Disney Interactive

Background:
Disney entered the games market in 1988 with the establishment of Walt Disney Computer Software, called Disney Interactive since 1995. During the first years, they were involved mainly in game development, but later gradually changed to mostly publishing business. In 2003, Disney name was left for educational products and virtually disappeared, while the Buena Vista Games label was presented for games. In 2007 Buena Vista Games and Buena Vista Interactive merged into current full-scale entity Disney Interactive Studios.

1st Logo (1988-1990)
Nickname: "Disney Castle"

Logo: On a black background, we see the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, with fireworks appearing one-by-one. The word "DiSNEY", in its corporate font, appears overlapping the castle.

Variant: Depending on the game (and maybe the platform), this logo will have different colors.

FX/SFX: The fireworks and "Disney" appearing.

Music/Sounds: An 8-bit rendition of the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from Song of the South.

Availability: Rare. It was only seen on Matterhorn Screamer! and The Chase on Tom Sawyer's Island.

Scare Factor: Low.

2nd Logo (1990-1995)
Logo: On a black background, we see the CGI yellow words

_DiSNEY_ S O F T W A R E

with "DiSNEY" in its corporate script font. There is a Pinocchio star in the line. The words "sparkle". On some games, this logo has no animation.

Variants: FX/SFX: The "sparkling".
 * There is a black and white variation on some Game Boy games.
 * There is also a white background version used on Beauty and the Beast.
 * On Aladdin for Game Boy and Genesis and The Lion King for SNES and Genesis, the Virgin Interactive logo is seen below the Disney Software logo, with "A" and "CO-PRODUCTION" above and below respectively, and "AND" sandwiched in the middle between the Disney Software logo and the Virgin Interactive logo, forming the message "A Disney SOFTWARE and Virgin INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT Co-Production". (For example, the custom variant that was seen on Aladdin for Game Boy and Genesis features the Genie flying from left to right past the Disney Software and Virgin Interactive logos; sometimes it has copyright info below).
 * On The Jungle Book for the SNES and Sega Genesis, Tinker Bell from the 1953 movie Peter Pan flies from the left and waves her hand to form the Disney Software logo. She exits out of the screen, leaving a pixie of dust to dissolve. We also hear an elephant's "howl" sound when the Disney Software logo appears. The Sega Genesis version has different graphics with the Disney Software logo already formed.
 * On The Jungle Book for Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System, the logo reads just "WALT DiSNEY" colored in tan, shining. The logo freezes.
 * On The Lion King for DOS, the logo had enhanced quality.

Music/Sounds: Just the opening of the game's theme. On Mickey Mania, it's silent.

Availability: The animated version can be seen on Aladdin for DOS and Amiga. The still version can be found on The Lion King for DOS, SNES and Sega Genesis with the Virgin logo, and Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse for SNES, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD. The black and white version is rare, being seen on The Lion King for Game Boy as well. The second animated version was pretty quite rare, being only seen on The Jungle Book for the SNES and Sega Genesis.

Scare Factor: None.

1st Logo (1995-2005, 2016)
Nickname: "Di"

Logo: Just a still image of the Disney Interactive logo with the Disney logo with "INTER" and "ACTIVE" stacked below it with a red square with the Disney "D", with the "i" dot on top cut out of it. This logo is also usually superimposed onto the intro of the game.

Variants: FX/SFX: None. In the animated version, the fade-in.
 * For Game Boy games, this logo is in black and white.
 * Black or white backgrounds for this logo exist.
 * On The Jungle Book: Rhythm 'n' Groove Party and Donald Duck Advance, copyright info is shown below.
 * For Nintendo 64 games and the GBA version of Monsters, Inc. and Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge, the logo is in 3-D.
 * There is the animated version in which the entire logo fades in one-by-one on a white background. This can be seen on My Disney Kitchen, Winnie the Pooh: Preschool and Winnie the Pooh: Kindergarten.
 * There is also another version of this logo for everything is in one straight line instead of the normal up and down version, the "DI" logo is on the left and the words "Disney Interactive" are on the right, this is seen on Kingdom Hearts.
 * The logo appeared underwater on Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
 * on Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical Ballroom, the logo is a mosaic.
 * on Disney Princess: Fashion Boutique, the logo is seen in a mirror.

Music/Sounds: Only the opening theme of the game. Sometimes, it's seen silent.

Availability: First seen on Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow for Sega Genesis and the SNES. It can be found on Toy Story for Sega Genesis, SNES and PC, some CD-ROM games like Disney's Magic Artist, Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King, Disney's The Lion King Activity Center, and more games. It also appears on Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games as well. It was also seen on PlayStation games like Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix and The Jungle Book: Rhythm 'n' Groove Party. One of the last games to use this was Chicken Little for Game Boy Advance. This logo is used in tandem with the other ones. Also seen on Mulan's Story Studio, and Disney Princess: Fashion Boutique. This logo strangely made a surprise appearance in the movie credits of Zootopia. Disney Princess: Royal Horse Show does not feature this logo.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo (1996-2003)
Nicknames: "Di II", "CGI DI"

Logo: On a black background, a flash starts and the red box is formed with "DiSNEY INTERACTIVE" above it ("DiSNEY" is in the corporate signature logo font like the last logo). Suddenly, a spark of light sketches the "D" and "i" like the last logo (with a dot above it). Once the dot above the "i" is formed, several sparks of light shoot out of the top left corner of the box. The box with the "D" and "i" glows for a second.

