"Schoolhouse Rock!" (1973) TV series 1973-2000

Director:

Tom Warburton

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7

Release Date:

6 January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Family | Musical

Plot:

A series of shorts illustrating various songs that teach multiplication tables, science, grammar, American history, and economics.

Plot Keywords:

Educational | Surrealism | Cult Favorite | Rock 'n' Roll

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Lauren Yohe	...	Girl (1 episode, 1974)
Tom Yohe	...	King George III (1 episode, 1975)

Also Known As:

ABC Schoolhouse Rock (USA) (complete title)
America Rock (USA) (third season title)
Grammar Rock (USA) (second season title)
Multiplication Rock (USA) (first season title)
Scholastic Rock (USA) (working title)
School House Rock (USA) (alternative spelling)
Science Rock (USA) (fourth season title)

Runtime:

USA:3 min (52 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (1973-1984) | Stereo (1993-1995)

Certification:

Singapore:G | USA:TV-Y

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

The show lasted on ABC until 1986, but was back on the air in 1992. New episodes were released in 2002 for the video and DVD, including "I'm Going to Send Your Vote to College". These episodes were produced by Thomas Yohe Jr., continuing the work of his father who died in 2000.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: Running Mates (#2.10)" (2000)

What can I say...

...other than these cartoons are my favorite pieces of animation! Schoolhouse Rock educates and entertains seamlessly at the same time, and I've learned so much more from these cartoons than anything in school. This is how we should learn everything!

Both the songs and cartoons are equally brilliant. Bob Dorough, who penned a great number of the tunes (including all of the Multiplication Rock songs, which are my favorites), is a fantastic and underrated songwriter with a sharp sense of humor to match. Lynn Ahrens also contributed some wonderfully memorable songs, my favorite of hers being "A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing."

Tom Yohe, who was a key designer for this series, was such a wonderful artist who could make the most seemingly simple characters so appealing in their own way (much like the Peanuts characters). He was the artist behind the Conjuction Junction Conductor and the Bill, among many other classic characters. Sadly, he died a few years ago.

But the best songs in the series are the ones not everyone remembers. My favorite Schoolhouse Rock song of all time is "Little Twelvetoes," and even most people who were kids in the '70s don't remember it. It's a bizarre little tune that teaches you how to multiply by 12, and the cartoon itself is even better than the song!

But almost all the songs are really super (with the exception of Money Rock. While it isn't terrible, it just doesn't compare to the classics), and check out the DVD with all the tunes! It includes a new America Rock song, and it's surprisingly delightful. All in all Schoolhouse Rock is a classic that will delight kids for generations.