OBM Group Studio

Background[]

OBM Group Studio is an American animation and visual effects studio founded in 1991 by Kevin O'Brien, Christopher Beasley, and Harold McDean. Based in Chicago, Illinois and having branches in Los Angeles and New York City, the studio originally specialized in edutainment software before establishing a visual effects and animation division in 1999. The original edutainment software studio was closed in 2004 as part of a reorganization in order to focus more on animation and visual effects. The company's first project was Go Paint!, an art program released in 1992, and its first animated project was the 2000 short film Fly Me To The Moon. The company is perhaps best known for animating a majority of the Bookmotions shorts.

Logo (1993-)[]

Visuals: On a white background, there is a red button on a green rectangle on the right side of the screen. A blue stick-figure, a brown Z-shaped character with light brown arms and legs, and a green box with a Leprechaun hat walk in from the left side of the screen, and shortly after stopping in the center, the stick-figure presses the button, saying "Let me see...". Suddenly, the three characters begin to shake, with the brown one asking "What's happening?!" before all three of them turn into the letters "O", "M", and "B" (with the "B" being in a Roman typeface) and spiral around the background (which fades to black) before getting into position and stopping in the middle of the screen. A flash occurs below the three letters, which dims to reveal the text "GROUP STUDIO" in white. The final logo looks like this:

OBM GROUP STUDIO

Variants:

Prior to 1995, the logo was still. This variant is still in use, usually as a closing variant.
A short version exists, which starts when the flash occurs below the three letters.
The logo was later reanimated at a higher frame rate.
On the short variants, varying text in red may appear above the logo, reading either "Made at", or "Made in Chicago at".
Occasionally, such as on the pilot episode of Team T.U.N.E.S., the flash and the "GROUP STUDIO" text are omitted, thus making the logo simply read "OBM" instead.
On the OBM Group Studio website from 2004-2013, a Flash-animated version was used as the intro for the site. After the logo animates normally, the text "CLICK HERE TO ENTER" appears below in the CoopBlack font.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: The characters' footsteps, dialogue, and body movements, a "ding" when the stick figure presses the button, "pop" noises when they turn into the letters in the company name, and the same synth-chime theme used in the 1995 VCI logo for the latter half of the logo.

Availability:

The animated variant debuted on Garrett The Wolf’s Preschool Adventure, and later appeared on other Garrett the Wolf edutainment games, as well as the Journey the Cat edutainment games. Can also be found at the start of some Bookmotions shorts such as A Call For A New Alphabet, Joe Lion’s Big Boots, and Harry and the Haunted House.
The still variant's debut was on the game Abacus-Dabra: A Math Magic Show, and can be found at the end of the Bookmotions shorts it made.
The "Produced at" variant can be seen on Team T.U.N.E.S. and the "Produced in Chicago at" variant can be seen on Frosty the Snowman Saves Halloween.

Legacy: The logo may start off innocent, but the transformations of the characters, followed by the sudden change of tone and atmosphere, all compile to make a logo that has been known to cause nightmares for many children. But aside from that, this logo is considered nostalgic for people who grew up with the games and shows they've made, or Bookmotions shorts.