Variants:
 * On Hercules, the logo is shortened.
 * On some Disney Interactive CD-ROM previews, the entire logo is already formed on a black background and it just draws two letters in a box, then it flashes to a purple/white shade background and then black again.
 * The animated version is seen on the Game Boy Color version of Monsters, Inc. and A Bug's Life.
 * On Disney's Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the logo is slowed down.
 * There is also another version of this logo. We see a swirl of sparkles on a purple background, and then the flash starts and the red box is formed and it does the same process.
 * On the Disney's Animated Storybook Toy Story and Toy Story Activity Center, The logo plays normally at the end of a dark blue tunnel while a shortened version of the music from the CG Walt DIsney Pictures logo plays in the background. The clouds from Andy's room walls are on the walls of the tunnel.
 * On Toy Story 2 Activity Center, the logo plays on a TV.
 * On The Little Mermaid's Story Studio, the logo features in one of the bubbles and has the opening theme of the game playing.
 * On the first edition PC game of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the logo simply flashes in on a black background.
 * On Disney Villains Revenge, A Longer version of the purple background variant appears to exist. Just before the usual animation starts on the purple background, we see clouds and sparkles flying and moving and showing clips of Steamboat Willie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Beauty and the Beast.
 * On Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Fashionable Adventure, the logo plays on Lizzie's locker at HillRidge Jr. High and has the Lizzie McGuire theme song of the game playing.
 * The animated version can be seen on the Game Boy Advance version of 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'.

FX/SFX: This is some cool CGI animation!

Music/Sounds: A lab-like tune depending on the variant, the opening theme of the game (e.g. Tarzan and Hercules), or none. On the purple background variant, we hear a synth tune (with the opening of said tune being reminiscent to the synth tune of the second Capcom logo) along with the sounds of stars and magic. The WWTBAM? variation uses a 3-note synth tune, then a long fade-out that transitions into the Celador logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: On The Haunted Mansion (2003) video game, the purple background variant of the music is double-pitched and is warp-speed.

Availability: The original black variant appears on some Disney PC games released during this time period, normally as part of the games' opening, including The Little Mermaid's Story Studio and Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Fashionable Adventure. The version with music appears on the PS1 versions of A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!, Toy Story Racer, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Lizzie McGuire: Racer, and Disney's Dinosaur (other versions of these games use the still logo (for A Bug's Life) or the purple version of this logo). The Purple background version is very common, and appears on many Disney video games released during this time period, used in tandem with the previous and 4th logos. The last game to use this logo was Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure.

Scare Factor:
 * Medium for the original variant. The dark sounds and environment do not mix well.
 * Low for the purple background variant. Despite being (slightly) tamer, the sound effects and synth tune can catch you off guard.
 * None for the opening music variants.

3rd Logo (2001)
Nicknames: "Di III", "Disney Rock"

Logo: We start in a green-toned water cave, when an earthquake starts and some stones fall down. A light appears. Then the rock emerges, with the Disney Interactive logo carved on it (in yellow instead of red).

FX/SFX: Al the animation: falling stones, water ripple, rock emerging and the light in the cave.

Music/Sounds: Earthquake humming, splashes of water, followed by a soft musical tune.

Availability: Seen on Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Search for the Journal, and Atlantis: Trial by Fire.

Scare Factor: None.

4th Logo (2001-2003)
Nicknames: "The Paper", 'Di IV"

Logo: On a black background, we see a white paper fly with the Disney Interactive logo in it, drawing. Then a fairy resembling Tinker Bell flies in to colorizethe logo. The logo "shines".

Variant: On Monsters, Inc. for PlayStation 2, the logo is slightly stretched-center. It also appear in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) video game.

FX/SFX: The paper flying.

Music/Sounds: A long whoosh, and a loud synth note, which sounds similar to the THX Deep Note. On Disney’s The Jungle Book: 1st Grade, it’s silent.

Availability: It's a lot harder to find than the 2nd logo. Games that have this logo include Lilo & Stitch: Trouble In Paradise, Peter Pan: Return to Never Land, Piglet's Big Game (the European versions use the 2nd logo instead), Stitch: Experiment 626, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Monsters, Inc., Pooh's Party Games (Party Time with Winnie the Pooh in Europe), The Lizzie McGuire Movie Activity Center, the Nintendo GameCube version of Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers, Disney Trivia Challenge and Disney Princess: Magical Dress-Up, all for PlayStation and PlayStation 2, as well with the Nintendo Gamecube, PC, and Xbox. This logo was used in tandem with the 4th logo until 2003.

Scare Factor: None to low, the music can get to some, and the scare factor may be higher for those with THXphobia.

Final Note: Disney Interactive was folded into Buena Vista Games in 2005 after the release of Cinderella: Magical Dreams and was folded again to Disney Interactive Studios.

