Interstation Studios

Background: Interstation Studios was founded by animation legends Maria Franks and Ryan Napier in Harlan, Kentucky in 1976. In 1983, the American arm debuted and Maria Franks and Ryan Napier were in charge of the company. Space Needle Animation Studios bought the company in 1986 when Ryan Napier left. It was bought by Nickelodeon in 1996, until Maria Franks reacquired the company from Nickelodeon in 2002 by becoming independent with an investment by Space Needle Animation Studios. Interstation Studios produce many shows or movies such as The Disco Hero, Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff, Snap's World 3, Megamind, and finally Kirby's Dream Land: The Movie. Starting 2012, Database Productions bought half of the company, and in 2013 the whole company. In 2014, Maria and her daughter Danielle purchased the company back from Database by becoming publicly traded on the NYSE under the name INTERS, with investment from SFM Entertainment and French multinational advertising and public relations company Publicis Groupe S.A., and started syndicating a package of Interstation Studios shows appearing on local stations syndicated by SFM Entertainment (nicknamed as the “Interstation Saturday Morning Network").

1st Logo

(1981-September 1985)

Interstation Studios (1981)

Nickname: "Flying in the Clouds", "Helicopter", "The DiC Inspector Gadget Rip-Off!"

Logo: We see a helicopter passing an Interstation Studios logo on a sky background. Halfway through, a mallet comes out (presumably involuntarily) and hits the space above the "I", dotting it. Then the helicopter flies away.

FX/SFX: Just a quality animation.

Cheesy Factor: The whole logo looks like it was in the 80's.

Music/Sounds: An outro from the end notes of the Inspector Gadget theme song. There is also a "boing" sound heard when a mallet "dots" the "I".

Availability: Originally seen on many Inspector Gadget episodes during the 1980s after the DiC logo, this logo is actually rare; though it was replaced with newer logos on reruns and DVD releases, usually the "Arthur" or the "Incredible Box". This was last seen on television during the late 90s airings on Nickelodeon. However, it was NOT saved when Inspector Gadget made the rounds as part of a syndicated package of Interstation Studios shows appearing on local stations syndicated by 4Kids Entertainment between 2005 and the summer of 2010 (nicknamed as the “Interstation Kids Network” and now the “Ultimate Enterprise Kids Network”). To make it less obvious, the end credit animation is slowed down except for the audio to run at the allotted time so they could plaster this logo with the current one. However, the logo is still intact on the DVD set of Inspector Gadget: The Complete Series, and can also be seen on the prints of the show used on Youtube.com (ironically on that site, some Inspector Gadget episodes uses the "Incredible Box" logo).

Scare Factor: None to low, depending on what you think of the music.

2nd Logo

(September 1985-September 1988)

Interstation Studios (1985)

Nickname: "Interstation Studios in Space", "A Second Ultimate Enterprise Studios Rip-Off!", "A Second DiC Rip-Off!"

Logo: We see the yellow words "Interstation Studios" on a starry background with stars animated in it.

FX/SFX: Stars animating.

Music/Sounds: A 1984 DiC music.

Availability: Rare. It's seen on Snap's World on Nicktoons Network. Most of the shows that had this logo (Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats to name a few) are not currently rerunning on American TV, so it’s pretty much gone outside of tapes (and some DVDs). But if the shows are rerun on a local station (especially as part of an Incredible Box/Ultimate Enterprise block), expect the "Incredible Box" to replace it. If they are rerun on Boomerang, Nicktoons Network, Disney XD, or another channel like that, the logo might be intact. The DVD set of Heathcliff has this logo. It was also left intact on Dish On Demand's prints of The Real Ghostbusters (followed by the 2002 SPT logo) and is also retained on DVD releases. The videotaped variant hasn't been seen in years though, but left intact on reruns of certain shows. When the DiC series of the Care Bears is aired on the Christiankids network Smile, it cuts to a Smile bumper before the logo starts. It was recently seen on The Care Bears Family episode "Grams' Cooking Corner / A Care Bear's Look at Food Facts and Fables" on various stations airing the “Interstation Saturday Morning Network" package, before and after the "Incredible Box" logo and the DHX Media and SFM logos. The videotaped variant was also recently spotted on a Interstation block airing nationwide of Care Bears Family episode "The Fountain of Youth / Treat Heart Baba and the Two Thieves" on stations like WBIN-TV Derry/Boston, WCCA-TV Worcester, and KDOC-TV Anaheim.

