It ISN'T a Lightning Bolt | The Truth Behind the Touchstone Pictures Logo
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- Touchstone Pictures was born out of the Disney studio’s urgent need to expand their reach beyond the usual family demo. Movies in the 70s and 80s were getting edgier, pushing boundaries in ways that left Walt Disney Productions on the verge of spiraling into G-rated irrelevance. But the studio faced a big challenge - how to embrace films that skewed older and more mature while still honoring the squeaky-clean Disney brand? The solution was Touchstone Pictures, an alternate label that became the home for Disney’s less wholesome fare. And the results were a staggering success. Ed Wood, Pretty Woman, Con Air, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Unbreakable - Touchstone Pictures excelled in creating high-quality pop culture classics. Each of those aforementioned movies opened with the signature Touchstone logo, that eye-catching blue circle and lightning bolt. Except the gold streak ISN’T a lightning bolt. That’s right. We’ve all been wrong! Join me as I dive into the logo-verse to reveal the TRUE meaning behind this mysterious image -- while also recounting the difficult history that led to the creation of Touchstone Pictures.
"Into the Logo-Verse" is a series of mini documentaries exploring the history behind the most iconic movie logos of all time. Discover the fascinating stories and little-known facts that provide a whole new perspective on these often overlooked gems.
#touchstonepictures #movielogos #whoframedrogerrabbit #conair #nightmarebeforechristmas - Zábava
I still feel really sour that Touchstone pictures closed in 2016. I really miss it like a lot.
Couldn't agree more. The movie landscape is definitely worse off without Touchstone.
@@michaelcahillpresents FINALLY someone who gets it!!!
@@michaelcahillpresentsPirates of the Carribean would have fit more at Home with the Touchstone Label in it.
Also Disney revived the Touchstone name for the television division it was short lived
The name just didn't catch on. Had the FOX merger not happened, I have no doubt that Disney seriously would have considered renaming Touchstone Pictures "ABC Pictures". ABC is a brand is a brand that people recognize.
Concerns that Nightmare Before Christmas would be too weird and scary was precisely the reason why Disney released it as a Touchstone movie, but I suspect that they decided to rebrand it with their own name after realizing what a huge cult classic it had become.
Roger Rabbit was always the most Disney of the Touchstone movies for me because of having the same association with their classic hand-drawn animation along with all the cameos of Disney's characters, not to mention that they started giving Roger a huge presence as a character in the theme parks in spite of the Touchstone label. Of course the main reason it was released as a Touchstone movie was because of the more adult humor and language, but it can still be argued that Roger did just as much to help start the Renaissance era of Disney animation as The Little Mermaid.
Funnily enough, Planet of the Apes had a G rating, despite some profanity, violence, and nudity. There's never really been a consistent guideline for rating movies in the US.
"Trenchcoat" in 1983 didn't even go out with the label of Walt Disney Productions. Just a "Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Co." credit at the end was the only thing that connected it to Disney. It is sort of a spiritual predecessor to Touchstone Films.
I always thought the streak was a piece of tree bark as a kid, lol. 😂
I thought it was a rock going super fast.
Touchstone films always did better than Hollywood Pictures films.
Yeah I always figured that.
If we still had the 80's rating system The Saw sequels would all be rated X
It never even occurred to me that it was a lightning bolt, ever. I had no idea what it was supposed to be, but I thought feather or the swirl inside a marble or a woodgrain pattern of some kind. But the real answer makes a bit more sense.
I thought it was a rock or a meteor or something lol
You need to do a companion video on Hollywood Pictures, another Disney imprint that didn’t last very long but also produced more mature movies.
I agree. The last film That Touchstone Released was "You Again". Not to mention that they signed the Distribution Deal With DreamWorks Pictures From 2011 to 2016 Before Becoming a Label of Amblin Partners.
Another thing About DreamWorks, The Animation unit Got Acquired by NBCUniversal in August 2016.
I Loved The Touchstone Films Of The 1980's Who Framed Roger Rabbit still holds up some decades later and I love Down and Out In Beverly Hills classic movie right there
My Science Project is one of my favorite films from the 80's. It's also one of my most prized DVD's. Glad I have it too since it's not on any streaming service at this time, just a few poor quality uploads on youtube.
