Rankin Bass Production Logo (1969)

[shamgate]

this music gave me the creeps when i was a kid LOL

[Alouette1968]

@shamgate That closing credit after "Dragnet" (Mark VII Ltd.) scared the hell outta me. And for some reason, the old Paramount logo...

[FlashMaster659]

the rankin ass logo isnt scary

[oldiesmusic76]

Also on Peter Cottontail ending during Easter!!

[millenniumman75]

The Copyright on that is MCMLXX - 1970.

[soulwinnerism]

This brings back memories. I get sentimental hearing this. I remember hearing this every year after watching Rudolph and Frosty.

[TheBambam2371]

you knew christmas was just around the corner when you saw this logo after frosty or rudolph

[BaltoLoneWoolf]

@news5aksionfan661,

I have seen the Screen Gems and the V of Doom logos, and this one is nothing compared to those. The one you should look out for is this rare Russian logo with a scary head on it. *shudders*

[KodyBoy555]

Rankin-Bass Productions: Famous for making Christmas specials, even done in 2D animation and stop-motion animation.

[jmar1973]

Maybe I'm being too particular...

But I have this need to hear this jingle at the end my Christmas cartoons...Without it,it just ain't the same.

Am I right?

[Terrorcowboy]

Christmas is coming!

[pardyhardly]

This makes me want to sneak under the Christmas tree and peak at my presents.

[TheZeke1974]

Wow this brings back memories.

[toastichedu]

Wonderful memories of Christmas TV Specials. Still enjoy them to this day.

[BaltoLoneWoolf]

This would always scare me as a child. I hated the fact that it came on that the end of every single Christmas special. I've gotten used to it now, but it still creeps me out.

[news5aksionfan661]

@BaltoLoneWoolf So if you think this is still scary,will you think the the Screen Gems "S from Hell" is nothing compared to this?

[Wondermouth1]

Will you people grow a pair! I grew up with this logo....Your adults now!...It was a sweet ending to a wounderful kids show!

[CThompson17]

You knew that it was Christmas time when you heard/seen this logo.

[TheSneakyLizard]

The closing logos nowadays are not scary when you compare the quality of the past ones and the present ones, if you know what I'm talkin' about.

[AMsrok00]

i really dont get why people think this is scary. i love rankin bass. is it christmas yet?

[PhoenixGoddess1983]

@AMsrok00 people think it's scary? *shakes head in disbelief*

[HomeoftheGoodGuys]

This was taken from the two VHS tapes that I have are "Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" which I got at a garage sale today. It was followed by the Broadway Video logo and then the "Paintbrush" FHE logo. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" didn't have that one at all.

[sldl04]

weird.

[sldl04]

creepy

[SongsJerome]

That sound is heaven!

[jsj85]

take that you nasty v of doom

[QueenNostalgia]

hearing that music always gave me a weird feeling. its hard to explain. even still, I'll always have fond memories of all those great Christmas specials. *sigh*

[Armidillodude]

Its a cool logo today but there is still something about the combination of the music and symbol thats very eerie and i remember watching a VHS tape that had grinch and horton hears a who and i remember enjoying watching it and then at the end this logo appeared i didn't expect it and the tape just ended it really scared me leaving me in my room with that music and symbol

[imbluz]

@Armidillodude

I know what you mean. The logo is a very simple geometric shape. The music is abrupt, a bit harsh, but also grandiose. It brings back fond memories of all those old shows. It's strange how a logo can have such an effect on our minds. It only lasts but 5 or 6 seconds.

[ncdude367]

@imbluz I couldn't agree with you more! Something as simple as this reminds me of watching what I called the "puppet" Christmas shows when I was a little boy. :-]

[Kyoobur9000]

1 person hates Christmas specials

[davelounder]

Great stuff ... GREAT stuff!!! I was only 6 in 1969, but will FOREVER remember this awesome logo!!! Thanks for uploading it!!!!!!! Dave Lounder

[asw9243]

@davelounder Yeah. Me too.The music is RETRO!!!

[Success2gether]

Oh, the memories!

[ANDREWEHUNT]

I love that logo! It takes me back to my childhood, right around the holidays. I can play it over and over and never get sick of it.

[RichHartley19671]

The music was severe and stern sounding--not at all melodic or pleasant. For an added thrill, after this they'd run some dire public service announcement for the American Lung Association ("This is life [cut to baby by its mother's side]...this...[cut to mother puffing away on a cigarette]...cuts it short.") Another time they ran an ad for--I think it was blood donation--and full facial shot of a doctor wearing green hosptial operating scrubs and mouth mask, staring at the camera.

