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Schoolhouse Rock!

Series, 1973, The '70s, Set in Three-minute songs

Schoolhouse Rock! is #1 of 22 in release order and #1 of 22 in chronological order in the ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons.

The story

Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming on the U.S. television network ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series' original run lasted from 1973 to 1985, and was later revived with both old and new episodes airing from 1993 to 1999. Additional episodes were produced as recently as 2009 for direct-to-video release.

Schoolhouse Rock! recap

Schoolhouse Rock! (1973) is a series of three-minute animated songs teaching grammar, math, history, science and civics between ABC's cartoons. Advertising executive David McCall came up with it after noticing that his son could memorize Rolling Stones lyrics but not his multiplication tables; he hired jazz musician Bob Dorough to write "Three Is a Magic Number," and illustrator Tom Yohe drew pictures for it. Multiplication Rock launched the series in January 1973, with Dorough singing most of the songs. Grammar Rock followed from 1973 to 1975, with "Conjunction Junction" and "A Noun Is a Person, Place, or Thing" introducing Jack Sheldon and Lynn Ahrens as regular singers, and America Rock was timed to the 1976 Bicentennial with songs such as "I'm Just a Bill" and "Preamble." Science Rock arrived in 1978 and 1979, and a short Computer Rock set starring Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips covered home computers in the early 1980s. George Newall and Tom Yohe produced every segment, with Dorough as musical director. ABC dropped the shorts in August 1985 for a fitness show, then brought them back in 1993 after a student's campaign, adding new Grammar Rock songs and, in 1995, Money Rock. Disney acquired the series with ABC in 1996, and it kept airing through Disney's One Saturday Morning. In all, 65 segments were made across seven sets.

Schoolhouse Rock! ending explained

Schoolhouse Rock! ends with no finale: every segment stands alone, and ABC simply stopped airing them in 2000, after 27 years on and off the schedule. New songs went straight to home video instead, starting with "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" and "Presidential Minute" for the 30th anniversary releases from 2002, and then the 11 environmental songs of Schoolhouse Rock! Earth on DVD in 2009. In 2019 the 1996 box set of the songs was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

Where to watch Schoolhouse Rock!

Schoolhouse Rock! is streaming on Disney+ in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.

Ratings

IMDb 8.2/10

Where it fits

Cast