MGM's Iconic Roaring Lion Mascot Is Officially Replaced by an All-CGI Version
For the first time in almost 100 years.
For almost a century, MGM has used more than half a dozen of real-life lions to portray its famous roaring lion mascot logo that appears before the start of each of its films. Now, nearly 100 years later, MGM is moving with the times and replacing the real lion footage with an all-CGI version.
The almost-identical, but computer-generated duplicate of the triumphantly roaring lion in a gold circle of film stock was initially supposed to make its debut in the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die. However, due to the pandemic, the new CGI version of Leo the lion was unveiled in a video on YouTube, where MGM highlighted the many years of the brand’s logo evolution.
Since 1924, MGM has utilized eight different lions, with each lion featured as multiple iterations of the MGM animated logo. At one point in the 1960s, MGM decided to scrap the roaring lion altogether, replacing it with a stylized lion graphic.
The CGI-revamped logo is nearly identical to the version MGM has used for the past 64 years in the entertainment industry. However, most noticeable is the change to the trademark’s intro animation. It now displays the original logo’s slogan in English, prior to a slow zoom out to the original Latin phrase for “Art For Art’s Sake”.
Check out the MGM brand’s evolution over the years above.
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