Audio
Commentary
Tech
Specs: fullscreen 1:33:1, DTS 5.1 Digital Surround (for
I'm Going To Send Your Vote To College), English
subtitles.
One
gray Saturday morning in 1972, between episodes of Super
Friends and The Funky Phantom, ABC introduced
a groundbreaking series of shorts. Little did we watching
realize. All we knew, sitting in front of our Zeniths, was
that man, these songs are good.
The
shorts, of course, were collectively known as Multiplication
Rock, and as other subjects got added over the years,
the series morphed into Schoolhouse Rock. And a generation
was never the same, so obsessed they even turned it into
a stage show.
Stop
anybody younger than 35 on the street and start singing
"Conjunction Junction" or "I'm Just A Bill,"
and it's likely that they'll sing along. Of course, if you
stop someone on the street to sing that song you've got
other issues. But at least you know sort of how the federal
government works.
In
honor of the series' 30th Anniversary (and the fact that
Disney now owns them), Disney will release one heck of a
great DVD package. With more extras than you would have
thought possible for such a straightforward show, this is
one solid investment.
After
the kids have watched all 46 songs on Disc One, you can
turn them loose on Disc Two. And if you don't have kids,
I challenge you to Disc Two first. Among the extras piled
on are two trivia games. One requires you to put song lyrics
in order, which is a test of your nostalgic abilities. The
more straightforward trivia game first tests how much you've
actually learned, and then starts going into detail about
the cartoons themselves. Foolhardily, I plunged in without
re-watching most of them, and failed miserably.
Aside
from some "lost" episodes -- The Weather Show and
Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips (sadly a bit outdated
- who knew?) - the disc features a reunion of the original
Schoolhouse Rock! team. In the wake of the 2000 election,
it was clear that a new song and a new mascot had to be
born in order to help children (heck, and a lot of adults)
understand just what happens in a presidential election.
Therefore,
meet Boothy, voiced by series regular Jack Sheldon (I'm
Just A Bill), telling viewers I'm Going To Send Your
Vote To College. It's not exactly the catchiest of the
songs, but it's still cool to see these guys all putting
it together one more time. The animation has gotten a little
slicker, and Disney includes a "Making of…" documentary,
introduced by CEO Michael Eisner. (Long ago, a pre-Disney
Eisner was in charge of ABC Children's Programming. The
smartest decision he ever made was to listen to animation
great Chuck Jones and buy this weird Multiplication Rock
thing.)
What
really matters is the cartoons themselves. Everything's
here, and in reasonably good shape. Like a lot of television
animation from the seventies, time has not been particularly
good to the prints. Despite not being re-mastered, there
is a kind of charm to seeing them slightly faded. Better
yet, they are as good as you remember.
The
menu offers a variety of interfaces to view them, including
a Top Ten Jukebox you can program to play a few select favorites
over and over. Three is a magic number, so play the song
three times if you want. But don't forget that Junction.
By
all means, buy this disc and wallow in its nostalgic glory,
or just use it to brush up on your facts.
Darn.
That's the end.
Get
Schoolhouse Rock! At Amazon.com