[txag2011]

@RichHartley19671 I know what you mean!!! F*ckin Partnership for a Drug Free America made me hide under the blanket

[mixmessiah]

Add me to the list of people scared by this as a kid! I'm 41 now (born '69). This logo and the logo that had the metal stamper thingy. And the "LY" cartoon from the Electric Company 'cause it had Dracula at the end.

[TrashJuice616]

To me, this logo is just ugly.

[Quamlen]

I saw this logo after watching Frosty the snowman.

[CajunGypsy]

The logo by itself is not nearly as scary - it's the creepy-assed music that really raises the neck hairs. It's almost as bad as the Screen Gems "S from Hell" music...for me,anyhow.

[mnmcv1]

@CajunGypsy -

my sister thought this music was scary...but I LOVED IT! 

[1978nichols]

Can anyone make a remix of this jingle?

[girlintheflesh78]

Oh the horror of it all!!!!!

[MattTheSaiyan]

This logo gives me the sudden urge to watch old TV specials.

[1happycats]

Rankin Bass is exciting, and she's 43 years!

[DJCandyManMike]

How long was this one used?

[aramanth]

I recently blogged about Scary TV Logos on Retroland. While sketching out the blog I realized that many of the logos such as Rankin Bass came at the end of prime time shows before kids went to bed.

So the fanfare and odd logos triggered a feeling of finality in the child watching it.

[MadameLil]

@aramanth Thank you! That's exactly how I felt watching that as a kid.

[madami72]

awesome!

[DestructiveDonut1]

When my older brother saw it, it scared the crap out of him when he was little.

[PrincessZelda613]

I am a mere 14 years old (I will be 15 in June) and remember this quite well from the Rudolph specials that aired, I believe it disappeared around 2002 or so, because I do remember seeing it as a small child in the late 90s.

[lurch321]

This logo SCARED me as a kid! And now, as a 38 year old, it doesn't exactly scare me, but it gives me the creeps!

[FireCheepCheep]

I most recently saw this on my Frosty the Snowman DVD. I like it.

[MrRackensack]

it was for sure related with the Christmas shows. I like this theme

[Phundaze]

Noboby seems to know about RANKIN / BASS until I brng this up and then the flood gates open.

[ardalsgirl]

Everytime I see that logo and hear that song it feels like Christmas. :)

[thomasisland1]

I loved the music playing on the logo, it is old and making me feel young

[mkend3]

This is the logo that you see on those Claymation Christmas Specials that you see every year.

[wrkn258]

make a history of rankin bass

[wrkn258]

they used roman numerals next to videocraft international

[babygiraffe123]

The jingle has a sort of....a comforting feel to it. I have no idea why.

[cocobliss30]

The music gave me a weird feeling as well. Those feelings came back when I watched 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' the other day and this logo was shown at the end of it! LOL

[americangirl564]

I've always loved this logo ever since I was little. I love the music to it. It reminds me of Christmas,of course.Especially if it's a Rankin/Bass Christmas special that just went off!! Thanks for posting!!!! X D

[1986Sheri]

where was this from?

-1986Sheri

[happy7117]

I think the logo sounds scary due to the sad flute......

It also seems to tell kids in musical tones that's it's time for bed because Rudolph is over.

[cmulwee001]

There is(was) no Rankin Bass logo on Rudolph, at least not originally. The company was called Videocraft International at that time.

The Videocraft logo, an inverted triangle comprises of three TV screens on top of each other that is superimposed over Santa as the closing theme ends, was the company's logo at the time. It IS possible that an RB logo was added for reruns[at one time], but current airings don't have it. We see Classic Media logo instead.

[PJSkins26]

cmulwee001 Back when I was a kid in the mid 1980's my mom videotaped Rudolph for me and my siblings and I clearly remember after Santa say Merry Christmas twice as he, Rudolph, and the Reindeer head towards the moon. There was that classic Rankin Bass logo so yes there was a Rankin Bass Logo after the airing of Ruldoph for a time. I don't remember when they took out the Rankin Bass Logo though.

[SeanElGatoTelevision]

@cmulwee001: It was. Post-1968 rebroadcasts (until a few years ago) had the Rankin-Bass logo tacked on at the end. Current copies (based on the remastering job Classic Media did on Rudolph eliminate the R-B logo (and brought it closer to its original 1964 premire broadcast than what's been shown for years).

[Loise004]

i heard this thing is a scary logo

but there is nothing scary about the logo

[JojoPandacutie1989]

This logo had a blue thing that will look like a tv screen to me. LOL. :D

[HomeoftheGoodGuys]

@JojoPandacutie1989 That TV screen can be used for the new "Warning" screen on current Warner and New Line DVD's and Blu-Ray's with the words "Piracy" with a slash on it, similar to the one used in a "No Smoking" sign, and the "Ghostbusters" logo and the big fat "WARNING" shown in the background Same similarity to the Rankin-Bass logo "TV Screen" version, but it's different.

