Gecko Studios

Background
Gecko Studios was a production company that was formed by Elliot Strange in 1987, based in San Diego, California. Following creative issues at ABC centering on The Halloween Gang and them restructuring their programs under the guidance of the Q5 Corporation for that year's television season. Strange initially created Gecko to fulfill executive producer obligations due to him agreeing to helm the show's syndication package, officially launching in 1989. Along with producing original series, Gecko would handle artwork for video games and acquire anime licenses to sell to American distributors. Gecko would also produce commercials, namely for clients like Subway, Robert’s American Gourmet Food (Smart Puffs, Original Tings), The Coca-Cola Company (Barq Root Beer), PepsiCo (7UP), Papa John's, Tabasco, Diners Club International and the Got Milk? campaign, but are perhaps best known for producing advertisements for Japanese and Korean clients like Sharp, JVC, KEC Corporation and Funai, the latter mainly for their Symphonic line of televisions. Eric Stefani and Kent Butterworth would become briefly involved with the company in 2000, and a short-lived Australian subsidiary would be launched in conjunction with Arthur Filloy. The company became dormant in 2003 due to financial issues. In 2017, Strange announced a partnership with Twitter influencer Doug Lisbon (later transitioned to Diana Libson.) The partnership would end with prejudice due to conflict over differing opinions. Strange was accused of sexual assault, though it was later proven Libson coordinated the accusations. Libson would launch Delightfully Qworky in 2021, but it would shut down after Libson was arrested under allegations of child grooming and rape. Strange would resurface in 2023 with a new series, bringing Gecko out of a near 20 year dormancy period. Around this time Strange had formed a management deal with Management 360 and booked a three-project deal with Hulu.

1st Logo (1987)
Logo: We fade in to a film-leader countdown starting at the number 3. After getting to 1, the image begins to brighten and we see an image of a gecko in Elvis garb looking at the viewer with a grin and snapping his fingers (this being animated), before cutting to the image in a clearer opacity. "GECKO" is above the gecko with each letter encased in a different colored block; red, yellow, blue, green and orange and "STUDIOS" in black below. A diamond wipe appears leading to a black background with the white text "presents"

FX/SFX: Traditional animation, plus the wipe effect.

Music/Sounds: A bluesy piano tune with a few organ notes, ending with a rimshot.

Availability: Extinct. This was only seen on a sales tape for the syndication package of The Halloween Gang. The tape obviously never saw a wide release to begin with, with allegedly ten copies being made and sent to syndicators for potential distribution. How rare did this prove to be? A single copy was discovered by accident during an auction with the tape being in a box along with many "sold as blank" tapes.

2nd Logo (1987-1988)
Logo: We cut to an anthropomorphic gecko wearing a wife beater, sitting on an armchair watching television. It laughs, slapping its knee as the camera zooms back to show the entire house and a small neighborhood with mountains in the background against a night sky. "GECKO STUDIOS" fades in in a white shimmering script font.

FX/SFX: Claymation.

Music/Sounds: A deep laugh, followed by cricket chirps.

Availability: Scarce.


 * Appeared on The Halloween Gang and its primetime special Celtic Connection. Gecko was initially involved with The Halloween Gang 's syndication package and ensuing batch of episodes. Strange would acquire the rights to the first season and Gecko's logo would appear at the end of said episodes, primarily to cover the credit of Byron Blessard.
 * This logo appears on Family Home Entertainment's VHS release of the first season and syndicated episodes as Strange coordinated those sales.
 * FHE's release of the syndicated episodes faced controversy due to them being touted as those of the show's second season; as a stab toward ABC's second season by Strange due to executive quarreling. The release was taken out of print, though ironically the syndication run would be officially touted the show's second season due to it debuting before the official network second season.
 * Syndication rights were handed to The Program Exchange in the early-90s after Orbis Communications was folded into Carolco's television division, and the original combo was intact.
 * This was also seen on episodes 5 through 10 of the show's second network season. This was the result of a trade between Gecko and ABC for either's episode; wanting to improve the dwindling ratings of the show, ABC would acquire episodes from the syndication run and give Strange episodes from the network season to restructure. The episodes were swapped back for future releases and Gecko's logo is included on both.
 * In 2013, Blessard acquired the rights back to the entire series and wiped this logo along with others for later releases.

