This page contains a logo which some people might find disturbing, offensive or both. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Logo
Logos[]
1st logo (1992-1994)[]
On a white background, three people (Keith Alcorn on the left, Paul Claerhout in the middle, and John A. Davis on the right) are seen with quirky expressions on their faces; they look somewhat distorted (likely mirrored). The pictures are all in boxes and in grayscale. Copyright information is seen below.
Variants[]
- In 1993, the picture changed to three people (John A. Davis on the left, Keith Alcorn in the middle, and Paul Claerhout the right; it could be Paul Claerhout, who voiced the 8th logo) with vivid expressions while the photo is distorted.
- "The Nanna & Lil' Puss Puss Show" VHS tape from Expanded Entertainment replaced the people with an animation where Lil' Puss Puss keeps hiccuping and Nanna is trying to shush him throughout the credits. Puss Puss then tries to hold the hiccups in, expanding his head until it explodes, with blood covering Nana in the process as she too begins hiccuping. Copyright information appears above.
- The Nanna & Lil' Puss Puss' short "The Honeymoonies" replaced the people with a static image of Puss Puss holding up Nana's disembodied head and presenting it with his other hand as he smiles. Copyright information is seen below.
2nd logo (1994)[]
We see a road with cacti spread about it on the sides. The camera zooms into a drive-in theater, with large signs depicting "The Demo: Now Showing On Screen 1". Once it fully zooms into a screen, we see an animated pegasus flying in the air as normal. Helix the Cat (who looks rough) flies by using his tails as a propeller, and the pegasus looks at him for a moment. Helix motions toward the audience in a pose that seems like he's going to whisper to them as he flies offscreen. Suddenly, the pegasus is in shock, and it crashes into a giant rock formation, with the big letters "DNA" carved into it (a la TCF). The camera slowly pans out.
3rd logo (1994)[]
On a background that looks like a multicolored light's rays and an abstract, multi-sided, pointy shape, we see a green pencil sketch turn from a "D" into an "N" and finally into an "A".
4th logo (1994)[]
Just three pieces of paper are crumpled over and over, each saying the letters "D, "N"," and "A."
5th logo (1994)[]
The logo consists of "DNA?" in a bold, color-changing font spinning on a bluish background.
6th logo (1994)[]
The word "DNA" places itself by letter on a textured floor. The letters are textured as well.
7th logo (1994, 1998-1999)[]
Inside a red-orange circle on a very dark red background, we see a male purple cat (nicknamed Helix) with two tails looking like DNA and a big pink human-like nose, wearing a white lab coat with a purple bowtie on it, from the back. In a circle around the circle containing the creature, we see the pink text "DNA PRODUCTIONS INC." In a cartoony font. He then turns his head to look at us and jumps to face us while holding his arms out. The text shines.
Variant[]
A prototype version had a black background, red, puffy text, and a rougher version of Helix having an even more unfriendly appearance. He simply raises his finger in the air and adorns a Cheshire Cat grin. Helix is also contained within a solid, blue circle.
8th logo (2002-2006)[]
On a tropical background complete with a beach, and a sunset, we see the black, lowercase text "d n a productions" with "d n a" bigger and spaced and "productions" underneath, near the top of the screen, and two double helix coconut trees twisting behind a bush. A monkey jumps up from behind the trees with his back turned to us. Then, he turns around, revealing that he has a parietal eye, and waves at us, saying, "Hi, I'm Paul!"
Variants[]
There are six variants that could be viewed on dnahelix.com before Adobe Flash Player ended support:
- Double Your Pleasure: Two Pauls appear and say, "Hi, we're Paul!"
- Bilingual Paul: Paul is wearing a (barely visible) hat and a mustache. When he turns around, he says, "¡Hola, soy Pablo!", which means "Hi, I'm Paul!" In Spanish.
- Backward Masking Paul: The logo is played in reverse, making Paul sound like he's saying, "Oh, my eye!". The audio for this variant is actually from a different take.
- Paul Blooper #1: Paul forgets his lines and says, "So what do you want me to say now?"
- Paul Blooper #2: Paul forgets his lines again and says, "Hi, I'm.....line?"
