Thomas & Friends
Model locomotives shot a frame at a time on a table in Britain, narrated for the first two series by Ringo Starr.
Thomas & Friends opens with a main title sequence of 31 seconds.
At 31 seconds, it opens well under the 58-second median for animation sequences in this catalogue.
It arrived on ITV in 1984, when The Sooty Show, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and The Bill were also on the network.
The opening titles
Season 1
31sFan upload of the original 1984 intro. The better-ranked result is a fan-made custom version.
More animation opening titles from the 1980s
2 sequences
The Simpsons
The only main title in television built to be different every week: the chalkboard, the saxophone solo and the couch gag all change, so the sequence is a format rather than a film.
- Seasons 1–20
- Season 21
1 sequencePingu
A Swiss claymation penguin speaking an invented language, so it needed no dubbing to sell anywhere.
- Season 1
1 sequenceDuckTales
One of the most durable theme songs ever written for television, over a minute of ducks solving problems with money.
- Season 1
1 sequencePostman Pat
A rural postman and his black and white cat, stop-motion, with a theme everyone in Britain can finish.
- Season 1
1 sequenceInspector Gadget
A Peter Sellers impression with helicopter arms, and a theme that is In the Hall of the Mountain King with the serial numbers filed off.
- Season 1
1 sequenceFireman Sam
A Welsh fire station in stop-motion, made in Welsh first and dubbed into English second.
- Season 1