Paramount Home Entertainment

> *"Paramount Home Video" redirects here.*
>
>

*Logo descriptions by
 Day91821*

*Logo captures by
Augi2000, Sblloalex, Drewbie Melle, 56748678NNNN, Jeff Meredith, Day91821, MakoFTW, Crazy Muzzarino, Magnetic1977, Snelfu, Finn & Jake*

*Editions by
 Day91821, Jack Whiskers, Ollie7890*

## Paramount Home Entertainment

### Parent:

Gulf+Western (1979–1989)
Paramount Communications (1989–1995)
Viacom (1995–2014)

## Background

Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly "Paramount Home Media Distribution", "Paramount Home Video", and "Paramount Video") is Paramount Pictures' home media division and was formed around 1978/1979 (some sources claim late 1975). The company owns the home media rights to films and shows owned by Paramount and shows from sister company Paramount Media Networks (under individual labels such as MTV Home Video and other subsidiaries). The company also licenses the right to release material from CBS Corporation (now known as Paramount) (such as CBS Studios/CBS Media Ventures and Showtime Networks material released through CBS Home Entertainment, although CBS Films material is released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lionsgate Home Entertainment) and several independent studios. They formerly released DreamWorks Animation material through DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment until 2014, when the latter acquired distribution rights to their library and transferred the rights to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. On September 27, 2011, Paramount Home Entertainment was renamed Paramount Home Media Distribution after merging with Paramount Digital and Television. Starting in 2012, the Republic Pictures library and select Paramount films were licensed to Olive Films and Kino Lorber. From 2013-2016, the company licensed the home media rights to most of the Paramount Pictures (with some exceptions) library to Warner Home Video. Paramount continues to release licensed material and material from sister companies. In May 2019, Paramount Home Media Distribution was renamed back to Paramount Home Entertainment.

## Paramount Home Video

### 1st Logo (September 17, 1979-October 2, 1980)

**Nicknames:** "Still Mountain", "Boring Mountain", "Blue Mountain", "Paramount Mountain", "'70s Mountain", "Gulf+Western Mountain"

**Visuals:** On a navy blue background, we see the word "***Paramount***" in a modified version of its famous script, with the words "**HOME VIDEO**" in a Eurostile Extended Bold font sandwiched between two lines. Next to it is the current Paramount Pictures print logo. After a few seconds, it fades to a warning screen on the same background.

**Byline:** Referred to as "**A Gulf+Western Company**" in the Helvetica font.

**Variant:** A B&W version exists. It can be seen on B&W releases, such as *Sunset Boulevard*.

**Technique:** None, unless one wants to count the fading effect to the warning screen.

**Audio:** None, but on some releases, you can faintly hear audio from other Paramount films, such as *Paper Moon* in the background.

**Availability:** Extremely rare. One of the last releases to use this logo were the five volumes of *Star Trek* episodes as part of the "Television Classics" series on VHS and Betamax.

**Legacy:** One of the first home video company logos ever made; it's very simple, but they had ways to go.

### 2nd Logo (October 3, 1980-January 26, 1981)

The mountain in the beginning productThe flash appearing behind the mountainThe finished product

**Nicknames:** "Mountain Silhouette", "Scanimated Mountain of Doom", "Black Mountain", "Rising Mountain", "Cheesy Mountain", "In the Shadow of Paramount", "Early '80s Mountain"

**Visuals:** On a blue background, we see a black mountain, which moves down and a flash of light appears behind it. Then, the glowing stars, "***Paramount***" script in gold and "**HOME VIDEO**" text all zoom in as the background darkens.

**Trivia:** The second half of the logo was once used for the 1978 Paramount Television Service logo, which explains the chyron effects for the "**HOME VIDEO**" text. It was animated at Sullivan and Marks.

**Variant:** On *Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown!*, the logo cuts to the last half of the 1975 Paramount Pictures logo.

**Technique:** Backlit animation, done by Sullivan and Marks.

**Audio:** A pounding backbeat, followed by a synth chord with a brief explosion sound and some "sizzling".

**Availability:** Like the first logo, this is also extremely rare, but more because of the fact that this was only used on two batches of releases and re-releases.

**Legacy:** It shares the same amount of cheesiness from the Paramount Television Service, with the added edition of the cheap cut to it and the chyroned "**HOME VIDEO**" text. It is also known to creep out some thanks to the ominous music and nature. On the other hand, it's a favorite to those looking for the tapes that have this logo, and it is definitely a very unique logo.

