Logo Joke / 20th Century Studios

Fox shoots down yet another promising pilot.

Formerly known as Twentieth Century Fox prior to being acquired by Disney, this studio isn't a stranger to playing around with their logo; some films change the color of the the iconic structure or put it in another location, while some use a custom variant of the studio's trademark fanfare!

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Films - Animation

• Anastasia: The film trailer has the logo in a dark wintry setting with snowfall.
• The Bob's Burgers Movie: The fanfare is played on a ukelele similar to the show's theme music, with some random sound effects from Gene's keyboard mixed in.
• The trailer for The Book of Life (2014) features a logo styled in a Mexican Day of the Dead variant with a different font and a skull replacing the 0 in "20th".
• Condorito: The Movie: A feather can be seen fluttering around the logo as the fanfare plays. As the logo is shown in full, the title character (seen in silhouette, staring at the logo) grabs the feather out of the air and places it back into his tail before walking off.
• Ice Age:
  • The teaser trailer for the original film shows the word "B.C." awkwardly placed in front of the word "Fox". Another trailer shows glaciers sliding closed in front of the ident.
  • Ice Age: The Meltdown: The theatrical trailer shows the logo and background changing from a snowy climate to a heated, red color palette.
  • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: A stone-age version of the logo appears, with the searchlights replaced by smoking fumaroles. This only appeared in the theatrical release and on the 3D Blu Ray release.
• The opening of Rio 2 has a samba version of the famous fanfare.
• The trailer for Robots shows the sky before panning down to a mechanical-looking logo and structures in the background.
• The Peanuts Movie: Schroeder plays the fanfare on his piano. Seen here.
• In The Simpsons Movie: Ralph Wiggum runs out of the "20th" and sings the bars of the CinemaScope extension portion of the fanfare (badly) before running away. Afterwards, the logo turns black and white as the camera pans up to the moon, starting the movie. The audio for this has been adapted for the Home Entertainment logo starting with the Sixteenth Season DVD.
• Spies in Disguise: The film's trailers have the logos in hi-tech dark blue.

