20th Century Fox
I can’t express an interest in seeing the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars feature that introduces the upcoming television show. Any good faith I had towards it was lost the instant I learned the plot revolved around Jabba’s son. For such a large universe, it’s sad how small it often seems.
Anyway, I find it fascinating that this one is being distributed by Warner Bros. It’s not the business part that intrigues me, but rather the change in corporate logos in front of the movie. This one doesn’t open with the triumphant 20th Century Fox fanfare composed by Alfred Newman (back in 1933). Of course, this fanfare was never exclusive to Star Wars, but the thought of sitting down in a dark theater, awaiting a Star Wars adventure and not hearing that theme disturbs me. I can’t imagine watching any of the true six films without it, even those that I don’t like. I wonder why that is. All of those films have a common opening even without the fanfare, with the main John Williams theme blaring before shifting into scene-specific score. Is it a matter of having it ingrained in my brain through childhood? Something special in the way Newman’s fanfare preps the audience for what comes next? Does it effectively cut the viewer from the pre-movie mindframe and set one up to be swept away by Williams’s theme?
I don’t really know, but I sure find it interesting. I can’t think of many examples for when a corporate logo’s absence would be felt. Perhaps some Disney films and Pixar’s output. Actually, the Paramount logo and Indiana Jones would qualify, although that tends to be closely tied to those films’ opening shots.