### 3rd Logo (October 5, 1983-March 12, 1987)

The print logo in the beginning productThe print logo zooming inThe print logo covering the screenThe finished product

**Nicknames:** "Glowing Mountain", "Neon Mountain", "Blue Paramount", "Zooming Logo", "Paramount Mountain III", "'80s Mountain", "Gulf+Western Mountain II"

**Visuals:** On a black background, we see the current Paramount Pictures print logo in blue, which zooms in until it covers the screen. A flash of light appears, transitioning to a black screen with "***Paramount***" (in its well-known script) and the word "VIDEO" underneath, sandwiched between two lines, all in blue.

**Byline:** Referred to as "**A Gulf+Western Company**" in the Helvetica font.

**Variants:**

* A B&W version exists.
* A rare, slightly longer version exists, where we just see the beginning product for a few seconds and then the animation and music start as normal.
* At the end of an April 1998 Syfy airing of *The Demonsville Terror*, the animation is slowed down and there is a freeze-frame once the logo covers the screen. It is currently unknown if this variant appeared anywhere else.

**Technique:** 2D computer animation, done by Editel LA.

**Audio:** A series of synthesized strings, followed by a soothing synth fanfare, composed by Richard J. Krizman.

**Availability:** Very rare. Seen on video releases of the era.

**Legacy:** This logo is a favorite of many, thanks to its soothing music and rather high-tech animation for the time.

### 4th Logo (April 20, 1987-March 2014)

75th anniversary versionGulf+Western byline variantGold Paramount Communications byline variantWhite Paramount Communications byline variantViacom byline variant (1990 coloring)Viacom byline variant (1993 coloring)Viacom byline variantEnhanced variantParamount Pictures 75th Anniversary (1987)Paramount Pictures (1988-1989) VideotapedParamount Pictures (1989-1990) Videotaped Version (NTSC)Paramount Pictures (logo 1995 videotaped version)Paramount Pictures (2001)**Nicknames:** "CGI Mountain", "Model Mountain", "'80s/'90s Mountain", "Perumount", "Paramount Mountain IV", "75 Years of Paramount", "Happy 75th, Paramount", "Paramount's 75th", Anniversary Mountain", "Happy Anniversary, Paramount", "Gulf+Western Mountain III", "Paramount Communications Mountain", "Viacom Mountain"

**Visuals:** Same as the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo, but it's videotaped, the video quality is somewhat sharper and the color scheme is brighter than normal. On occasion, the logo begins much earlier than the theatrical variant.

**Bylines:** Below the logo, one of these three bylines fade in.

* April 20, 1987-August 25, 1989: "**A Gulf+Western Company**" (in the Helvetica Neue font. 1987 releases had the 75th anniversary variant, while 1988-89 releases used the standard one.)
* September 7, 1989-May 9, 1995: "A Paramount Communications Company" (in the Times font. 1989-90 releases had the byline in gold, while 1990-95 releases had it in white.)
* June 13, 1995-March 2014: "**/\ VI/\CO/\/\ CO/\/\P/\NY**" (in the Wigga-Wigga font.)

**Variants:**

* Like the movie logo, at the end of tapes, only the finished product is seen, with the clouds moving westward in the background.
* There is also a shorter version seen on screener VHS releases.
* A telecined version existed, as evidenced by the general fade-ins and outs. It starts with an almost fully static picture (with only the clouds moving). After a few seconds, the animation continues as normal. The color scheme also has a bit of a brownish/earthy tone to it. This can be seen on some 1990-2001 VHS releases.
* Some tapes with the Viacom byline have the logo become still once the byline appears.
* A still version is seen at the end of some tapes. This was also used on the 2002 DVD of *Rugrats: Decade in Diapers*, the 1992 VHS of *Demonic Toys* and before trailers on certain tapes from 2000 to 2002.
* The Viacom byline variant is slightly shifted up on some PAL DVDs.
* On the 1996 VHS of *Mission: Impossible*, the logo plays at warp speed and at the end, Nick Tate announces "Coming to theaters this holiday season from Paramount Pictures."
* Even though Paramount debuted an updated version of their movie logo in 1999, they still used the 1995 variant for home video releases.
* This logo was spotted at the end of screener VHS releases. The later Viacom byline variant is already formed, but the copyright stamp appears below and then it fades out to make room for the byline to fade in.