Films - Live Action

• Alien:
  • The second to last note of the Alien³ ident is held for several seconds, rising in crescendo, before cutting off abruptly. (This variation can be heard on the soundtrack album for Predator.)
    • This is repeated for the Fox Interactive logo in the 2000 PC game, Aliens vs Predator.
  • In the trailer for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the Fox logo is covered in snow and the structure has green-and-red Christmas lights around it, due to the film being released for the holiday season.
  • Prometheus: The logo sequence is shaded in a darker hue of blue, reflecting the film's color palette. This carries over to Alien: Covenant, where the logo sequence is re-shaded in a darker shade of cyan.
• Alita: Battle Angel: The logo briefly changes into a dilapidated, futuristic version of itself, reading "26th Century Fox", seen here.
• The trailer of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Alvin appears on one of the searchlights singing along to the fanfare. Simon and Theodore stand nearby singing along as well. Alvin dashes over to join them for the last notes, nearly knocking Theodore off the platform in the process. After they finish singing, Theodore worriedly glances down at the ground as he is still hanging off the edge of the platform.
• At Long Last Love: The logo subtly cycles through several different colors during the fanfare.
• Australia: The logo on the film's trailer is shown as a picture on the front page of an old newspaper.
• Baby's Day Out: In the film's trailer, the background of the logo is pitch-black, and the spotlights give off blue light.
• Bohemian Rhapsody: The fanfare is given a rock arrangement by Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, heard here.
• The Cannonball Run ident starts with the familiar theme being "derailed" by sounds of crashing cars and a car chase (between a vehicle and a cop car) that happens in and around the logo.
• Chasing Papi: In the film's trailer, three palm trees are shown in front of the logo, which is slightly pushed to the right.
• The Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) had a TV spot where the "20th" is replaced by the number 12.
• The trailer for Casper Meets Wendy shows lightning striking the Fox logo.
• Daredevil DVD: The 20th Century Fox logo turns into something seen through Matt Murdock's enhanced senses. The movie itself has the regular logo.
• The Day After Tomorrow: The 20th Century Fox logo turns blue and a storm starts to appear in the background. The teaser trailer also shows the logo glitch and turns royal blue while static appears.
• Deadpool & Wolverine: A rare In-Universe example: a giant 20th Century Fox logo is seen in ruins, representing the fact that all the Fox Marvel films got dumped into a nexus region.
• The logo used in the trailer for Deck the Halls shows the Fox logo covered in strings of Christmas lights.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
  • The logo for the first film transitions into a paper sheet drawing of the "75"/main logo, which then segues into the opening shot of the film.
  • For Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, the logo turns into a paper sheet drawing.
  • The logo for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is almost exactly the same as Rodrick Rules, save for a beach ball that bounces across the screen before the camera pans down to show more of the drawing.
• Die Hard:
  • The DVD menu for the original film shows the logo tinted in blue and set against a space background.
  • Die Hard 2: Die Harder DVD menu: Snow is falling on the logo, which is also tinted blue, and the background is dark and stormy.
  • Live Free or Die Hard: The logo appears to be a bog-standard instance at first, but at the last second, the screen glitches. Immediately thereafter, what sounds like the stucture's power source begins to spool down, as the spotlights shut off one by one until the whole structure is dark, with the last "clunk" blanking out the screen in turn. See it here.
    • This also occurs in FOX Searchlight's 28 Days Later.
• The ident for DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story shows a dodgeball being thrown at the "20th" in the logo, which separates to dodge it and reforms.
• Down with Love: To go with the film's Retraux early '60s romantic comedy cinematography, the '60s Fox logo is used, complete with CinemaScope card. Also, the Regency logo is colored pink instead of blue and its jingle was rearranged in a smooth jazz style.
• Edward Scissorhands features a dark wintry setting with snowfall, in keeping with Edward creating snow in the film. Seen here.
• Fantastic Four (2005): The logo randomly glitches in and out on the trailer. The film itself has the logo transitioning to the Marvel one.
• Fantastic Four (2015) does a similar variation to the X-Men Film Series logos (listed below), except it's the letter "F" that fades out later.
• The Fault in Our Stars: The sky background is darker than usual, and the lighting is made less prominent. The screen then pans up to a typical nighttime sky.
• The independent Australian film The Flip Side uses a variation of the standard fanfare — played on what appears to be a xylophone, fitting in with the film's theme of music.
• The French Connection: The logo transitions from black-and-white to full color.
• The DVD menu for From Hell shows the logo playing for several seconds, then playing in reverse and sped up. In the film's trailer, the ident is colored blood-red.
• Garfield:
  • The theatrical trailer for the original film and sequel shows the logo replaced with "20th Century Cat", and is colored orange with black stripes, like Garfield himself.
  • The logo for 2006's Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties is imprinted on a red flag and fades out as the film begins proper.
• The Greatest Showman: The Fox logo is surprisingly played twice in a row at the start:
  • The first time it plays, it is the short 1950's 20th Century Fox ident (that only plays the first half of the fanfare).
