Saturday morning, curled up on the braided rug, parents still sleeping or having coffee. From the scratchy little speaker of the “wood-look” television comes the melancholy ode to the journey of legislation, “I’m Just a Bill.” We knew they were really singing about what it’s like to be a kid, trying to advance various agendas, lobby for support, and face the ultimate possibility of final parental veto. This is why we identified so strongly with Schoolhouse Rock, the zany animated series that aired through the 70s and 80s, and it’s why we were willing to sit glued to the tube for blatantly educational programming. We don’t know if it also explains why millions of us bought tickets to see the jingly grammar and math tunes brought to life on the stage in the 90s when Schoolhouse Rock: The Musical toured the country, but who said everything can be explained? This month Disney releases the TV series on DVD, a two-disc set that includes more than 50 episodes. All the favorites are here: “Conjunction Junction,” “Three is a Magic Number,” “I’m Just a Bill” (of course), and “Electricity, Electricity.” New generations of kids have already proven the timeless appeal of the Schoolhouse Rockers (or, perhaps, demonstrated loyalty to their parents’ nostalgia) by embracing the Schoolhouse Rock video series. The DVD ups the fun with behind-the-scenes footage, “play-all” and “shuffle-all” features, and games. The show’s original creators have also written a new song, “I’m Gonna Send Your Vote To College” (about the electoral college, and rumored to explain just exactly what did take place in Florida in 2000).
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