**Technique:** A mix of CGI and live-action model work. Like the movie logo, this was designed by Dario Campanile, animated at Flip Your Lid Animation, with the stars animated at Omnibus Computer Graphics and the mountain modeled by Apogee, Inc and the 1999 version was animated at Pittard Sullivan.

**Audio:** None or the opening theme of the film.

**Availability:** Very common. This was used as a de-facto home video logo. Combine this with its 27-year lifespan, and this may be the most common home video logo.

* The 75th anniversary variant can be seen on 1987 video releases.
* The 1988-89 version with the Gulf+Western byline can be seen on 1988-1989 video releases.
* The Paramount Communications byline can be seen on 1989-1995 video releases.
* The early Viacom byline can be seen on post-1995 video releases, including television series.
* The later Viacom byline can be seen on video releases starting with the Paramount reissue of *Rugrats: A Baby's Gotta Do What a Baby's Gotta Do* and some other Nickelodeon tapes from 1996.
* One of the last tapes to use this logo was the demo VHS of *Wonder Pets!: Save the Wonder Pets!*.
* Asian VCDs continued to use this logo until the mid-2010s, while Indonesian tapes continued to use this logo until 2014.

**Legacy:** Same as the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo.

### 5th Logo (December 25, 1993)

**Nicknames:** "Lined Mountain", "Perumount II", "Paramount Mountain VI", "'80s/'90s Mountain II", "CGI Mountain II"

**Visuals:** On a light blue gradient lined background, the "***Paramount***" script traces in, which starts off gold, but then later turns white when the background cross-fades into the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo.

**Technique:** CGI. Like the movie logo, this was designed by Dario Campanile, animated at Flip Your Lid Animation, with the stars animated at Omnibus Computer Graphics and the mountain modeled by Apogee, Inc.

**Audio:** A bombastic fanfare, based on the end theme of *The Untouchables*, composed by the late Ennio Morricone, along with the late Gene McGarr announcing "Paramount Pictures, bringing you the finest in holiday entertainment, and the best of the new year".

**Availability:** Very rare. It can be seen on VHS releases from Christmas 1993 that were available at McDonald's.

**Legacy:** None.

## Paramount Home Entertainment

### 1st Logo (November 12, 1996)

**Nicknames:** "Gold Mountain", "The Best Show in Town", "Paramount Mountain VII", "Late '90s Mountain", "Viacom Mountain II"

**Visuals:** We see a golden square with the Paramount print logo in gold (similar to the 1989 Paramount "Feature Presentation" bumper), which zooms out and the script zooms out.

**Byline:** Referred to as "**/\ VI/\CO/\/\ CO/\/\P/\NY**" in the Wigga-Wigga font.

**Technique:** CGI.

**Audio:** Same as the previous logo, but with Nick Tate announcing "Paramount Pictures, the best show in town!"

**Availability:** Rare. Only seen on the VHS release of *Mission: Impossible*.

**Legacy:** None.

### 2nd Logo (Early 1998-2003)

Bylineless versionViacom byline variant

**Nicknames:** "Pittard Sullivan Mountain", "Unused CGI Mountain", "Millenium Mountain", "Paramount Mountain VIII", "Late '90s Mountain II", "CGI Mountain III", "Viacom Mountain III"

**Visuals:** Similar to the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo, but the sky background looks similar to the next logo and animates differently with the stars and script already there.

**Trivia:** This logo was animated at Pittard Sullivan (hence the nickname "Pittard Sullivan Mountain"), who also animated the 1999 enhanced version of the 1986 Paramount Pictures logo.

**Bylines:**

* Early 1998-2001: (bylineless)
* 2001-2003: "**/\ VI/\CO/\/\ CO/\/\P/\NY**" (in the Wigga-Wigga font.)

**Variant:** A filmed version exists on at least three trailers, which was intended for a new theatrical logo, but ended up being unused, since Paramount redid their 1986 logo in 1999.

**Technique:** CGI, done by Pittard Sullivan.

**Audio:** A majestic orchestral fanfare, based on "The Crimson Gump" from *Forrest Gump*, with Jim Cummings does one of the two voice-overs:

* Early 1998: "In celebration of the end of one millennium and the dawn of another, Paramount Pictures is preparing to bring to movie lovers everywhere a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."
* March or April 1998-1999: "...In celebration of the end of one century and the dawn of another...Paramount Pictures is proud to present a collection of films that symbolize the best in its movie-making history..."

