DreamWorks Pictures/Summary (2024)

Background[]

DreamWorks Pictures (also known as "DreamWorks, LLC", "DreamWorks SKG" or "DreamWorks Studios") is an American film studio that was established in 1994. DreamWorks was formed as an ambitious attempt by media moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen (which is where the "SKG" insignia came from) to create a new Hollywood studio. The studio primarily released their own films, although some films were co-released or released some territories by another studio (most often Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures and in some cases, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures). On December 11, 2005, the founders agreed to sell the studio to Viacom to become a division of Paramount Pictures. The sale was completed on February 1, 2006, but the studio became independent again in 2008. On February 9, 2009, DreamWorks struck a distribution deal with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (through their Touchstone Pictures label), which has been effective since 2011. DreamWorks Animation was formerly a subsidiary of the studio until the two split into separate companies in 2004. DreamWorks Pictures is now legally known as "DW II Management, Inc." with the "DreamWorks" name and logo being used under license from DreamWorks Animation. Paramount owns the rights to the studio's live-action films (from the studio's inception until the spin-off from Viacom) after purchasing rights held by Soros Strategic Partners LP and Dune Entertainment II LLC, as well as the films they distributed until the partnership ended. On December 16, 2015, Spielberg, Jeff Skoll, Anil Ambani of Reliance Anil Ambani Group and Darren Throp of Entertainment One formed Amblin Partners with DreamWorks becoming the adult label of the new company. Later on, Universal signed a deal to distribute the later titles by Amblin, changing their distributor to Universal once the Disney deal expired. Post-2011 films are owned by DreamWorks with distribution handled by Disney/Touchstone. DreamWorks Animation (which is now a part of NBCUniversal) owns all of the studio's animated films.

(October 12, 1994-2021)[]

Nicknames: "Little Boy Fishing on the Moon", "Fishing Boy", "DreamWorks Fishing Boy", "Fishing for Dreams", "Fishing Under the Stars"

Logo: It starts out at night with a moon in a reflection of water, then we see a bobber and fishing reel. The camera angle then goes upwards to see a boy, sitting on top of a crescent- moon . Suddenly, a "D" appears, and as the camera pans to the right, letters such as "R", "E", "A" and the next proceeding letters follow, although parts of the letters are covered by the clouds. We then swoop past a whole bunch of several clouds, engulfing the screen. They then revolve away to reveal the text "DREAMWORKS" with "SKG" appearing underneath with lines on the left and right of it respectively,and the text is set by the dark of night with clouds to accompany it.

Variants:

• On trailers and commercials for early films like The Peacemaker, Mousehunt, and Amistad, a 4:3 version was used. The only difference in this version that there was no "TM" next to "SKG".
• Starting in December 2002, the "TM" next to "SKG" is replaced with a "®".
• A short version of this logo was seen on trailers for films and at the end of movies released through Touchstone Pictures starting with I Am Number Four. However, Real Steel has the still version of this logo at the end.
• Some films (mainly on VHS releases) often have the logo slowly fading out early after the logo is formed.
• Sometimes (mainly on 4:3 prints), the logo may be zoomed out further than usual.

Trivia: The boy who is seen sitting on the moon is William Hunt, the son of artist Robert Hunt. The idea for the logo came from co-founder, Steven Spielberg. The idea for this logo was a concept from co-founder Steven Spielberg. He originally wanted the logo to be CGI depicting a man fishing standing on the moon, but his frequent collaborator Dennis Muren suggested a hand-painted logo instead. Artist Robert Hunt was then commissioned to design the logo. Spielberg loved one of Hunt's designs, a boy sitting on a crescent moon while fishing, and it was made into a full-motion logo. The boy who is seen sitting on the moon is based upon Hunt's son, William.

FX/SFX: The bobber dropping, the reveal of the letters. A combination of 2D and 3D animation. Produced by Industrial Light & Magic. Great CGI from Industrial Light & Magic that still holds up more than twenty years later. It was directed by ILM animation supervisor Wes Takahashi, and Hunt provided some of the resources for the logo.

Music/Sounds: The only SFX is when the bobber hits the water, and it makes a splashing sound. A very nice piece of orchestrated music that starts out with a guitar tune, followed by a loud, majestic horn fanfare, and ending with another guitar tune. Composed by John Williams.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• On MouseHunt, the guitar section at the end is replaced with a French horn playing the same notes (which was used for the short version of the 1996 DreamWorks Interactive logo).
• On Saving Private Ryan (1998), the logo is silent.
• On both Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Collateral and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (both 2004), only the splashing SFX is heard.
• On some prints of Antz (such as the R2 and R4 DVD pressings), the logo is silent, whereas original prints had the opening theme playing. This may have obviously been an error in production or distribution.
• On some films, such as Chicken Run (American prints), The Road to El Dorado, and Shrek, the opening theme of the film is used. This is also the case in more recent films. The splashing SFX can sometimes still remain in the audio.
• On the US DVD release of Evolution, when you select the "English 2.0" track, the fanfare for the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo will be heard instead. This most likely boils down to the fact that Universal mistakenly used the 2.0 English track from the Sony owned international master.
• On Almost Famous, a faint wind is heard in place of the theme.

Availability: Very common. It premiered on DreamWorks' debut release, 1997's The Peacemaker, and has been used in nearly every film they released since. Was seen on some 2001 region 4 DVD releases as well and pre-2004 DreamWorks Animation films, from Antz to Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.

Editor's Note: An effective combination of 2-D and 3-D animation, produced by Industrial Light & Magic. The music is also a highlight. This logo has been in use for 20+ years and counting.