Golden Book(s) Video/Home Entertainment Warning Screen

1985–2002; January 2, 2004

Warning: On a black background, we see generic warning text, with "WARNING:" in a red Arial font, and the rest of the text ("subject the offender" text) in a white, all-capital version of the ITC Avant Grade font, with "WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC." in a larger Arial font. The entire thing is aligned to the left.

Variants:

• Tapes from 1985-1986 sometimes have a different copyright holder mentioned. Sesame Street tapes like 3 Sesame Street Stories use "Children's Television Workshop and Muppets, Inc." with proper capitalization, while tapes of Mercer Mayer's stories, like 3 Mercer Mayer Stories, use "MERCER MAYER."
• Some tapes rephrase the warning to refer to video adaptions instead of motion pictures, although the warnings on tapes that credit "Children's Television Workshop and Muppets, Inc." refer to both. The motion picture referring ones also have a "tab space" between "WARNING:" and "THE."
• On the 1985 VHS of 4 He-Man and Masters of the Universe Stories, the background is blue, revealing a black drop shadow behind the text.
• Starting in 1986, the name of any given copyright holder is replaced with just "THE COPYRIGHT OWNER."
• Later on, the warning text would be in Arial and have proper capitalization. The arrangement also seems to differ, either being a continuous line of text, or separated into 2 paragraphs. The early version of the warning also used this with the company name in capital letters.
• The above variant also has a special version that has "MATTEL, INC." in place of "WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC." which appeared on 3 He-Man and Masters of the Universe/She-Ra: Princess of Power Stories. It also had the "Title 501" portion in all capitals as well.
• On Sandra Beech: The Pretend Box, a Canada exclusive release, the warning text is rephrased to refer to Canada, as well as having Whitman Golden Ltd. as the copyright and trademark holder. The text is also centered and in a smaller Arial font, including "WARNING:."
• On Get Ready For School Skill Building Fun!, the text is mostly in lowercase.
• Starting in 1987, the text used is far less descriptive and has 2 different variants. The styling and font appear to match later versions of the former warning as well.
  • Text Block 1: No part of this program may be reproduced or copied by any means, nor publicly broadcast without written permission from the copyright owner.
  • Text Block 2 (the same warning text from the 1984 A&M Video warning): For private home use only. Any unauthorized copying, hiring, lending or public performance of this program is prohibited by law. Violators will be subject to prosecution.
• On the 2004 Universal DVD of American Wedding, the text instead reads "Mature subject matter. Contains adult language and nudity. Parental discretion is strongly advised."

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on all videos from this era with the 1985 music on the opening logo and the "Space" closing logo at the end, including the early Golden Step Ahead releases, and on some 1986 Golden Book Video releases using the 1986 music at the front. The later variant is seen on all Golden Book Video releases from 1987-1996 with the 1986 jingle, as well as GoldenVision, Golden Step Ahead, and Golden Books Home/Family Entertainment releases (later co-released by Sony Wonder). Also seen on DVD releases from the company, and on a 1998 Sandstar Family Entertainment VHS of Precious Moments: Little Sparrow.

Editor's Note: The warning itself seems pretty crowded with all the capital letters and their size doesn't help, too, barring the larger copyright holder's name. The early version of "THE COPYRIGHT OWNER" warning doesn't do much help, but it does look better on later versions. The Canadian variant, however, makes strange references to the United States. On the later variant, the text seen here is more concise and better-formatted as well.