  • The present-day Fox logo is played, in black-and-white (which happens to the rest of the production company logos afterwards) and with the film's opening song ("The Greatest Show") replacing the full Fox fanfare altogether and the rest of the production company logos, before segueing into the first verse of the titular song, and the film itself.
• Home Sweet Home Alone: The trailer has the logo accompanied by snowfall, fitting the film's Christmas setting.
• How Stella Got Her Groove Back: The logo turns orange.
• A TV spot for Independence Day had the logo be progressively darkened by an alien ship's shadow.
• In the 2008 adaptation of Krabat, the background suddenly turns dark and stormy at the end of the Fox logo as a crow flies by squawking. The 1994 fanfare is also used.
• Kingdom of Heaven: The logo is colored dark yellow ochre, and the background is dark and filled with clouds.
• The King's Man: The final trailer has the logo shaded Kingsman gold.
• Replaced in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by a more decrepit and dark sign. In the trailer, the "0" is replaced with a satellite dish turned backwards.
• The ident for Life or Something Like It is filled with static (similar to what the X-Files ident does, as mentioned below).
• Machete: Sparks are seen flying off the structure of the logo as the camera moves around it.
• Max Payne: The background of the ident is replaced by a city skyline, and snow is falling around the (gray-colored) logo.
• Minority Report: The logo and background appear to be placed in an underwater locale.
• The 1994 adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street has jingle sounds mixed into the fanfare.
• The ident for Mirrors is, well ... mirrored.
• Moulin Rouge!: The Fox logo plays on screen framed by stage curtains and an orchestra conductor beneath leads the symphony playing the fanfare. it can be seen here.
• For Office Space's trailer, the Fox logo is seen being printed out on a piece of paper.
• Paparazzi: The logo flashes from color to black-and-white while camera clicking noises are heard in the background.
• The film adaptation of Peyton Place has the Fox logo completely saturated in orange.
• Planet of the Apes (2001)'s opening sequence has the background of the Fox logo transition into space before the logo fades out.
• The trailer for Revenge of the Nerds has the logo crumbling and being replaced by the film's one. Also the searchlights are bright and wave wildly (including the searchlights which never normally move).
• The 1953 film The Robe was Fox's first Cinemascope film, and they marked the occasion by changing the background of the logo from a sky to that of a theater curtain.
• Robin Hood: Men in Tights has a 12th Century Fox logo on an actual fox.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The 20th Century Fox fanfare is played on a piano rather than by a full orchestra. According to Richard O'Brien in the DVD commentary, the sequence originally was going to be normal, and the piano version of the fanfare was to be played at the movie's climax, just before Frankie started singing "Wild and Untamed Thing".
  • They originally wanted to put a giant 20th Century Fox logo on the stage at the end with Magenta and Columbia using wires to move cardboard searchlights but Fox wouldn’t let them use it which led to them using the now famous RKO tower instead.
• The teaser trailer for the 1996 adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet shows a bullet passing through the Fox logo.
• The Seeker: The logo sequence plays out normally until the end, when the shade of yellow changes and massive swirling patterns appear on both sides of the logo.
• 1976's Silent Movie has an amusing variant of this. The logo isn't seen until a full minute into the film, on a billboard as the main characters drive by. A red circle shoots out of the "0" and consumes the screen before the opening credits start proper.
• Speed 2: Cruise Control has the logo being washed by the ocean.
• While not a Logo Joke, the iconic Star Wars theme was specifically composed to follow from the 20th Century Fox fanfare, as heard here.
• The ident for Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines shows a set of curtains part to reveal the 1935 version of the logo and an alternate piano version of the theme.
• The trailer for Two of a Kind shows the Fox logo beginning to spin uncontrollably just before seguing into footage from the film.
• War for the Planet of the Apes: The 20th Century Fox fanfare is played through the use of Congo drums instead of the traditional percussion instruments.
• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: The logo is metallic, and the ident is set amid a New York skyline instead of Los Angeles.
• What a Way to Go! (1964): The logo is pink (because Gene Kelly's character in said movie loves the color), seen here.
• White Men Can't Jump: Same fanfare, much different beat.
• Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957): Tony Randall (the lead actor in the film) appears on-screen with several instruments and plays the logo theme. He said it was a clause in his contract to do this. Seen here.
• The X-Files: Fight the Future: The logo glitches out and becomes static, similar to a computer.
• X-Men Film Series
  • In the first three films, the "X" in the Fox logo remains visible to the end although the rest of the logo has already faded out.
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse additionally have the X-Men theme at the end of the Fox fanfare.
    • Dark Phoenix has the X heat up in molten red towards the end.
  • The trailer for the original film had a metallic Fox logo appear on-screen amid water droplets coming down from the top of the screen.
    • For X2's trailer, the Fox logo appears amidst an effect similar to Cerebro activating.
    • The trailer for the X-Men Trilogy boxset shows the logo in blue/white against a stormy background.
  • Logan Noir, the black and white re-edit of the film, plays with the bumper at the beginning, forgoing the current pan-around CGI logo for one that more explicitly mimics the classic still logo in use from 1953-1981 for its CinemaScope pictures. In fact, it even uses the CinemaScope title card after the Fox logo leaves the screen.

