NCircle Entertainment

Background
NCircle Entertainment is an American DVD distributor focused on children's programming that was founded in 2006. It is a division of Alliance Entertainment (unrelated to the Canadian company of the same name) and is based in Irvine, California. The company is known for their issues of Cookie Jar Entertainment properties.

1st Logo (2006-2007)
Nicknames: "The Orange N", The Yellow Ring", "NCircle of Boredom"

Logo: On a white background, a NCircle Entertainment print logo is shown, composed of "NCiRCLE" in a paintbrush-like font within a yellow ring.

FX/SFX: Mostly none, made in 2D.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Seen on early NCircle releases including the DVD release of Mario's Movie Madness.

2nd Logo (2007-2013)
Nicknames: "The Orange N II", The Yellow Ring II"

Logo: On a gray/light blue striped background, an orange "N" moves and turns around, then the camera cuts to a yellow ring bouncing from the left. Then the "N" runs away from the yellow ring. It comes to the left and briefly stops in place, before continuing to run away from the ring. It comes to the front of the screen. The yellow ring comes to the back of the "N", and drops like a coin as "CiRCLE" appears from the right letter by letter, then the word "entertainment" slides from the right.

Variants:


 * There is a "Stay Tuned" bumper variant where the logo is on a bubble background with the NCircle Entertainment print logo is shifted down a little, and the words "STAY AROUND AFTER THE PROGRAM TO SEE PREVIEWS OF MORE GREAT SHOWS FROM" are above the logo. Another variant is the same, but the upper text says:
 * "THE FOLLOWING DVDs ARE AVAILABLE FROM"
 * "THE FOLLOWING DVDs ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM"

Technique: The "N", the yellow ring, and the words, all CGI. A big improvement over the previous logo. This was done by motion designer Ryan Hartsell, using Cinema4D and Adobe After Effects for compositing.

Music/Sounds: A soft pop tune with a handclap beat and a synth-piano section, ending with chimes on the final piano section. A car horn is heard as the "N" stops in place, as well as a child's laugh near the end, and after the music ends the child says, "NCircle".

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Sometimes, during the logo's early days, the child's laugh and dialogue are absent.
 * The laugh and dialogue may be slightly delayed.

Availability: Common.
 * Seen on many DIC Entertainment and Cookie Jar releases, including several issues of the Super Mario Bros. cartoons such as Box Office Mario, Air Koopa, Mario Spellbound, Once Upon a Koopa, and Mario Bros. Mix (limited edition only), as well as The Legend of Zelda, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground, Horseland, and Heathcliff DVDs.
 * Also seen on NCircle Entertainment releases such as The Wiggles, Pocoyo, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Sid the Science Kid, Dino Dan, WordWorld, Chloe's Closet, and The Gruffalo.

Legacy: A favorite of many for those who grew up with it.

3rd Logo (2013-)
Nicknames: "The Orange N III", "The Yellow Ring III"

Logo: On a white background, first it's an orange N again, but it's in it's actual bold font instead of a child-like font, appears with a yellow firework, the word "Circle" appears letter-by-letter, the color of the fireworks are: blue and yellow, yellow and white, blue and red, pink, sky blue, and transparent. When the logo finishes the word "entertainment" appears, and many of the 2D fireworks randomly appear, the yellow ring appears via a bouncing effect, and a lime-green firework appears.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A drumroll, a 7-note happy tune, a twinkling noise and the child from the previous logo once again saying "NCircle" (which, for some strange reason, includes the tail end of the piano chord).

Availability: Current.
 * Seen on current NCircle Entertainment releases, such as Llama Llama Red Pajama.
 * Also seen on their YouTube channel.