Walt Disney Pictures logo

The Walt Disney Pictures Logo is the logo used for Disney movies. It is basically a shot of the Disney castle.

This was the Walt Disney Pictures logo used from 1984 until 2006.

On a dark purple/blue gradient backdrop, a shower of light descends from the top of the screen, forming a stylized, segmented castle which is a white/purple gradient. The segments seem to be spaced farther apart by the time the light reaches the bottom. Through the main gate of the castle, a white ball of light forms then extends out to form the words "WALT DISNEY" in the familiar corporate "Disney" logo font. The word "PICTURES" fades in underneath, and a white semi-circular line is drawn over the castle to the bottom left. This version was used until 1989.

From 1990 until 2006, the background is a light blue, and the castle is a lighter blue. The line now stops when it hits the tip of the "W" in "Walt Disney".

In 2000, a version of the logo was released with a black background and a metallic orange castle used for mostly live-action films, though it was used in a few animated ones (such as Dinosaur, Brother Bear, and the 2004 DVD re-issue of The Lion King). Though unlike the blue logo, where the castle stays as the screen fade outs, the orange logo wipes away as as the screen fades.

A shorter, modified version of the logo was also used for the Walt Disney Television logo.

Mike Gabriel conceived, storyboarded, did all development pieces, directed, and art directed the opening castle logo sequence that has opened Disney movies since 2006. Weta Digital did the animation for it. As of November 2011, the logo is shortened to simply "Disney".

Variations
Depending on the film, the logo is altered to fit the film somehow. Here are some examples:
 * The Black Cauldron: The castle is entirely in white, and the music is slightly different. This was the first movie to use this logo.
 * Cinderella (1988 video release): The entire logo is tinted in blue. But in 1995 video releases in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, this variant was plastered by 1990 variant of this logo.
 * Both Oliver & Company and The Little Mermaid used the 1985 logo for their theatrical release (and video in the Walt Disney Classics collection for The Little Mermaid released in 1990), however, the 1997 theatrical re-release of The Little Mermaid, as well as video releases in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection (1996 for Oliver and Company and 1998 for The Little Mermaid) use the 1990 logo instead.
 * Ducktales the Movie: The logo is shorter and has a chorus.
 * 101 Dalmatians (1992 video releases): The animation of this logo is slow and choppy, and the "shower of light" is not as apparent.
 * In the 1996 Spanish video release, this variant was plastered by the 1985 variant of this logo, likely due to a plastering error. But it also appeared at the theatrical re-release of the film in 1985.
 * The Rescuers (1990 video): The logo is silent as it was formed then thunder was heard. Also, the tape uses the 1985 version of the logo instead of the 1990 version that would have usually been used for the tape. This plasters over the Buena Vista logo.
 * Inspector Gadget: The logo is altered to look more mechanized, and the white curved line is replaced by a gear.
 * Tarzan: After the "flash" that forms the Disney logo text, the background fades to that of a jungle.
 * Bedknobs and Broomsticks (longer version): The 1997 laserdisc of this film ends with a short logo, but with a black background. (This is not on the current DVD of the film, which has the short logo at the end with the normal blue background).
 * Recess: School's Out: After the flash that forms the Walt Disney logo text, T.J., Mikey, Spinelli, Vince, Gus, and Gretchen are shown on each side of the castle, and they play out the rest of the theme with their kazoos.
 * Lilo & Stitch: The logo appears as normal but has a black background instead of the usual light blue background, and is followed by a 50's style alien abduction.
 * 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure: After the flash, puppies can be heard barking to the rest of the theme.
 * Teacher's Pet: The logo appears in the style of the film's creator, Gary Baseman, and has the music from Pinocchio in the background.
 * George of the Jungle 2: After the flash, a silhouette of George crashes onto the castle as he vine-swings, and the castle literally falls apart like a cardboard stand.
 * Some feature films from 1985-2006 such as Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Mulan have their respective films' opening music playing over the Walt Disney Pictures logo in place of the logo's usual theme music.
 * All movies released by Pixar up to 2007 use a different version of the logo (with the exception of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, which uses the 1990 logo instead). Their version uses a CGI castle and lacks the beam of light or segmenting (we just zoom out from the bottom of the castle). A different theme plays as well, and can be heard on the soundtrack of Toy Story.
 * Monsters, Inc.: While it still uses the Pixar-exclusive Walt Disney Pictures logo, like other pre-2008 Pixar films, the logo as well as the Pixar Animation Studios logo here where shorten, where the film's theme song starts, this is the only major Pixar film where the logos were shorten.
 * Incredibles 2: The logo is animated in '60s-style 2D with a red color scheme, with some buildings on the left and a monorail goes by and a light on top of the flag pole blinks then it fades to a lowercase "i" then black.
 * The Jungle Book (2016): The logo is animated in a 2D style reminiscent to CAPS. The Tinkerbell arch is absent and the Sleeping Beauty castle takes the place of the Cinderella castle (a homage to the '90s logos, though ironically, the film is a CGI/live Action remake of a traditionally animated film). The logo then zooms out into the film.