Nelvana's Logo History

1st Logo (December 6, 1977- )

Logo: It's only 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.

Variant: On A Cosmic Christmas, the text "in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation" appears below "production", "Nelvana Ltd.", and the copyright info.

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.

Editor's Note: None.

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

Nickname: "The 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, either with or without an arch. "NELVANA", "NELVANA LIMITED" or "A NELVANA PRODUCTION" is seen below, sometimes with copyright info below.

Variant: On the workprint of Rock & Rule (1983), the logo is yellow rather than the blue color of the theatrical version.

FX/SFX: None.

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 1970s and 1980s, beginning with The Devil and Daniel Mouse. This was also seen on Rock & Rule, The Care Bears Movie, The Wild Puffalumps, and Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. Also seen on the Star Wars: Droids cartoon, the live-action series The Edison Twins, and early 1980s prints of Nelvana's early animated TV specials (A Cosmic Christmas did not 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 until 1988.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (September 14, 1985-November 7, 2003)

Nicknames: "The 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 in 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 some episodes of Babar, The Adventures of Tintin and Beetlejuice.
A longer version was seen on some theatrical releases of the era, including Babar: The Movie and Care Bears: Adventure in Wonderland. After the logo forms, the polar bear stands on its hind legs for a second before assuming its normal position, then all seven stars disappear. Depending on the film, the background will either be the usual blue (as seen on Babar: The Movie), or black (as seen on Care Bears: Adventure in Wonderland).

The 1988 TV special Clifford the Big Red Dog has a rare gradient background variant with the logo rotating on screen from the center. Some episodes of Care Bears have this shortened.

Later episodes of T and T have the logo quickly rotating to the left to reveal the Qintex Entertainment logo (current prints as seen on the YTV Direct YouTube channel have this variant plastered by the 6th logo).

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 Family Dog, this logo is shown on the left alongside with the 1991 Amblin Television logo on the right (without the switch-off part).

On the German dub of the 1993 animated special The Incredible Crash Dummies, this logo is shown on the left alongside the Lamb & Company logo.
On some episodes of Blazing Dragons, this logo is shown on the left, along with the Ellipse Programme logo on the right.

On season 4 episodes of Eek! Stravaganza (episodes with Klutter), this logo is shown in split screen on the left alongside with the 1989-1998 Film Roman logo on the right.

The restored HD prints of The Adventures of Tintin seen on the series' foreign Blu-ray release feature a bizarre variant of the "slowed-down" short version; here, the image has been shrunk down to the center of the screen (presumably a side effect of not having the logo's original negatives or tape to restore from and the series' conversion to widescreen).

On a promo for The Adventures of Tintin, the logo was shown on the right, alongside with the Ellipse Programme logo on the left. Here, the polar bear and stars are white, and the “NELVANA” text is green.

FX/SFX: The light effects and the polar bear moving.

Music/Sounds: An ascending whoosh and a dramatic synth theme, followed by a thunderclap and a humming noise sounding similar to a lightsaber from Star Wars as "NELVANA" lights up. For most of Nelvana's 1990s shows, the end theme played over it, it was silent, or (rarely) the standard theme played.

Music/Sounds Variants:

The gradient background variant used a mystical twinkling sound with a thunderclap. Some specials and shows distributed outside of North America used this variant, although the original broadcasts of My Pet Monster had this version's music playing over the standard logo.

On Care Bears: Adventure in Wonderland, some whooshing sounds with wind chimes and a dreamy synth theme plays.

On Babar: The Movie, a "WHOOSH" sound plays, followed by some haunting chime sounds, then a second "WHOOSH", but it is muted on the VHS release for some reason. Composed by the Toronto-based company Animated Audio.

Availability: Uncommon. Plastering with the 2004 logo has made it not nearly as common, but it's still easy to find.

The short variant can still be seen on 1995-2003 episodes of Little Bear and early episodes of Franklin on Nick Jr., Eek! Stravaganza (whenever reran, usually on foreign Disney networks), Fievel's American Tails on Peacock, VHS and Netflix releases of The Magic School Bus (1994 series), and on VHS and DVD releases of the Nelvana version of Care Bears.

The theatrical variant can be seen on the DVD release of Babar: The Movie (albeit silent for some reason).

Also found on all episodes of Beetlejuice (including the Shout! Factory boxset) and the Donkey Kong Country pilot episode "I Spy With My Hairy Eye".