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo

(September 1988-1990)

Interstation Studios (1988)

Nickname: "Sacred Star", "Rainbow Star"

Logo: On the black background with rainbows in it, we see the words "Interstation Studios" with a rainbow star on it.

FX/SFX: Rainbows animating.

Music/Sounds: Just an uninspired synth tune. The end theme may also play over it.

Music/Sounds Variant: There is a much longer version where the logo theme is followed by three drum beats at the end.

Availability: Scarce; it has a slim chance of appearing on DiC shows if your local stations are airing them, but your best bets are the DiC VHS and some DVD releases. This logo is also preserved on some Ultimate Enterprise prints of Inspector Gadget. When Disney XD airs The Littles episodes from the era, it cuts to the next show before the logo starts.

Scare Factor: None. Just a soft, dreamy tune and smooth special effects.

4th Logo

(1990-1998, 2003-)

Interstation Studios (1996)

Nickname: "Arthur!", "Arthur and the Rainbow Logo"

Logo: On the black background, we see the words "Interstation Studios" from the 3rd logo with a rainbow black star on the left and Arthur on the right.

Variants:

Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World: Arthur is replaced by the Mario Brothers.

Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground: Arthur is replaced by Sonic and Tails.

On the TV movie The World's Only Loveable Billionare, Arthur (Russel Brand) replaces Arthur.

The Littles: D.W. replaces Arthur.

Inspector Gadget: Arthur flies on the Gadget Copter.

TV spots and trailers for Cats and Astronauts!: The New Beginning: Heathcliff replaces Arthur.

Megamind (2010 remake): Missing Link replaces Arthur.

Arthur: The background and the star on the left are white and the word "Television" replaces "Studios".

2003-present resurrection ("Incredible Box" variant): This logo was resurrected. This time, instead of the regular Interstation Studios logo, it has the Interstation Studios "Incredible Box" logo from the final logo.

All CD-i games had The King replacing Arthur. In Hotel Mario and the Zelda CD-i games, the king gets punched by an anthropomorphic spaghetti.

On the 1977 movie The Adventures of Orbitty Jetson, Astro Jetson replaces Arthur.

A variant with a red background exists in Sonic X (the Sonic the Hedgehog anime).

The variant with the red background was spotted at the end of Valentine's Day Is Bowser's Day.

FX/SFX: Just Arthur animating and blinking his eyes.

Music/Sounds: A show's ending theme or silent.

Availability: It has 40% chance of this logo appearing at the end of DiC, Nickelodeon and PBS shows such as Rugrats and Heathcliff and a 100% to appear at the end of Arthur. It also appears strangely enough on the 2003 airings of the Pokémon episode, "Don't Touch That 'Dile!" on Boomerang. Hatena's Saturday morning block from 2005 kept the logo intact when it aired Arthur.

Scare Factor: Low; a sudden appearance of the black star with a rainbow behind it may startle some people. The scare factor elevates to none if you like Arthur. But that's nothing compared to the next logo...

5th Logo

(1992-1994, 1998-2001)

Interstation Studios (1992)

Nickname: "The Rotating IS's of Doom!", "Interstation Studios!", "Why, Interstation Studios!? WHYYY!!?"

Logo: On a black background we see many fast-rotating "IS" texts, so much they take up the entire screen. Then the large IS appears and turns blue. The "Interstation Studios" logo from the 3rd logo fades in below.

Trivia: The woman saying "Interstation Studios!" is Canadian voice actress Donna Christie.

FX/SFX: The IS texts rotating, the large text appearing and the logo fading in.

Music/Sounds: A spooky fading synth music, with a woman saying "Interstation Studios!" near the end in most cases. Starting 1993, a whispering synthesized choir sings “Waaaaahh...”