[URJynxed]

I agree, this was a little disturbing when I was a kid as well

[aramanth]

This scared me too as a kid, I guess the sound of the bongos and flutes and knowing it was time to go to bed, not fun.

Man I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one to be scared of television logos!! lol

[dadadruma]

me too my sister used to make fun of me about that and she would get up and turn the volume up full blast before id get off the couch wish we had a remote back in 73

[jfunk513]

This logo rattled me a bit when i was younger because of the bumper music and the wierd rattling sound in the background jingle a lot of the bumpers back then startled me especially the paramount blue mountain lalo schefrin music and the "closet killer theme" because there is nothing like being 5 or 6 years old and being alone especially at night and out of nowhere comes either really creepy startling music or logos which some how add to the fright like the paramount logo before the blue mtn

[GuinevereJuliet]

This brings back some very fond memories, mainly Christmas programs from the good old days, when America was still America (1960s through mid-1970s.)

[retrooldschool]

used to scare me too

[05steelersrule08]

I distinctly remember this at the end of Rudolph back in the day. It's haunting tones definitely weren't my favorite in the world. It ranks (to me anyway) as a classic all-time "scary logo".

[GDelva2003]

what is so scary about this logo? It's a charming logo

[05steelersrule08]

each to his own, I guess

[KyubiStewie]

@GDelva2003 The Broadway Video logo came after this, which was scary

[mvtjets96]

@GDelva2003 lol at teh end its like DUN DUN, BLARGH!!!!!!! With some creepy ass instrument.

[GDelva2003]

@mvtjets96

I tend to pay attention to the flutes/whilstles

[mvtjets96]

@GDelva2003 Well I dont mean now, im just sayin it kinda creeped me out when i was little. And it still sounds sorta creepy now... but cool.

[news5aksionfan661]

@GDelva2003 Maybe its the music that sounded somewhat dramatic

[GDelva2003]

@news5aksionfan661

Maybe...

[dnm72863]

The copyright byline gives the year as MCMLXX (1970).

[DogbiteOW]

Wowc Haven't seen this one in decades. Miss it at the end of the Christmas shows.

[hollicrombie8792]

i look forward to seeing the rankin bass logo each christmas more than the christmas movies themselves...

[takingyourtime]

This one kinda scares me. I always liked the "special presentation" with the music before the charlie brown specials. The Rankin Bass thing didn't scare me then as much as it does now. We were subjected to some pretty weird crap those days. Now I look back any say to myself, "Damn! That was scary!" I look back because there's nothing really out there in Hollywood that is genuine and scary.

[soln4suhreborn]

My question is:

What inspires the composers to come up with this music for these logo shorts. This one always sounded disturbing like something's wrong or something! lol. Even now when I hear it,it makes the hair on back of my neck stand up.

[lno2k6]

The 1969 logo that mentions "A Rankin/Bass Production-Videocraft International Limited 1969" is from "Frosty the Snowman" and "The Smokey the Bear Show".

[cruiseshipz]

Wasn't it taken from Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Because I might reconize the kind of logo Rankin Bass is.

[JohnnyL80]

Yes it was

[cruiseshipz]

K, because it was aired since 1970.

[HBKanedge818]

I REALLY wanted to see this logo at the end Or Rudolph this year but at the end I see NO LOGO. All I see is a stupid Broadway video logo. I was pissed. I love this logo. It fits so good with Rudolph, It's christmasy. I love watching Rudolph every year.

[vinylrecord68]

Originally "Rudolph" didn't have this logo...just the Videocraft International logo is shown before Santa says "Merry Christmas!" When CBS picked up the special from NBC in 1972, the Rankin/Bass ID was tacked on at the end, including the byline "A Division of Tomorrow Entertainment", and has been that way up until Broadway Video picked it up as the distributor.

[HBKanedge818]

Thanks for the comment dude but I remember I did see this logo at the end of Rudolph in 1994 or 95. I remember it cuz the music fit 100% with the ending. The 1967 Tomorrow Entertainment hummingbird logo is one of my favorites as well. Ive never seen it on TV but I seen it on Youtube dozens of times.

[videoguy100]

@JohnnyL80 I have this show on VHS.

[mcy919]

Didn't this one have the 1998 WB-TV logo right after it with the R/B music still playing?

[JohnnyL80]

No, that was the 75 version

[mcy919]

Oh yeah...You're right!

[DVaccarelli1988]

Actually it was the 1968 version seen on Frosty the Snowman.

[bigdogonnet]

@JohnnyL80 doesn't the roman numeral look like 1970 to u?

[beatledude64]

wow, best quality of the rankin bass logo ive seen.

[newandused1998]

1969