Netflix's prints of The Adventures of Tintin retain this logo, as well as the 2006 DVD releases of said show; depending on the region, the Blu-ray release will either feature the normal "slowed-down" variant, or the shrunken-down version.

When Fox Kids reran The Magic School Bus from 1998 to 2002, this logo was strangely omitted.

Editor's Note: This is a favourite of many, especially ones that grew up with children's programming during this time.

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 1996, Little Bear continued to use the logo until its end in 2003, and earlier episodes of Franklin used this logo from its debut in 1997, until sometime in 1999.

4th Logo (December 2, 1995-July 30, 2005)

Nicknames: "The Polar Bear III", "Space Polar Bear", "CGI 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 multicoloured comet flies from the right, and as it passes the pinnacle star and the second star to the left in the semicircle, each star lights up.

Variants:

On Cardcaptors: The Movie, an extended version exists in which there's a more delayed zoom-out, ending with the logo animating backwards, but without the comet animation.

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, the byline "Nelvana is a COrUs Entertainment Company" was added (with "COrUs" written in its corporate font), and the logo animation was shifted up from the zoom-out.

For international distribution, it's on a black BG and "Distributed By" and "INTERNATIONAL" (or, very rarely, "International") were chyroned in above and below the logo, respectively. A Corus Entertainment byline was added in 2002.

Starting in 1997, the URL "www.nelvana.com" was sometimes added below or above the logo.

A theatrical variant exists where a five-pointed star flashes in the distance on a much cleaner-looking starfield and the Nelvana logo (which looks more metallic and the stars around the arch are never as visible), which is turned on its side, flies toward the screen and flips upright. A variant on the 3rd logo's polar bear animation (with it standing on its' hind legs briefly) plays while it flips toward us. The logo sparkles a bit in the end. It was seen on two movies; 1997's Pippi Longstocking and 1999's Babar: King of the Elephants.

An in-credit version has appeared on Tales From the Crypt on the last episode (and the only animated one), "The Third Pig". It also appears on the 1997 Pippi Longstocking series with the AB Svensk Filmindustri, TaurusFilm, and TFC Trickompany Filmproduktion GmbH logos.

On the Japanese dub of Donkey Kong Country, the bylineless version appears in-credit and animated in the custom ending theme.

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

Music/Sounds: The end theme of a show, the generic CBS theme, or silence. In 2002, the haunting theme from the theatrical variant of the previous logo was used. Sometimes, only the first "WHOOSH" was used, or the last "WHOOSH" would be cut out. This was mainly used on the extended variant of the logo, but the third variant was also used on the standard long version on a 2004 Nicktoons airing of Pelswick.

Music/Sounds Variants: On the trailer for Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot, we hear what sounds like a shooting star passing by in time with the comet flying. The version used here is the one that starts with the comet flying by.

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.

This logo is often seen on Nelvana's Retro Rerun YouTube channel.

It can be seen on season 2 of Cyberchase, Rolie Polie Olie, the first two seasons of Max and Ruby, post-1999 episodes of Franklin, and international prints of the first four seasons of The Fairly OddParents, among others.

The first four shows can be found on VHS and DVD. Also found on their English dub of the anime Cardcaptor Sakura, known initially as Cardcaptors in those regions, as well as All New Tales from the Cryptkeeper.

It was also seen on Braceface, last seen on Disney Channel and ABC Family (now Freeform) in the US. Beyblade G-Revolution kept this logo until its end in 2005. On Tubi, the Braceface episode "Up in Smoke" retains the Corus Entertainment byline.

This was also seen when Nickelodeon aired My Dad the Rock Star for a brief time in 2005, but Nicktoons airings and current prints have the 6th logo instead.

This is retained on Tubi prints of the Ace Ventura animated series.

Editor's Note: Another popular logo seen on children's programming of the time period.

5th Logo (2001-2004)

Nicknames: "The 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". Sometimes, the byline will instead be stylized as "A CORUS Entertainment Company" in non-italics).

FX/SFX: None.

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

Availability: Rare. This was used as an alternate logo in tandem with the previous one between 2001 and 2004.

On first-run shows, this appears on season 1 of Cyberchase and later episodes of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (Nick Jr. reruns kept the logo intact, but on Qubo, this logo was deleted).

It also appears on some international prints of The Fairly OddParents. One example is the episode "Boy Toy"/"Inspection Detection" from the UK DVD release "Boys in the Band" (the other episodes use the "INTERNATIONAL" variant of the previous logo).

