (similar to what is used to practice writing alphabet letters in school). One at a time, the letters "f.h.e." are drawn on the lines in a crayon-like font. They are colored, in order, red, blue, and yellow, respectively. Black dots appear in between the letters. Under that the words "Family Home Entertainment" appear, and then the picture zooms away downward toward the camera.

Variants:

A version has been spotted where instead of the picture flipping down, it merely fades out and there is no "WHOOSH" at the end of the music. The color is also a bit faded (though that was probably unintentional).

At the end of some tapes, a yellow screen that reads "also AVAILABLE from" (in white) zooms in. After 3 seconds, the screen zooms downward just before the regular FHE logo appears.

Some tapes omit the logo's beginning and the closing, instead starting at the point where the letters are drawn in.

Later video releases have the logo on a black background, the lines fade in and the FHE text draws itself on faster than usual. A byline for IVE/NCB is shown on the bottom. A still version can be seen on various Transformers promos.

FX/SFX: The "flipping" screen and the drawn letters.

Music/Sounds: Starts with a loud whirring/whining sound (kind of like a Jetsons flying car starting), and leads into a synth theme with three different tones for the drawing of each letter. Three very fast synth-trumpet notes bring forth the periods after each initial, and a toy piano that plays a descending tune is used when the company's name appears. At the end, a laser zap is heard as the screen "flies" away.

Music/Sound Variant: A low toned variant exists.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on early releases of home video releases of shows such as Thundercats, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Inspector Gadget, Amigo and Friends, The Adventures of the Little Koala, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others. Also spotted on some Rankin-Bass video releases of the time, the Chuck Jones releases of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Mowgli's Brothers, and The White Seal. You may also spot this on a few Japanese anime tapes like Robotech or some tapes of British cartoons like Wil Cwac Cwac and Roobarb, and the Australian Dot cartoons should have this logo, too. The variant without the "WHOOSH!" at the end can be spotted on several Robotech releases from 1987, as well as The Teddy Bears' Picnic and Babar: The Movie from 1989. Also seen on later Gumby and Care Bears VHS releases. This makes surprise appearances on the Amazon Prime and Tubi prints of The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas.

Editor's Note: Like before but more widespread, the logo is a source of nostalgia for those who grew up with the company, as well as the debut of its best-known "handwritten" logo. On the other hand, it has been known to creep out some kids thanks to its loud music and sudden "flipping" at the beginning. The warning screen that follows up from it is also known to get a few.

3rd Logo (May 9, 1991-1998, 2006-2007)

Nicknames: "The Paintbrush", "F.H.E. II", "Lowercase f.h.e. II", "CGI Writing", "Not-So-Cheesy Writing", "Drawing Pad", "Handwriting Pad II", "Not-So-Cheesy FHE", "White Writing Pad", "Painting Pad"

Logo: On a white background, a red paintbrush draws an "f" (the same one from the 2nd logo) then puts a red dot after it. A blue paintbrush similarly draws an "h" and a blue dot and a yellow paintbrush draws the "e" and its dot. The camera pans to each letter as it is drawn and then pulls out. Above the logo the paintbrushes "wash" on the words "Family Home Entertainment", with each word in red, blue, and yellow respectively.

Variants:

On rare occasions, the logo is still.

An abridged version was used on a promo.

FX/SFX: The paintbrushes and the camera.

Music/Sounds: A 4-note synth tune (which was done on the Roland D-50 synthesizer by using the "Staccato Heaven" patch) can be heard at the start, followed by a 2-note synth horn tune, then silence, followed by another 2-note synth horn tune when the "f" is being drawn and a synthesized stinger when the red dot appears, followed by a descending harp sound and a 5-note horn-like tune when the "h" is being drawn and another synthesized stinger when the blue dot appears, followed by an ascending then descending clarinet tune when the "e" followed by yet another synthesized stinger when the yellow dot appears, then a hybrid of an ascending synthesized tune with some clarinet notes marking the appearance of "Family Home Entertainment". It all ends with the synth tune from the start of the logo, complete with a choir, with synth chimes at the end.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the screener cassettes of Queens Logic and Bloodmoon, an announcer says, "Here's what's new from Family Home Entertainment!" at the end.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on most FHE releases from the 1990s, including later Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tapes (surprisingly, it appeared on 2006 and 2007 DVDs of TMNT, specifically at the end of the episodes "Plan 6 from Outer Space", "Farewell Lotus Blossom", "Michelangelo Meets Bugman" and "What's Michelangelo Good For?", probably due to VHS masters being used), the original release of Tom and Jerry: The Movie and many Rankin-Bass and Lacewood Christmas specials by FHE. It first appeared on The Marzipan Pig, The Little Match Girl, and two volumes of Widget. One of the last tapes to use this logo was the Hallmark Home Entertainment release of Merlin. The still version can be seen on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (earlier prints use the former logo, not still) and Bruno the Kid: The Last Christmas. Surprisingly appears in full on the screener cassettes of Queens Logic and Bloodmoon before a preview for a Babar tape, as well as on the screener cassettes of Bad Lieutenant and Almost Blue before a preview for the first ten volumes of Robotech and on the screener cassette of Glengarry Glen Ross before a preview for several tapes centering on dinosaurs and dragons. This makes surprise appearances at the beginning and end of Epix.com's print of The Great Bear Scare, while the Amazon Prime version has the first FHE logo.

Editor's Note: A surprisingly good follow-up to the previous logos, this is a favorite of many, thanks to its impressive use of CGI and camera.