3rd Logo (1992-1999)
Logo: We fade in to a theater stage with anthropomorphic animals; a duck, a crocodile, a fat gecko in ballet garb and a brunette girl. The gecko falls through the floor, dragging down the red curtain behind her. The other animals exhibit shock, but the gecko emerges with a dazed expression. "GECKO STUDIOS" is seen on the curtain in white.

FX/SFX: Cut-out animation.

Music/Sounds: A rendition of Dance of the Sugar Plumb fairy, along with sounds corresponding to the actions.

Availability: It primarily appeared on anime dubs Gecko acquired, making its debut on the Streamline Pictures dub of The Fairies of Silver Platte and going on to appear on the A.D. Vision dub of Esteem and the Central Park Media dub of the Altered Beast OVA. It was also seen on the movie Beauty Queen's Revenge. This doesn't appear on Her Glass Slippers as Strange only wrote and sold the screenplay for it.

4th Logo (1993-2002)
"Logo: On a background with brown spots (said to be a close-up of a diagram depicting brittle bone disease), we see the girl from the previous logo giving a tired grin while holding a shiv. The text 'GECKO STUDIOS' is toward the top left corner in a jumbled fashion."Variant(s):


 * On video games, in place of the logo is the text "This title uses artwork, assets and additional direction by" and beneath it is Strange's signature. The entire thing takes place against a space background.
 * At the end of the obscure English dub of the Altered Beast OVA, the video game variant is seen (though the text is replaced with the proper gecko logo). This shared the screen with the logos for Distant Horizon, Sega, Broadway Video, Central Park Media and U.S. Manga Corps.
 * There exists a version where the logo appears to be illuminated by a flame.

FX/SFX: The flame effect, or none.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show. In rare cases, the logo featured a tribal like tune.

Availability: Ultra rare. Gecko's productions have rarely been reran anywhere since they initially aired.


 * It can be seen on Black Lagoon Adventures, The Halloween Kids, the first season of Forget Tess and the unsold pilots for Phat Stak and Rockett to Earth.
 * The Halloween Kids and Rockett to Earth had the animated variant and theme.
 * Appears on video games where Strange handled the art direction and character designs, those being Green Jean 2: Enter the Nega Jean for the PlayStation, SEGA Saturn and PC, along with its expansion pack for PC, Mac and the SEGA Dreamcast and Green Jean (2002).
 * Appeared on the North American trailer of Her Glass Slippers.
 * It made its first appearance on the unsold pilot for Mr. Met Saves the Day.

5th Logo (2001-2002)
Logo: On a white background we see a greyscale picture of three men, being Arthur Filloy, Strange and Kent Butterworth, performing quirky expressions. The image is distorted to make it look more vivid. "GECKO STUDIOS" sandwiches the box the picture is in.

Variant(s):


 * Early on, a different set of images is used and the order of the three men is switched; Butterworth, Filloy and Strange. Butterworth has an open mouth expression, Filloy has a cross-eyed look and Strange looks to be screaming. Their images are mirrored. The company name is now entirely below the logo.
 * On British prints, this logo shares the screen with the logos for Nelvana Limited, Filmgraphics Entertainment and Helion Pictures. Above is the text "A CANADIAN/BRITISH/AUSTRALIAN co-production" and below is the text "FOR NICKELODEON UK". This would be followed by Nickelodeon UK's logo with copyright information.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Near extinction. This was only seen on Forget Tess, which hasn't been rerun in years. The first season was released on VHS by Just Entertainment, but due to financial issues it was not widely released; tapes were sold via mail order and at Burger King where they could be purchased along with a value menu item. The series was released on DVD in the Netherlands by Bridge Entertainment Group but was taken out of print due to low demand.

6th Logo (2023-)
Logo: In a live action pink living-room environment we see a picture frame containing a white background. The girl from the previous logo and an anthropomorphic gecko resembling one from the first logo, the ballerina gecko, the duck and the crocodile are seen waving. "GECKO STUDIOS" is above them in green. A feather duster is brought in and begins cleaning the shelf the picture is on.

FX/SFX: Live action and traditional animation.

Music/Sounds: A ukelele tune.

Availability: Can be seen on & Son.

Messenger Films
This is a joint venture between Gecko Studios and producer Pen Densham, focused on live-action dramas.

Logo: On a black background we see a white box containing a bare topped woman in jeans and with angel wings facing away. "MESSENGER Films" is above her in black. This is set to the left of the logo for Television 360.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme.

Availability: Can be seen on Emily.