The version with the normal font byline appeared on the Game Boy Advance game Beyblade V-Force.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (September 7, 2004- )

Nicknames: "The Polar Bear V", "Aurora Polar Bear"

Logo: On a black background, the text "NELVANA" is seen with a byline underneath it. A white polar bear then flies 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 pre-1985 in-credit logo.

Bylines:

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

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 without the haze.

On Grossology, there is a version in which the polar bear gets slimed. This variant was only seen on international and Qubo airings of said show, and no haze is shown.

There is a variant where "INTERNATIONAL", in a rounded rectangle, is squeezed in between the company name and the byline. A superimposed version of this variant can be found on the credits for Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure.

A still version of the logo exists, which was seen on the original US airings of Grossology on Discovery Kids/The Hub (now Discovery Family).

On current prints of the first episode of Committed, an extremely rare still variant without the star is seen.

Some reruns of Corduroy have the logo starting after the star is bumped.

There's a superimposed variant with the in-credit text Distributed by Nelvana Enterprises Inc. above it. No haze is shown. Sometimes, it shares the screen with the Treehouse logo.

On Handy Manny, it uses the "A NELVANA PRODUCTION" text 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 also seen here.

Starting with season 5 of Cyberchase, the logo starts when the polar bear walks forward right after jumping onto the logo.

On the Game Boy Advance game Beyblade G-Revolution, the The bear is placed to the left of the logo, and there's an "INTERNATIONAL" plate below. Another game, Bakugan: Rise of the Resistance, shows the logo outlined.

Sometimes, the logo is bylineless.

Occasionally, the 2004 byline is in gray.

On Life with Boys, the logo has smoother animation, but no haze.

An in-credit version appears on some shows.

On season 1 of Horrid Henry, "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is above the logo.

There is a strangely-filmed variant of the full logo that was spotted on a Polish 35mm print of Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure.

On Nickelodeon/Nicktoons Network airings of Wayside, the logo is shifted upwards.

On Wishfart, the text "Produced in Association with" is seen on the upper left side of the logo, and when the polar bear bumps the star, a rainbow comes out of it. It zooms across the screen, transitioning to the Bejuba Entertainment logo. No haze is shown.

On Lucky Duck, there is a bubble transition to the logo. No haze is shown.

At the end of a trailer for Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot, there is a very short version which starts when the haze disappears.

On the trailer of the failed series Formula RC (which can be found on Pipeline Studios's Vimeo account), the polar bear is wearing a cybernetic glasses. After it bumps the star, it settles down when the star turns red, yellow and green. The "N"s are acting like car tires, then the polar bear drives away as the star spins.

On the newly upcoming 2021 later prints of Braceface, as well as Babar, The Berenstain Bears, and Jane and the Dragon (all of which are digitally remastered in High Definition for 16:9 prints), a widescreen version of the logo with the 2003 italicized byline is color-corrected, sharpened and upscaled to a true 1080p resolution. Both the 1985 and 1995 logos will be plastered with this on current releases.

On Channel 5 "Milkshake!" airings of the first two seasons of Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, the Nelvana logo is seen at the top left, The Absolute Digital Pictures logo is seen at the top right, the Callaway Arts & Entertainment logo is seen at the bottom left and the Teletoon "Oval Smile" logo is seen at the bottom right. All logos takes place on a black background. Also, the logos are still. On Channel 5 "Milkshake!" airings of the third and final season of the said show, it's the same as the first two seasons, except the Teletoon "Oval Smile" logo at the bottom right is replaced with the 1999 Treehouse "YTV's Sister" logo. Also, the word "Treehouse" in a green decorative font with yellow trim.

FX/SFX: Appears to be a combination of Flash animation and 2D computer graphics.

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 3-note guitar theme composed by Neil Parfitt, with a ding and a child laughing (presumably voiced by Sarah Gadon or Brianna Gentilella) towards the end.

Music/Sounds Variants:

Shows plastering the 1985 logo may use the dramatic synth theme or the mystical twinkling 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 two notes of the guitar theme is heard, but it's interrupted by the sound of slime splashing and dripping.
In some cases, the logo is silent.

For the Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot trailer variant, we hear the audio variant of the 4th logo.

Sometimes, the child's laughter is not heard.

On The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, the music is sped up without the laughter.

On The Stanley Dynamic and Bubble Guppies, the last part of the music plays without the laughter. On the latter show's episode "The Arctic Life!", we hear this music along with the ending of the song "This is the Arctic Life".

