1st Logo (1997)
Nickname: "Kermit the Cameraman"
Logo: Against a sunset sky background, we see Kermit the Frog sitting on a large crane with a motion picture camera. Under it is the word, "Jim Henson" in it's corporate font with "PICTURES" in spaced-out letters under it.
Variant: On a trailer for Buddy, Kermit and the movie camera are inside a box with the company's name outside and under it.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds: The beginning of the trailer's theme.
Availability: Both of the variants only appear on trailers for Buddy.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo (June 6, 1997-2001)
Nickname: "Kermit the Cameraman II"
Logo: We zoom out of a motion picture camera lens with lasers flying about. The camera is being operated by Kermit the Frog himself (laughing) seated on a large crane extended way up into a metallic sky. As the crane moves away from us and Kermit and the crane go into silhouette, a laser writes the text "Jim Henson" (in its familiar font) as the word "PICTURES" in bright metallic letters spaced to fit the width of "Jim Henson", zooms and turns to settle below. When the logo is formed, suddenly the crane takes a hard drop, notably startling Kermit. "Sorry!" is heard from Animal offscreen, followed by Kermit whispering "Hmmm. Sheesh."
Variant: There is a version without the crane-drop gag.
Closing Variant: The superimposed closing variant features a silhouette of the logo on a black background.
FX/SFX: Excellent CGI effects and animatronics; very realistic.
Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral movie score with frogs croaking and crickets chirping at the end.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- There is a version without "Sorry".
- Buddy only had the sounds and not the music.
Availability: To date, the version with the crane-drop gag is only seen on two films: Muppets from Space and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland' (the latter one doesn't have "sorry"), which both are still in print. Current DVD prints of The Muppet Movie and other Jim Henson classics, as well as on Buddy (the first film with this logo) have the logo without the crane drop gag. However, the company also produced Good Boy!, but the logo itself never appeared in said film.
Scare Factor: None (unless the "crane-drop" gag startles you). This is a brilliantly produced and entertaining logo.