Deconstructing Sesame Street Animations

December 26th, 2006

During a recent library visit, I happened upon the book Sesame Street Unpaved, a detailed history of the PBS show Sesame Street, which pretty much every kid of my generation watched obsessively. It’s peculiar how a part of the brain is reserved for memories formed early on — that with a little prodding, come back to life and you’re transported to being a kid on a living room floor, sucking on an Otter Pop, staring at a tiny television.

Besides the Muppets, Sesame Street featured many odd musical segments and cartoons, seemingly drawn by drugged-out animators from the sixties. After flipping through the book, I thought it would be fun to check out some of these segments through YouTube. Here are some of the shorts which I think you’ll vividly remember, once reintroduced to them. They certainly brought back some odd memories (mostly sadness, confusion, and wonder) in my mind.

Fairy Alphabet

YouTube: Fairy Alphabet

This animation was always mesmerizing to me as a kid. I think it was the combination of the Renaissance fair music and a mellow female voice chanting the alphabet. The animation was also hypnotic, with various animals and vaguely medieval objects morphing into letters. I do distinctly recall however, that at a certain age I would get frustrated by this cartoon, expecting the animations to have something to do with the letters used — for example there’s a snake after “S” and a worms wit the “W”, but what does a hobby horse have to do with “J”? I think that was a sign it was time to move on to The Electric Company.

“J”

YouTube: J Song

I liked this animation because it had to do with the letter “J”, the first letter of my name. But in retrospect, I was definitely confused by some of the terms here (“journeyman” “jimmy” “jitterbug”) and was rather in awe of the grandmother who juggled sheep. There’s definitely a message here, about acceptance of eclectic people and their wacky hobbies. Maybe that’s why I’m okay with a bottle cap collection.

Pinball Numbers

YouTube: Pinball

There was always something amazing about watching a ball rolling along a track. I remember being into mazes and trying to predict where things would go. I think the first half of this cartoon is way better with the ball on ramps and stuff, but it’s still worth watching if only for the energetic music.

Daddy Dear

YouTube: Daddy Dear

This one scared me as a kid — definitely during last part where a girl’s doll closed its eyes and drifted off into the dark. Oh, and that dandelion with the lion’s head… talk about freaky.

Lost Kid and Yo-Yo Guy

YouTube: Lost Kid

I used to jet out of the room when this one came on. The idea of being lost and some crazy yo-yo wielding freak who morphed into architecture and fountains was just too heavy. I guess we would have found out about the sixties sooner or later, but this psychedlic introduction was a bit odd.

Counting Rocks

YouTube: Counting Rocks

I loved this one. I think it was because growing up in Hawaii means being surrounded by rocks and sand. Basically, it’s just a bunch of rocks with high, squeaky voices turning into numbers, which is no big deal in retrospect, but I still think it’s cool.

Ball Rolling

YouTube: Ball Rolling

This ball rolling down a bunch of silver scaffolds was fun but creepy at the same time. It’s pitch black around the roller-coaster, and at the end, the ball drops into a grinding machine and is reduced to a red powder. I think this was a bad move because as a kid, I identified with the ball, and seeing this new-found friend crushed to a powder in the dark, as its reward for navigating a metal maze was not exactly a heart-warming concept.

I’m pretty sure that in later years, the grinding part was replaced with an ice cream sundae.

Funky Squares

YouTube: Funky Squares

This funky groove probably set the stage for later musical appreciation. It’s a cool animation, and pretty amazing what could be created with a bunch of squares, fun music, and imagination.

Mr. Stupid Typewriter

YouTube: Typewriter

This dumb typewriter was a recurring character. I think the most distinctive part of his scenes was the introductory: “Nooney nooney nooney noo.” I also like his “Wha?” to voice confusion.

A common educational strategy on Sesame Street seemed to be a moronic character that slowly learned things. As a kid, I remember learning along with the Muppet-morons, but later upon understanding the concept, it was a real ego booster to see the same segment again, and get to feel superior to the still confused character.

The Lonely “N”

YouTube: The Lonely N

This segment alternately confused, saddened, and scared me. It had a spaceship, which was a plus — but being a lonely “N” on a far away planet was a truly horrible thought. I always wondered how they would get down off of that mountain, since it didn’t seem like that spaceship was ever coming back.

So to sum up, it seems as a small child I was scared of the dark, of being lost, separated from my parents, and things that changed shape or looked like lions or monsters. Sounds pretty normal. But after watching some of these trippy cartoons, I think I need my blankie.