Buena Vista Games
(2003-2007)

Nickname: "BVG"

Logo: On a black background, we see a blue box fading in with the letters "bvg" in lowercase letters inside it. The words "BUENA VISTA GAMES" is shown below. Then the logo turns dark and zooms out, leaving its green shadow for a second. For the later years, the logo is slightly re-colored.

Variants: FX/SFX: The logo fade in and turned dark for the animated version, none for the still version.
 * A still version exists.
 * Another still version exists for when the background is white and the logo fades in for a couple seconds, then it fades out.
 * On The Chronicles of Narnia for GBA, the logo is arranged with snowy background.
 * On the NDS version of Cars, the logo is on a movie theater.

Music/Sounds: None. Sometimes, the game's theme or a whoosh noise.

Availability: Uncommon. The animated version can be found on Disney video games of the era. The still version can be seen on Cars and The Proud Family among others all of the GBA. Until 2005, this logo is used in tandem with the Disney Interactive logo (which was claimed to be a publishing brand of BVG). The white background version can be seen on Kingdom Hearts II.

Scare Factor: Low.

1st Logo (February 9, 2007-)
Nicknames: "The Disney Shield"

Logo: On a black background, we see a glowing 3D blue shield, with "DiSNEY" in a silver blue corporate font in it, and below it is "INTERACTIVE STUDIOS" in blue. The logo shines. Copyright info is shown below, or sometimes not at all.

Variants: FX/SFX: The logo shining.
 * For majority of Game Boy Advance games, early games and Pixar games (except for Toy Story Mania! and Toy Story 3: The Video Game which had the regular logo instead), "INTERACTIVE STUDIOS" is absent. Some Pixar games don't even have the shield.
 * For Nintendo DS games, the logo is still, but sometimes superimposed over the intro of the game. The previous variant can be used here as well, for example on Herbie: Rescue Rally.
 * There is a still version of the logo with "INTERACTIVE STUDIOS" on it in a white background with no shining. The shield is also silver.
 * There is a version with white background. This can be seen on trailers, but also on a few games.
 * On mobile and iPhone releases, the logo is designed as just "Disney Games" on the blue background.
 * On later games with this logo, the shield appears darker than usual, with the waving ripple, but without the shine.
 * There are other custom variants used in the games.

Music/Sounds: A sparkling sound.

Availability: Common. The still version can be found on a majority of GBA and Nintendo DS games, and all Kingdom Hearts games from Kingdom Hearts: Re: Chain of Memories onwards.

Scare Factor: None to minimal, the sparkling sound and the shining could get to some, but otherwise harmless.

2nd Logo (June 8-August 31, 2012, October 18, 2012-)
Logo: We first see a white ring on a dark grey background. A grey cursor clicks the ring, making it flash a little and turning into a "C", which spins for a bit. "INTERA TIVE" wipes in from the middle, and "DiSNEY" (in the usual font) fades in on the top, which makes this:

DiSNEY INTERACTIVE

Disney.com

Copyright information is shown on the bottom right.

FX/SFX: The mouse moving, the "C" spinning and the zooming out.

Cheesy Factor: In 2013 episodes of Swampy's Underground Adventures, the copyright info says 2012, showing Disney's laziness to change it.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the Webseries. On Swampy's Underground Adventures, we hear a remixed click, an ascending techno note and a ping.

Availability: Seen on the Talking Friends and Swampy's Underground Adventures webseries on Disney.com. It's not shown in any games, though.

Scare Factor: None for Talking Friends and low for Swampy's Underground Adventures.

Logo Variations
Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge (2002): The logo is on a space background and the Powerpuff Girls flies in the air.

'''Lizzie McGuire: On the Go! (2003):''' After the title screen, we see and Lizzie McGuire, Timmy Turner, Miranda, Gordo, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Professor Utonium and Zim walks in, Lizzie using magic glitter forming the Disney Interactive logo.

Cinderella's Fairy Castles (also known as Cinderella's Castle Designer) (2003): After the title screen, we see blue birds and yellow butterflies forming the Disney Interactive logo from pink (for the "DI") and white (for the square) flowers. They flutter away, and "Disney INTERACTIVE" is absent.

Ratatouille (2007): The logo falls on the board in the sequence of other logos, and Remy runs to escape them. Seen on the PS3.

Wall-E (2008): The logo takes place on a special background in the same style of the game, the shield is absent, and "Disney" is made out of crimson red glowing lines. Other logos follow in the same style.

Up: The Video Game (2009): The logo appears on the sky background with balloons. The shield is absent.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game (2010): On PSP version, the logo is on a cloudy backdrop.

On the Nintendo DS version, the logo is on a blue/black gradient background.

Tron Evolution: Battle Grids (2010): The logo is designed like a blue electronic grid, and then flashes away.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned (2010): The game was cancelled. On the trailer, the logo is green and underwater.

Split/Second (2010): The shield is glowing black with metallic tone.

Epic Mickey (2010): The logo is slightly rotated and is surrounded by dark paint. It is then washed away to reveal the Junction Point logo.