On Spliced, it's the stock sound "Sound Ideas, BIRD, ROOSTER - MORNING CALL, ANIMAL 01", used in the show's theme song.

On the trailer of Formula RC, the driving sounds were heard.

Availability: Very common. This logo is mainly used to plaster older Nelvana logos. It's currently used in tandem with the 8th logo.

It debuted on Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, and last appeared on the second season of Ranger Rob.

Nelvana shows from the time, such as The Backyardigans, Grossology when last seen on Hub Network (now Discovery Family), Babar and the Adventures of Badou, Handy Manny on Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney), Wayside and many others will feature this logo.

The in-credit variant appears on some shows.

It was also used as a de-facto home video logo.

The bylineless logo can be found on Being Ian and Class of the Titans.

The “IN ASSOCIATION WITH” variant appears on some early season 1 episodes of Horrid Henry internationally (CITV airings used an in-credit version). It's also used on Nicktoons prints of episodes.

The superimposed variant appeared on season 3 of Max and Ruby, since the company was never involved as much producing the series along with seasons 4-5, but by the sixth season, the regular version of this logo was used, considering that the company had more involvement in production after both Silver Lining Entertainment and Chorion close their doors in 2012, with Atomic Cartoons co-producing in addition.

This is more commonly used to plaster older Nelvana logos, mainly on DVD or digital streaming.

It is also tacked onto post-2005 prints of Nelvana material, like Babar on Qubo, Bob and Margaret on Showtime Women, DVD releases of Tales from the Cryptkeeper, the now-discontinued Funimation DVD of WildC.A.T.S., and the Shout! Factory DVD releases of The Adventures of Tintin.
It plasters the 3rd logo on The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series DVD box set, released in 2012. All the episodes in the box set have the logo plastered, except for "Ups and Downs", which retains the 3rd logo. It also appears at the end of recent prints of A Cosmic Christmas, after the Viacom "V of Doom" logo.

It can be also seen on 2014-issued printed episodes of the 1986 Care Bears series on YouTube.

Uploads of Nelvana shows on the "YTV Direct" (which originally began as "Nelvana Retro") and "Treehouse Direct" YouTube channels tend to have this logo plastered over the previous ones, sometimes with odd results (the first episode of T and T has the short version ending before the music of the 1985 logo does; all other episodes have the long version to sync with the music).

It also appears on many DVD releases of Nelvana shows internationally, such as The Fairly OddParents (one example is the "Superhero Spectacle" DVD).

When Nicktoons Network aired My Dad the Rock Star from late 2005 to early 2008, this plastered the 4th logo, as does Tubi and DVD releases of the show.

After the new and current logo debuted, this logo was used on the first season of Ranger Rob, season 6 of Max & Ruby and The ZhuZhus (formerly known as Polly and the Zhu Zhu Pets).

The Grossology variant surprisingly appeared on a Captain Flamingo promo.

As of now, this logo is still used in tandem with the 8th logo in conjunction.

Editor's Note: It's an okay and cute logo, but it's considered annoying by some due to its omnipresence. Nevertheless, those that grew up with this logo may consider this memorable.

7th Logo (2004-February 11, 2013)

Nicknames: "The Polar Bear VI", "Cheesy Polar Bear", "Space Polar Bear Wannabe"

Logo: On a starry background in which the stars move about, the polar bear from before is seen with the words "NELVANA" also in the same font as before. A shooting star comes from near-lower left side of the screen and it goes by the polar bear, leaving a shiny star, which reveals itself to be the one in the previous logo. During all this, the byline "A CORUS™ ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" is seen below.

Variants:

There exists an extended version that animates just like the 4th logo's extended version, but cheaper looking and with the text moving into place.

There is a still in-credit version with the bear and star shifted slightly to the left.

FX/SFX: The starry background, the shooting star, and the star shining.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 4th logo. In some cases, it can be the end theme of the show.

Availability: Very rare.

This logo has been a recent discovery, and has appeared on a small number of Funimation Entertainment-distributed Nelvana releases.

So far, this logo has appeared on the 2005 DVD release of Braceface: Turning 13 in terms of plastering the 4th logo, and was used as a de-facto home video logo on the 2004 compilation DVD Nelvana's Friendship Collection: Making New Friends, and the 2004 VHS and DVD releases of Beyblade G-Revolution: Beginning of the End?. It's currently unknown if this was on Nelvana's other home media releases.

The in-credit version can be found on seasons 4-5 of Max & Ruby.

Editor's Note: None.