My Top 5 Favorite Opening Titles
Paige Whitaker, Art Director
I’m Paige and I like typography and movies. So why not write an article on my top 5 favorite opening titles?
The Parent Trap
The OLD SCHOOL Parent Trap. Not the Nancy Meyers Lindsay Lohan one. The one with the two blonde girls with weird haircuts. First off, the lettering is WILD. It’s so fun to look at. Then we have these…puppets? On a paper background? And you don’t have to wait too long to see some cherubs playing instruments. What does that have to do with The Parent Trap? I’ll never know. What I do know is that every name in these opening titles have a custom, midcentury feel to them that I love.
Shrek
If you haven’t seen the opening scene in Shrek, you are in for a TREAT. It stars out with the classic storybook opening (as all movies should) with medieval designs on each page. Then after Shrek’s hand pops in and rips out the pages, he pops out of his outhouse. And then SMASH MOUTH. From then on, names are revealed and spelled out in various gross ways. Slime, mud, maggots, and algae to name a few.
101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians has the most adorable opening titles. It’s just spots animating in different ways with a cool trumpet tune, finishing with illustrated London scenes. You can tell that each name is custom, handwritten type which makes my heart sing. Why doesn’t Disney make cool intros like this any more?
Godzilla (2014)
I’m the only person in the world that rewatches this movie. In fact, I bought it on iTunes. I love the industrial, kinda military feel of these opening titles. The Futura, the play on redacted text, the little handwritten details, and the tiny notes around the type all add to the feel of the secret Japanese laboratory.
Napoleon Dynamite
These opening titles are absolute perfection. You are presented with multiple lunch food options with names spelled out casually in condiments. Then we get into school supplies, and Napoleon’s doodles. It’s not too precise or fussy, which sets the scene for the movie you’re about to watch.
Honorable Mention
Star Wars
OBVIOUSLY ICONIC. I NEED SAY NOTHING MORE.