Just for Laughs

Credits

Editions by
Enriquez, Zachary Webb, TheRealMarcel2000 and KosMir

Background

Just for Laughs (also known as Juste pour rire in French) is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1983, it is the largest international comedy festival in the world. It also serves as a television division.

1st Logo (December 26, 2000-2021)

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  Regular variant (2000-2009)

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  Regular variant (2009-2013)

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  Regular variant (2013-2021)

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  Television variant (2006-2010)

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  Television variant (2010-2011)

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  Television variant (2011-2021)

Visuals: The sequence starts with a timelapse from the view of a stage of a crowd leaving an amphitheater where a live show is being held. Once the theater is almost empty, a stubby green monster with red horns named Victor runs from the left side of the screen onto the center, noticing everyone leaving. He quietly gasps, turns a bit, and says "Mommy, it-it-it's over!" sadly as the curtains close on him and the 1983 Just for Laughs logo comes in on a spotlight and stops in the middle of the screen. A byline reading "© [YEAR] Juste pour rire Les Gags Inc." (or "© [YEAR] Juste pour rire TV Inc.") is seen below the Just for Laughs logo in a font depending on the byline.

Trivia:

• Victor is actually, the mascot of the Just for Laughs Film Festival. Originally, it had blue horns before its redesign of the 1990s that changed the horns' color to red.
• The amphitheater in the logo was actually first filmed at the Saint-Denis Theatre, the Montreal-based theatre where the festival was used to film at until 2010.
• This logo is based on a closing animation for JFL programming that was used in Quebec from circa 1985 to 1998, featuring the same art style as the opening sequence and other animations.

Variants:

• A short version exists, which starts when Victor gasps.
• Depending on the program or language it is in, the words at the end are in French, Juste pour rire.
• Sometimes, the URL "justforlaughs.com" can appear below.
• Sometimes, the credits for the program play over the first few seconds of the logo when the crowd is vacated.
• Later in 2006, the logo started with a lime green background with Victor popping up as both English and France versions of the updated Just for Laughs logo (with Victor's horn on it) pop up next to him. Also seen are the URL "hahaha.com" and the words "FESTIVAL - LIVE - TELEVISION - MUSEUM" being revealed below. The word "TELEVISION" becomes red. The normal logo would play right after.
  • A French variant exists.
  • In 2010, the URL is absent and the background has the movement of the shape lines.
  • Since 2011, when the Just for Laughs Museum was closed in the same year, the logo was enhanced with the words now reading "FESTIVAL - LIVE SHOWS - TELEVISION".
• In 2009, the logo was enhanced to include Victor’s shadow, as well as more realistic-looking curtains and spotlight.
• In 2013, the logo was enhanced yet again, with it now taking place at Place des Arts (despite the French version of the Just for Laughs logo is added on the bottom of the stage's floor) in Montreal. Victor is also saturated a bit. The logo ends with different-looking curtains and a zoom out before the spotlight shines with the 2006 Just for Laughs logo.

Technique: A mix of live-action footage, digital ink-and-paint and 2D computer animation.

Audio: A ten-note honky-tonk piano tune (which are the first notes of the Just for Laughs signature theme by Serge Fiori) with sounds of people talking. It stops when Victor gasps, followed by his dialogue, and another honky-tonk piano tune as the curtains drop.

Audio Variants:

• Sometimes, the closing theme plays over.
• A French version exists, where he says "Maman, c'est finiiii!". This exclamation was first used for the closing of Juste Pour Rire Film Festival 1987.
• The post-2007 variant had a pop sound, followed by the clicks and a ding sound when the word "TELEVISION" becomes red.

Availability: Seen on many shows from the company, like Just for Laughs: Gags and some stand-up comedy shows.

Legacy: This logo is very nostalgic for fans of Just for Laughs: Gags, as well as Just for Laughs fans in general.

2nd Logo (2010's-2021)

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Visuals: In a grayscale city, some green and red streaks fly through a set of skyscrapers. They meet and move into a neon billboard that lights up, containing the 2006 Just for Laughs logo in a green box with the horns of Victor from before. A byline reading "© [YEAR] JUSTE POUR RIRE TV INC." may appear below.

Variants:

• A version appears at the start of programs where "Presents" in a white script font appears under the logo.
• A short version exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Some whooshes and the sounds of streetcars as the streaks fly, and the buzzing sound of a neon sign lighting with a gong as a crowd laughs.

Audio Variant: Sometimes, the closing theme plays over.

Availability: Seen on programs like Just for Laughs: All Access.

3rd Logo (October 18, 2021-)

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Visuals: Over a black background, the logo starts with the pictures of Victor flipping (a la the 2002 Marvel logo) inside the box, then it forms into the text "JUST FOR LAUGHS" (set in the new corporate font, called Riposte HAHAHA, which is a modified version of Riposte) in the white rectangle. The logo glitches and fades out. A byline reading "© [YEAR] JUSTE POUR RIRE TV INC." may appear below.

Trivia: This logo was designed by Cossette.

Variant: Just like the first logo, there is a French version with the words, "JUSTE POUR RIRE".

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: The sound of pages flipping, followed by the first five notes of the famous Just for Laughs theme tune.

Availability: Seen on Howie Mandel & Friends: Don't Sneeze on Me, Just for Laughs 2022: The Gala Specials: Jo Koy and some stand-up comedy shows.