Warner Bros. Entertainment

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. and abbreviated as WB) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Skydance Corporation. Founded in 1923 by brothers Harry, Albert (Abe), Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games, and was one of the "Big Five" major American film studios up until its acquisition by Paramount Skydance Corporation in 2026, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

The company is known for its film studio division, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and DC Studios. Among its other assets include the television production company Warner Bros. Television Studios; animation studios Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios; comic book publisher DC Comics; and video game development and publishing arm Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Warner Bros. also operates various divisions specializing in publishing, merchandising, music, theater, and theme parks. Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character created as part of the Looney Tunes  series, is the company's official mascot.

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1st Logo (June 30, 1996)

Visuals: There is the iconic Looney Tunes red/black concentric circles, with "WARNER BROS." on the top and "Presents" on the bottom. The WB shield extremely zooms in to the point that it fills the screen, making the words explode out of the screen. Then, the screen fades out to a 3D head, that being Marvin the Martian alongside the Looney Tunes logo. At the end, Marvin's eyes glow, seguing into the short.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A re-orchestrated version of the ending section of "Merrily We Roll Along" by Richard Stone, with the steel guitar slide lick extended by four seconds, and crumbling sounds when the text explodes.

Availability

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Media Title Date(s) of Release Additional Note(s)
Marvin the Martian in the 3rd Dimension
June 30, 1996
Debut and only appearance.

2nd Logo (Early 2000s)

Visuals: Same as before, but the shield is smaller, the concentric circles are more detailed, and everything is in a box on a cyan background. No animation is present except for the camera zooming in to the shield.

Variant: At the end of the episode, this logo plays in reverse.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A bit-crushed audio clip of the starting section of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" (the 1941-1945 arrangement variant).

Availability

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Media Title Date(s) of Release Additional Note(s)
Marvin the Martian
Early 2000s
Debut and only appearance

3rd Logo (July 5, 2010)

Visuals: A version of the Warner Bros. shield (without the banner) with "Warner Bros." on a tropical background is shown while palm trees and 2 spotlights stand about. Then, it collapses and the shield opens with filmstrips and with places, such as the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, the Moai statue, Chinatown homes, the WB water tower, the Big Ben, and the Rio de Janeiro statue. It also segues into the clips such as The Big Bang Theory, The Matrix, and The Middle. At the end, it closes for said shield, which opens to Charlie Harper (from Two and a Half Men; played by Charlie Sheen). The shield closes and then shines. The "Warner Bros." name flies in to the shield.

Trivia: If one looks closely in the background, the water tower from Animaniacs can be seen.

Technique: CGI designed and animated by Jonathan Wimbush and Taka Ikari.

Audio: Sounds of eagles, earthquakes, the clips from said episode, and Charlie Sheen saying "You have hit the jackpot here?".

Availability: Only seen at the beginning and the end of the Warner Bros. LA screenings of 2010.

4th Logo (Pentagram website) (November 13, 2019-)

Visuals: A standard version of the Warner Bros. Pictures logo is shown. Then, it morphs/transforms into the same shield, redesigning the logo, and the letters draw and form into the 2019 shield.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: None.

5th Logo (August 16, 2020-May 1, 2022)

Visuals: Over a black background, the 2019 WB shield is shown in yellow. It fades in and out.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: The opening theme of the show.

Availability

6th Logo (100th anniversary logo) (December 15, 2022-2024)

Visuals: The sequence starts with the water tower of the Warner Bros. studio lot at dusk, similar to the 2021 Warner Bros. Pictures logo, but it pans from it instead of passing through. It then fades to the golden edge of the WBD shield, as it cuts through another view of it and finally through a stylized gold "100", with the WBD shield beside the "1". The text "CELEBRATING EVERY STORY" fades in on the "00".

Variants:

  • A textless version exists.
  • A short version also exists where the logo animates faster than usual.
  • On another video, the animation of the shield revealing isn't cut.
  • French, Portuguese, German and Japanese versions of the WB100: Share Every Story variant also exist on the company's respective YouTube channels with subtitles.
  • On a promo video released during the 95th Academy Awards, only the shield is seen, which zooms out very quickly, with the URL "WB100.COM" below, which shines.
  • On a video released on the day of the studio's centennial, the previous Warner Bros. Pictures logos are seen through various iris-in transitions, starting with the 1935 logo and then with the 2021 logo being seen last, which then transitions to this logo. The screen then flashes and the logo turns brighter on a bokeh background with the iconic water tower to the right. The end result has "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" in front of the abstract "100". The logo is then wiped away from the left by a light.
  • A rare version exists, which takes place on the Steven J. Ross Theater in the studio lot, where the "Warner Bros." script sign is being replaced by the WB100 logo above the theater and the marquee reads "CELEBRATING EVERY STORY".

Technique: CGI. The WB100: Share Every Story variants use live-action for the studio lot.

Audio: The opening/closing theme of the video.

Audio Variant: On WB100: Share Every Story, Morgan Freeman's voiceover is heard.

Availability: First seen on a video from the company called WB100: Share Every Story, which can also be seen on the centennial's website.

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Bumper (March 2, 1994-)

Visuals: On a black background, is the typical modified screen text in the Gill Sans MT font, reading:

This film has been modified
as follows from its original
version: it has been formatted
to fit your screen.

Variants:

  • Sometimes, the text is bolded.
  • The font of the text may be changed.
  • Some films include additions to the text, to include references to the editions of the film to run in the time allotted. This may also include editions for content.
  • On Spanish tapes of the era, the text is in all-caps and in an Arial font in Spanish. (Which roughly translates to "This film has been modified from its original version to adapt it to your screen.").
  • On later VHS prints of Eyes Wide Shut, the text reads, "This feature is presented in the full aspect ratio of the original camera negative, as Stanley Kubrick intended."

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None usually, but on Descriptive Video Service VHS's released by Warner Home Video, a narrator says "This film has been formatted to fit your screen" (sometimes preceded by either "A message appears" or simply "A message").

Availability:

  • Seen on 1995-1997; 1998 MGM and Turner/Columbia TriStar Home Video and the VHS releases of A Christmas Story, (also seen on the 1999 DVD and 2003 20th Anniversary DVD), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, Hamlet, Lone Star, and The Spitfire Grill, the logo as the result of the Warner Home Video is played by modified screen instead.
  • Seen on New Line Both Side DVDs, As heard of Warner Home Video is playing instead.

Warner Features Company
Turner Entertainment Co.
Warner Bros. Entertainment
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