Schoolhouse Rock: Difference between revisions

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[[File:schoolhouserock.jpg|frame]]

 

 

Back in the day (1972, to be specific), Saturday morning children's programming was [[Moral Guardians|supposed]] to be at least tangentially educational, and [[Merchandise-Driven]] advertising was severely limited. Networks couldn't advertise things related to the cartoons they were airing in those timeslots, so there was an opening for educational shorts even after running through [[Adjacent to This Complete Breakfast|cereal commercials]].

At around the same time, ad executive David McCall noticed that while his son was struggling in school, he had no trouble remembering the lyrics to his favourite songs. Thus the idea to [[Educational Song|introduce basic learning concepts to young minds via simple-but-catchy rock, jazz, folk and pop tunes]] -- most written by jazz mainstay Bob Dorough and eventual Broadway lyricist Lynn Ahrens -- accompanied by entertaining visuals, animated by a team led by Tom Yohe.

 

 

Besides the educational content, the series won accolades for the consistently high quality of the songs - besides Dorough and Ahrens, performers included Jack Sheldon, Blossom Dearie, Essra Mohawk and Grady Tate - and the overall cleverness of the lyrics and animation. Taking cues from ''[[Sesame Street]]'' and other contemporary educational programming, ''Schoolhouse Rock'' avoided sentimentality and presented a hip, inclusive, fast-paced and funny (often [[Deadpan Snarker|downright snarky]]) attitude to learning.

 

All of the classic ''Schoolhouse Rock'' shorts are now available on [[DVD]]. The newer Earth Rock set is also available as a separate release.

* "[http://youtu.be/3FI2tTNjrUI Three Is a Magic Number]" (Multiplication Rock, performed by Bob Dorough) - The song that started it all, used as the initial pitch to ABC and still one of the best ever produced for the series. Eventually used in Nike and ESPN commercials years later and was sampled for the [[De La Soul]] song "The Magic Number" off their ''Three Feet High and Rising'' album in 1989.

* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxT7QjlvDqM I'm Just a Bill]" (America Rock, Jack Sheldon) - A forlorn little bill sitting on the steps of the Capitol explains the long, contentious process by which he someday 'hopes and prays' to become a law. This one became so iconic it earned ''[[The Simpsons]]'' parody "I'm an Amendment to Be" (about an amendment against flag-burning waiting to be ratified), a ''[[Family Guy]]'' throwaway joke in "They Call Me Bill" (which ends with the bill being poked with a trash pick and put in a garbage bag), and ''[[The Daily Show]]'' parody "Midterm Elections", ''and'' was referenced by ''[[MSNBC|The Rachel Maddow Show]]'''s coverage of the 2009-10 health care <s>bill</s> law.

* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDre36ZW14I Interplanet Janet]" (Science Rock, Ahrens) - She's a galaxy girl! Another notoriously catchy tune, about... um... an alien softball team exploring our solar system. No, really. "She travels like a rocket with her comet team/and there's never been a planet Janet hasn't seen..."

* "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuAx_hk0n20 The Weather Show]" (Science Rock, Ahrens) - A [[Missing Episode]] for years because of legal difficulties stemming from the song's use of the phrase "Greatest Show on Earth", which trademark owner Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus did not view kindly. Eventually released as part of the 30th anniversary DVD, with the offending references rather awkwardly excised.

* [[Alternative Number System]]: The song "Hey Little Twelvetoes" is about a friendly alien with six digits on each hand and foot, who uses base 12 and as such has an easy time multiplying by twelves.

* [[Bigger on the Inside]]: The schoolhouse in "Figure Eight."

* [[Creator Cameo]]: David McCall influenced the design of one of the "very weird creatures" Interplanet Janet meets on Earth.

* [[Creepy Child]]: Arguably, the cute little skater from "Figure Eight", whose eerily ethereal song (by Blossom Dearie) includes the wholly non-sequitur lines "If you skate/Upon thin ice/You'd be wise/If you thought twice/Before you made another single move..."

** In one of the America Rock segments, wherein the Declaration of Independence is described, the three rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are testified to by members of the Continental Congress. When the third right is listed, a man is shown pursuing a woman rather lecherously. ([[Historical In-Joke|Is that you, Ben Franklin?]])

** This line from "Interjections!": "That's not fair givin' a guy a shot down there!"

* [[It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY"]]: "Interplanet Janet" rather obviously invents a non-offensive pronunciation for Uranus, rendering it 'Ur-Ahh-Nus'.

* [[Jive Turkey]]: "I Got Six" and the aforementioned "Verb: That's What's Happening!".

* [[Lost Episode]]: Even discounting the weather short that was removed from syndication for years, there is one Scooter Computer episode that hasn't survived as a video. "Introduction" only survives in audio form on the four-CD soundtrack set released in 1996.

* [[Lucky Rabbit's Foot]]: Lucky Seven Sampson has a lucky foot with a 7 on it.

* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: It has been noted that a minority of the songs actually qualify as "rock", per se. Most are straight pop, but a few lean more toward jazz, blues, gospel, etc.

* [[Parental Bonus]]: The use of established jazz and cabaret performers means this runs through the entire series, intentionally or not. See (for instance) "I Got Six" for a splendid example of just how intentional they could get.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Saturday Morning Cartoon]]

[[Category:One Saturday Morning]]

[[Category:Edutainment Show]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]