Universal Animation Studios Logo History (featuring Walter Lantz Productions and Universal Cartoons)

"Universal Animation Studios Logo History (featuring Walter Lantz Productions and Universal Cartoons)" complied by TR3X Productions, 23/01/2025.
TLDR: This video focuses on the animated logos from Universal Pictures' animation departments, along with the intros/title cards from Walter Lantz Productions, whose cartoons were distributed by Universal Pictures from 1929-47 and from 1950-72.
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The first Universal animation department was founded in the late 1920s, and Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created and designed a character for Universal in 1927, which would be featured in hundreds of short films by the company until 1938; that was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Walt produced and directed most of the first twenty-seven Oswald films until September 1928, when he and his crew left Universal to focus on his and Ub's latest creation... Mickey Mouse! Winkler Productions, who co-produced the Oswald films with Walt Disney Studio since September 1927, stayed on with Universal until August 1929, when Walter Lantz (a member of Winkler's animation team since September 1928) took over as producer from September 1929 until the last Oswald short was released in March 1938. Walter Lantz Productions became independent from the old Universal Cartoons studio in late 1935, although they would still be affiliated with Universal Pictures for the next few decades; the second and last logo from Universal Cartoon Studios (first incarnation) may have made its last appearance in the "Unpopular Mechanic" short film, the nineteenth to last film in the Oswald series.
The first logo to depict Walter Lantz's signature was the first cartoon in the Cartune series, that being the "Baby Kittens" short. As the 1930s came to a close, technicolour began to be regularly used in Walt's cartoons, and one of the first shorts to use this process was "Life Begins for Andy Panda", the first cartoon to feature Andy Panda. A year later, the fifth short film in the Andy Panda series introduced Walt's most renowned character, and that was no other than Woody Woodpecker! The "Knock Knock" cartoon was also the last appearance of the first logo, and the following title cards in the 1940s would occasionally feature the "Walter Lantz" text in a cursive font. United Artists distributed Lantz's cartoons from 1947-49, and in the latter year, Walter Lantz Productions took a hiatus until 1950 due to financial problems. When Walter Lantz Productions returned to the animation industry, they continued to release more shorts in the Woody Woodpecker series (1941-72), but they also introduced new series such as Chilly Willy (1953-72), the Beary Family (1962-72) and more. The eleventh and penultimate logo from the Walt Lantz Studio was used for nearly two decades, and there are countless variants of it on different backgrounds, but I have not included them all because this video is primarily concerned about the logotype, not the background. Note the altered shadow of the cel sheet in the 1965 and 1970 variants.
Universal's second and current animation department was founded as Universal Cartoon Studios in 1990, and the first and most remembered logo from them was introduced a year later, featuring animation by Spaff Animation Inc. to the design of Eric Semones. The shortened version of the logo appeared on TV shows like Exosquad and the Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, while the full-length version (featuring music by Michael Tavera) made its debut on the second Land to Time film in 1994, the studio's first feature-length film. Whilst that logo was in use, Universal Cartoon Studios introduced another logo that is simply the 1997-98 Universal Television logo, the only difference being that "Cartoon Studios" replaces the "Television" text, although it was absent in some appearances. In February 2006, the studio released their first theatrical feature film, and that was "Curious George". It also marked the debut of their third and latest logo, featuring CGI animation by Blur Studio that was produced by Riverstreet Productions, achieved by referencing a design by Bill Dawson and globe illustration by Wayne White. The name of the animation studio was changed from Universal Cartoon Studios to Universal Animation Studios at that point, and the logo was used for over a decade, when it made its last known appearance on "Curious George: Cape Ahoy" in September 2021.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:05 Universal Cartoon Studios (01)
1:49 Walter Lantz Productions (02)
6:25 Universal Cartoon Studios (03)
8:44 Universal Animation Studios (04)
9:29 Credits
-TR3X