IMO, I feel like perhaps it unintentionally depicts a touchstone that caught lightning? There exists a term for insane success called "catching lightning in a bottle" & Touchstone Pictures clearly had a whole lotta success. Plus, lightning can be QUITE powerful. It's an insanely fast bolt of energy that can get anything it touches to either crumble in defeat or get some WILD energy increase as seen in Back To the Future. Real gold may produce a wonderful looking yellow, but the marks of a lightning bolt are far more intense. Dangerous even if one's not careful! But when it hits that touchstone without breaking the touchstone, the added mark can be considered by some to be an absolute sight to behold. Catching lightning in a bottle? That's nothing to catching lightning on a touchstone!
New subscriber! I'm glad that I found another CZcamsr in my recommendations who likes to discuss logos, and you did a great job analyzing what the Touchstone Pictures logo truly represented. So far, I enjoyed both this and your Walt Disney Pictures video. Please keep up the "Logo-Verse"!
Thanks so much! I'm actually working on a new "Logo-Verse" video right now. Should be out in January.
They made 3 Ninjas maybe my favorite childhood movies growing up. Wow they really made there mark
I think you're my "Jefferson's " youtube creator of the week!
Great video, very informative and considering I was alive for the entire run of Touchstone, I'm even a bit embarrassed by the info I didn't know. Lol Instead I'll fall back on one of my favorite sayings, "Never forget, that there was a time, where everything you know, was at some point, unknown!"
Cheers from Canada
A fellow Canadian! Thanks so much for that great compliment!
@@michaelcahillpresents Cheers, mon ami :)
😂 I never knew Touchstone had anything to do with Disney. I always liked the jingle and sound it had when it came on before a movie.
Lightning? I thought it was a meator shower.
Same.
was born in 1983 didn't know thankk keep up the good work
Great vid, one suggestion tho, just back the camera a feet back when doing the self shots. The shots just feel a little too into ones personal space, if that makes sense.
I never knew that I wanted to know this LOL Great video!
Great video! Glad i found this channel
Thanks!
Great video!
Whenever I saw a Disney logo I steered away but TRON was the exception because it was good, I'm glad Disney was struggling it just proves they are incapable of anything original which is why they needed to buy IP's like Star Wars and Marvel.
Speaking of Touchstone Pictures I don't know why Disney hasn't released Splash on Blu-ray here in the US.
Edit: Also the reason why the Touchstone logo is plastered with the Disney logo on current prints is because of it's popularity building up over the years.
I’m stunned about the lack of a Splash Blu Ray. Such a gem. And you’re totally right about Disney plastering over the Touchstone logo on Nightmare. They’re only too eager to take all the credit now that the film is so widely loved.
@@michaelcahillpresents What's weirder is that they don't plaster their logo on Who Framed Roger Rabbit even though it's just as loved.
But the question is, would a Blu-ray release of Splash be one with all the Disney+ changes, because I'm sure nobody would want that.
@@80sDisneyFan They did plaster the logo on the Roger Rabbit shorts however. Really not a fan of how they remastered them BTW, especially with the more greenish tinting that's now seen on the short "Tummy Trouble". It's the main reason why I still stick with owning the previous 2003 DVD release of the movie.
@@nicksorenson940 Disney+ actually updated their print of Splash. It's only available to 17+ users though.
So its a touchstone who knew
To me it looks more like a glimmer of sun on water
To me it looked like a rock being thrown. 😂
Nice video!
Thanks so much!
Thunderstorm Logo!!!
Can you do Gramercy Pictures beyond the logo?
Sure thing. Might be 2 or 3 videos from now.
@@michaelcahillpresents OK. I can wait.
@@michaelcahillpresents do the 20th Century Fox logo
@@michaelcahillpresents Disney's short-lived production company Caravan Pictures would probably be a good one for you to do a video on. I haven't been able to find any videos on CZcams that really go in-depth about it, and you could probably be one of the first to do so.
@@nicksorenson940 Great idea.
and stakeout starring..... jeff foxworthy?
You may need a new mic
Definitely time to upgrade!
It's obvious what the logo is. The name is self-explanatory.
I always thought it was a wood scrap
I always thought it was a meteor or something.
Great video
Man I just wanted to know what the logo really was, now I know even more useless info. What a waste of everyone’s time.
Same here, df kind of bait and switch was this.
I mean you could've just sped up the video.
No shit