The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)

“Girl, your feet must be tired 'cause you've been running through my mind all day!” — Will Smith

Watch the opening credits for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and two things are likely to happen. One, you’ll start singing along. Two, you’ll feel a warm nostalgia spread through you like hot cocoa. That might come from the days you watched the show when it originally aired or in reruns. It might also come from seeing something that’s nearly three decades old that – despite all its dated style, colours, and fashion – has lost none of its charm. Either way, to watch The Fresh Prince opening is to look back. But 26 years ago when the show premiered, it was looking forward, even anticipating, the evolution of TV main title design.

In 1990, TV openings – for sitcoms especially – weren’t particularly creative. More often than not they’d feature a montage of clips from existing episodes or actors dutifully posing for the camera as their names appeared. Sitcom openings conveyed basic information about the cast and crew, and propped up the theme song. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was different. Its opening was an entirely original work full of vibrant colours, intricate graffiti, sped-up cartoonish motion, and a dose of slapstick. It was a standalone work telling a…

RSS & Email Subscribers: Check out the full The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air article at Art of the Title.

from Art of the Title http://ift.tt/2d2yoef