Availability: You can currently find this logo on Mega Man (along with the Ultimate Enterprise Studio "Teeth Thing and Face" logo!) on KidsTV and Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? on The Hub. It can also be seen on Andria's Land DVDs. Another show to find this logo on is The Foxy Flanagan Hour on Discovery Family. Also spotted on the second season of Heathcliff. Many shows utilizing this logo can be found on Youtube.com, with this logo intact. Somehow, this plastered the 1st logo when the Hatena Kids Channel aired fully remastered episodes of Inspector Gadget. However, it was NOT saved when The Foxy Flanagan Hour made the rounds as part of a syndicated package of Interstation Studios shows appearing on local stations syndicated by SFM Entertainment during the summer of 2014 (nicknamed as the “Interstation Saturday Morning Network"). To make it less obvious, the end credit animation is slowed down except for the audio to run at the allotted time so they could plaster this logo with the current one.When the second season ofHeathcliff is aired on Smile, it cuts to a Smile bumper before the logo starts.

Scare Factor: High to NIGHTMARE for unexpected viewers. The darkness of the logo, the lightning speed of the IS texts, the scary music, and the sudden choir weren’t easy to look at for most kids, either. But the scare factor varies for those who are used to seeing it. It also elevates to SUPER NIGHTMARE due to the Ultimate Enterprise Studio "Teeth Thing and Face" logo directly following it.

6th Logo

(1994-2011)

Nickname: "Turner Program Services Rip-Off!"

Interstation Studios (1994)

Logo: On a white background is an "Interstation Studios" logo from logo 3. Underneath, letter by letter, the words "An Ultimate Enterprise Company" quickly unfolds.

FX/SFX: Words appearing.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1981 Ruby-Spears Productions logo.

Availability: Rare. The logo is harder to find than it was in the past, thanks to plastering, but it can be seen at the end of Pokémon reruns on Niggo X part of The 90s Champions Are All That Jazz! (not falling victim to the split-screen credits). Until November 4, 2011, early episodes of Pokémon: Black and White also had this logo.

Scare Factor: None. It is tamer than the previous logo. This is also generally a well-known and memorable logo among fans of the 90's Ultimates.

7th Logo

(1998-2003)

Interstation Studios (1998)

Nickname: "The Starsplosion Logo", "The Powerpuff Girls Logo"

Logo: On pulsating background of concentric rainbow circles, against, the logo appears into view. Gold stars rain down behind it. The words "An Ultimate Enterprise Company" quickly appears below it.

FX/SFX: Words and the logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: A six-note outro of The Powerpuff Girls theme.

Availability: Seen on some episodes of Pokémon, plastering the 6th logo. Also seen on some Cyberchaseepisodes. It can also be found at the end of the VHS release of Snap: A Chalky Christmas Hero, and it made a brief cameo on Bomberman Quest and Bomberman Online. It also appeared on the Powerpuff Girls episode "Geshundfight" by an accident due to the production error (Obviously), as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. was now listed as a producer on recent airings of that said episode.

Scare Factor: Same as the 1st logo.

8th Logo

(2003-2012)

Interstation Studios (2003)

Nickname: "The Incredible Box", "Box", "CGI Box"

Logo: On the white background with the CGI box rotating, we see the logo from before in red with the words "An Ultimate Enterprise Company" below it.

Variant: Starting August 2012, when Database Productions bought a 50% stake in Interstation Studios, the byline "An Ultimate Enterprise/Database Productions Company" appears. In 2013, when Database purchased the whole company, the byline "A Part of Database Productions, In Rio de Janerio, Brazil and Boston, Massachusetts, USA" appears. In 2014, when Maria and her daughter Danielle bought the whole company back, the byline "An SFM Entertainment, Maria Franks, Danielle Franks, and Publicis Groupe Company" appears. Since late 2014, when Ryan Napier and his friend, former voice actor Nancy Lenihan re-joined/joined the company, the byline "A SFM Entertainment, Maria Franks, Danielle Franks, Ryan Napier, Nancy Lenihan, and Publicis Groupe Company" appears. Since 2016, there is no byline.

FX/SFX: CGI box rotating.

Cheesy Factor: It look perfect on CGI's!

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show. On at least one episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the music from the previous above logo was used, possibly due to an editing error. Also, on the ninth episode of Mega Man, the music from the 5th logo is used, due to sloppy plastering.

Availability: Currently seen of all shows just about it. It was also seen on the 2012 anime, Bubble Bobble Heroes.

Scare Factor: None for the original, High for the Mega Man variant due to the "Rotating IS's of Doom" music.