**Availability:** Rare. Only used on Paramount's "Millenium Collection" trailers and at least three theatrical trailers.

**Legacy:** A fantastic CGI effort that sadly was never used on an actual movie (not counting its usage in trailers). It also appears to be the base for the Paramount Classics logo, which virtually has the same animation albeit in reverse.

### 3rd Logo (May 7, 2002-December 27, 2008)

Flying Stars (Early 90th Anniversary variant)Fullscreen 90th anniversary versionWidescreen 90th anniversary version4:3 center 90th anniversary variantFlying Stars (*Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure* variant)*Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure* variantFlying StarsFullscreen standard VersionFullscreen standard filmed versionWidescreen standard version4:3 center versionParamount Home Entertainment (2002-2003)Paramount Pictures Logo (2003 Opening Version)**Nicknames:** "CGI Mountain IV", "Mount Paramount", "2000s Mountain", "Perumount III", "Paramount Mountain IX", "90 Years of Paramount", "Happy 90th, Paramount", "Paramount's 90th", "Anniversary Mountain II", "Happy Anniversary, Paramount II", "Viacom Mountain IV"

**Visuals:** Same as the 2002 Paramount Pictures logo, but it's videotaped and zoomed out (also known as open-matte). Releases from 2002 to 2003 used the 90th anniversary variant, while releases from 2003 to 2008 used the standard one.

**Byline:** Referred to as "**/\ VI/\CO/\/\ CO/\/\P/\NY**" in the Wigga-Wigga font.

**Variants:**

* There is a shorter, more common version where it starts when the stars fall from the sky.
* In extremely rare cases, the logo doesn't fade in or out. This can be seen on the 2005 VHS release of *Dora the Explorer: It's a Party!*.
* A widescreen version exists. This can be seen on widescreen releases from Paramount.
* Even though the clouds in the movie logo were updated on *The Sum of All Fears*, Paramount still used the prototype variant of the clouds for most home video releases until 2003. However, the 90th anniversary version with the finalized clouds only appeared on *Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure*.
* A filmed version of the 2003 variant exists.
* At the end of tapes, the finished product is seen, with the clouds moving eastward.
* On the 2005 VHS release of *Dora the Explorer: It's a Party!*, the logo is zoomed in, much like the 2002 Paramount Network Television logo.
* On most releases with the 90th anniversary version, there is a slight error on the portion where the text zooms back.

**Technique:** CGI. Like the movie logo, this was animated at BUF Compagnie and PIC Collective.

**Audio:** None or the opening theme of the film.

**Availability:** Fairly common. This was used as another de-facto home video logo.

* The 90th anniversary version can be seen on VHS and DVD releases starting with the 2002 VHS of *Blue's Clues: Reading with Blue*, such as *Trading Places*, *SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories* and *MTV Yoga*.
* The 2003-07 version with the Viacom byline can be seen on releases, such as *SpongeBob SquarePants: Nautical Nonsense*, *SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge Buddies* and *SpongeBob SquarePants: Halloween*.
* Even though demo VHS releases used this logo until the end of 2006, the final demo VHS releases from 2007 used the 4th logo, while VCDs continued to use this logo until 2007 (such as the 2007 VCD of *Flushed Away*) and rare screener demo VHS releases continued to use it until 2008 (the last of them being the rare 2008 screener demo VHS release of *Ghost Town*, alongside the 5th logo).

**Legacy:** Same as its movie counterpart.

### 4th Logo (2017- )

Paramount Pictures Logo (2013)-2Paramount Pictures Logo (2020) -4K HDR-Paramount Pictures Logo (2022)
**Visuals:** It's just the current Paramount logo with no home video indication.

**Technique:** CGI, done by DevaStudios.

**Audio:** Same as the 2011 Paramount Pictures Logo.

**Availability:** Again, this is used as de-facto home video logo.

* Appears on all Paramount 4K UHD Blu-Rays, as well as all Paramount DVDs and Blu-Rays (excluding those of CBS, Showtime and Paramount Media Networks content) beginning with *Bumblebee*.
* Appears (oddly) on the beginning of Nickelodeon DVDs starting in 2023 (instead of the Nickelodeon Digital or a new Nickelodeon Home Entertainment logo), such as *Are You Afraid of the Dark? Ghost Island*, *PAW Patrol: All Paws on Deck*, and *SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Thirteen Season*.

Paramount Pictures | Famous Players Film Company

**Home Entertainment:**
**Paramount Home Entertainment** | Paramount DVD | Paramount High Definition

**Television:**
Paramount Television Studios | Paramount Television | Desilu Productions