Searchlight Pictures

A division of 20th Century, founded in 1994 and distributes art films.

• For the Wes Anderson films The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch, the logo appears in silence.
• Battle of the Sexes: The logo is modelled after the 1973 20th Century Fox logo, even using the old fanfare, in keeping with the film's setting. The TSG Entertainment logo and fanfare are also given a similar makeover, seen here.
• The Favourite : The logo is accompanied by an unusually subdued version of the Fox fanfare composed from, of all things, squeaks recorded from the set’s rabbit cages.
• Hitchcock: The trailer has the film styled like the 1950s Fox logo.
• Jojo Rabbit: Jojo's March plays over the logo.
• Juno: singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson recorded a Stylistic Suck-laden acapella rendering of the fanfare that would have played over the logo. It went unused because The Simpsons Movie did something similar, but the song didn't go to waste; it was included on the deluxe edition of the soundtrack.
  • The trailer has the logo appear on a pregnancy meter.
• My Life In Ruins: This film is about a Greek tour guide. Fittingly, the trailer has the logo be surrounded by Greek ruins.
• The Shape of Water: The trailer has the logo be underwater and tinted green.
• Sunshine: the logo plays backwards, ending on the Sun... which turns out to be the reflection of the Sun on the Icarus II's solar shield.

Television

• Family Guy:
  • The episode "The Fatman Always Rings Twice" has the whole episode in Film Noir black-and-white, including the 20th Century logo.
  • The episode "All About Alana" has a hitman say his son plays the melodica. The 20th Century Fox logo appears with the fanfare played with that instrument, badly.
• Futurama: The logo reads "30th Century Fox Television". The logo even appears in-universe in the episodes "That's Lobstertainment!" and "Simpsorama". The DVDs even call it "30th Century Fox Home Entertainment", and syndicated airings end with "30th Television", as the syndication unit of the studio is named 20th Television. The Hulu revival has the logo read "30th Television Animation".
  • This becomes Hilarious in Hindsight in April 2013 when Rupert Murdoch announced that following the spin-out of News Corporation's publishing operations into a new News Corp., the old News Corp. would be re-named 21st Century Fox.
• The Simpsons, besides The Simpsons Movie listed in the animated films folder above:
  • In the Couch Gag for the episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", Homer notices the Fox logo on the screen, then he rips it off furiously, and the family stomps on it.
  • In "Steal this Episode", the Fox logo appears on the screen as the announcer says they're forbidden to show how to download copyrighted property, so they choose to show some NASCAR racing footage.
  • The Couch Gag for the episode "MoneyBART" storyboarded by the politically-charged guerrilla artist Banksy depicts the logo as a giant sweatshop making Simpsons merchandise and hand-animating/developing the opening. Steel yourself before following that link, it's actually incredibly dark and unpleasant.
  • The episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" ends with the familiar fanfare replaced with Homer screaming "Ah! Undo! Undo!" (Earlier in the episode, Homer is investing in stocks whilst at an internet cafe. This is Homer's reaction when Lisa tells him that News Corp is the owner of Fox.)
  • The Christmas Episode "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" has jingle bells playing with the fanfare.
  • On "The Blunder Years", this and the Gracie Films logo before have Homer loudly screaming over them.
  • The 1998 episode "When You Dish Upon a Star", in an insanely Hilarious in Hindsight moment, features the 20th Century Fox logo with the line "A Division of (the) Walt Disney Company" under it.
  • In "You Kent Always Say What You Want", Homer and Lisa have a conversation at the end about what Fox is really doing, but their conversation is censored by an announcer saying positive things about the network. When Homer talks again, he is interrupted by the Fox logo. When Homer steps into a white void, he attempts to tell the audience what he really wanted to say about Fox, but he is, appropriately shushed by the Gracie Films Logo Lady.

Other

• The 75th Anniversary logo made in 2010^note referring to the merger of the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures into 20th Century Fox in 1935, rather than the founding of Fox in 1915 ends with a giant "75" lit up in the sky by searchlights while the camera pans up to highlight it. Because of this, the News Corporation Company byline and the registered trademark icon were engraved onto the structure, because by the time they fade in normally, the logo would be already gone.
• The opening ident for Alien: Isolation uses a variation of the old-school Fox title card — the 1981 logo with the 1935 fanfare — playing on an old school television. As the logo theme finishes, the intro cuts to static.
• The trailer for Angry Birds Rio has Red crash through the screen playing the Fox intro, revealing the Rovio Entertainment logo in his wake.
• The Stuffed Dog Company, best known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has a logo based on the 20th Century logo but with dog statues/motifs. Seen here.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus did a Terry Gilliam-animated parody for "20th Century Vole", which has a vole (a small furry rodent) rising into the MGM crest with a squeak.
  • In And Now For Something Completely Different, this same logo was used, but changed to "20th Century Frog" along with a croaking frog in the crest.
• To promote the launch of the new Fox Movies website, 20th Century Fox posted a video showcasing the different logos (which also includes the "William Fox Presents" version of the Fox Film logo), as well as its variants, albeit with the drumroll being played twice during the start. It can be seen here.