Any movie-goers planning to take in the premiere of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax this weekend will also get to see the big-screen debut of Universal Picture’s new logo. The redesign of the animated logo comes in honor of the film studio’s 100th anniversary.
“Our Centennial year is the perfect opportunity to create a new logo that reflects our future while honoring our past,” said Ron Meyer, Universal Studios President and COO. “Universal’s new logo celebrates the studio’s extraordinary legacy in creating lasting movie memories and connecting viewers across the globe.”
This is the seventh incarnation of the studio’s animated logo. The original logo, which depicted a Saturn-like planet with the studio’s name imprinted on the enveloping ring, lasted over fifty years before it underwent a redesign in 1963. Since then, the logo has seen several variations.
Below is a video that recounts the evolution of Universal’s logo design, all the way back from the live-action model that flew a dangling airplane in front of a spinning globe to the ISS-style point-of-view sequence more familiar to today’s audiences.
One you didn’t see in the above video, though, was the variant that was designed to fit with the 8-bit theme of Scott Pilgrim VS. The World:
Home theater nerds might recognize this one, which was used in Blu-ray releases of Universal’s movies.
And here, finally, is the latest incarnation of the logo that audiences will see ahead of The Lorax:
Along with the new logo sequence, audiences with a trained ear might notice that the score is different. That’s because the logo comes with a new arrangement of Jerry Goldsmith’s classic score, which has been the musical accompaniment to the logo since 1997. The new re-recorded composition now includes a choir, new string parts, and a drum cadence utilizing world percussion instruments.
As excited as everyone will assuredly be over the impressive new logo, don’t forget to stick around for the actual movie after the logo sequence concludes.