- Coffee Break Paul: Paul is missing. A man off-screen says softly, "Paul?".
Music/Sounds[]
1st logo[]
The end theme of the short.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
- On the Nanna & Lil' Puss Puss' short "Off the Record," the vocals are backmasked. When the music ends and fades out, it then fades back in and ends with a broken glass sound effect.
- The VHS variant uses a fiddle version of the theme composed by Paul Claerhout (used in the shorts as background music), which is accompanied by various sound effects that correspond to the actions displayed on screen.
- On the short "The Honeymoonies," the audio is very slightly higher-pitched.
2nd logo[]
An excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto 1 plays throughout the animation. This becomes distorted once the pegasus flies into the giant rock. A final, triumphant chord plays as the rock structure is revealed.
3rd logo[]
A silent film-like piano piece.
4th logo[]
A gurgling sound, spitting, and a burp.
5th logo[]
A quirky, fast-paced woodwind theme.
6th logo[]
Two people shout, "Yay! Boo! Yay!" alternating between letters as each letter appears. This sound effect is heard on the SGC2C episode "Sequel."
7th logo[]
The best way to describe the noises heard is two series of echoing, bouncy, high-pitch, distorted "guitar notes", followed by an echoing beat, and a loud, echoing (SPROING) sound as Helix finishes his jump. The prototype had a stock high-pitched "phone-voice" sound.
8th logo[]
A happy tropical xylophone sounder, most likely a stock piece. Tropical birds and insects can be heard in the background, but only on the original variant. Paul's voice is an innocent, high-pitched man's voice.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
There are French and Russian dubs of this logo.
Scare Factor[]
1st logo[]
It depends on the variant.
- Nightmare, for the original two logos. They appear jarringly, and the end music, faces, and mere surprise of seeing them instead of the other DNA logos might get to some. None to minimal for those used to seeing them, or find them to be kind of funny.
- Medium to high for the Off the Record variant, as the sounds can catch some people off-guard.
- Low to nightmare for the VHS variant. The somewhat grotesque cartoon animation could unnerve many, especially those uncomfortable with the sight of blood.
- High to nightmare for "The Honeymoonies" variant. The disembodied head, the expression on Nana's face, the blood on the floor, the somewhat evil grin on Puss Puss, and the excessive detail will definitely unnerve a lot of sensitive people, even if it's cartoony and on a white background. However, the scare factor could be lower and can also be considered funny to those who are used to the short's morbid content.
2nd logo[]
Minimal to medium. The music changing at the end will probably put more than a few viewers off, but at the same time, it cause some to chuckle. Regardless, this is much more tamer than the previous logo.
3rd logo[]
None to minimal.
4th logo[]
Low to medium. It might startle more than a few viewers with its jarring appearance.
5th logo[]
None to minimal.
6th logo[]
Low. Some people might be rattled with a startled appearance.
7th logo[]
Low to medium. The weird noises and Helix might catch you off guard if you weren't expecting and haven't seen it before, expecting a different logo and wind up with this, but otherwise, it's harmless. Minimal to low for the prototype version.
8th logo[]
It depends on the logo.
- Normal: None to low. This logo has scared a few children, though, and Paul's third eye can startle some viewers, but most people should be fine watching it.
- Double Your Pleasure: Low, due to both of the 2 Pauls and the same reason above.
- Bi-Lingual Paul: Low. Paul's mustache, along with his 3 eyes, might catch you off-guard.
- Backward Masking Paul: Low to medium, due to Paul staring suddenly at the beginning, still with 3 eyes. It's sometimes funny because it's in reverse.
- Paul Blooper #1: None.
- Paul Blooper #2: None.
- No Paul: Low to medium. The sudden voiceover saying, "Paul?" might catch some off-guard, though the voiceover speaking in a soft tone can also comfort and relieve some. However, some viewers might get the feeling that Paul might be hiding and lurking somewhere and anywhere in their house.
Regardless, some people find that Paul is cute, odd, and funny, and this is a memorable logo, despite scaring a few children. And thanks to Paul's innocence, the present-day DNA Productions logo is a lovable classic. It also found a memorable place in 21st Century Humor.
Videos[]
