Getting to know the Sesame Street Animators

[Splurge]

Wow, I had totally forgotten about that one! I remember seeing it quite a bit in the late 70's.

Does anyone know who did these animations?

-Letters of the alphabet are lined up by a drill sargent, counting off roll call. They then pile into a boat, which sinks.

I believe those were numbers 1-20, both in the roll call cartoon and the sinking boat. The latter, I feel, is a fun animation to watch.

 

[Convincing John]

Do we know who these little girls were? I wonder whether the blond one was one of Jim's daughters. I don't exactly know what Cheryl or Heather Henson looks like, so I couldn't tell what a young one would look like. I guess she and the Asian American girl could have ultimately come from a child talent agency, but I think it would be could if they were friends or relatives of the family.

It could have been one of Jim's daughters. I'm not sure about that, though. If you have "The Works" book, one of his daughters is seen hugging Ernie, and bearing a resemblance to Prairie Dawn in the background. I forgot which page, but it's in the "Sesame Street" section, Chapter 3.

Convincing John

 

[ssetta]

There was also one called "Henson Computer #10 Song." It was an animation from season 2, and it looked like it was a muppet made of wires, but it was actually computer animated. Must have been state of the art for the time.

 

[Splurge]

I've often thought the same thing, that George Dunning did those "Jazzy" segments.

I remember reading that the "Jazzy" number sequences with Grace Slick came from Imagination, Inc., the same company responsible for "Pinball Number Count". I believe the source was either from one of the musicians or the defunct animation company.

I wonder if the "Jazzy" animators were also responsible for the psychadelic 1-20 cartoon, starring the yogi with four arms? And if so, would the singer be Grace Slick? Sounds like a stretch, yet plausible.

 

[Convincing John]

There was also one called "Henson Computer #10 Song." It was an animation from season 2, and it looked like it was a muppet made of wires, but it was actually computer animated. Must have been state of the art for the time.

Yes! I remember that one! It was similar to the "Nobody" character, which was made from string.

"That's 10."

"Watch the screen and we will try to count how many dots go by..."

How about that psychadelic guy with the yo-yo? He was one of my favorites as a kid! He helped the one boy get home: "Try to remember everything I pass, but when I go back, make the first thing the last."

And he also talked about "over, under, around and through" with a rhyme about two fish and a sunken ship, and another rhyme with a worm and a green apple.

I don't know who did those clips, but they were COOL!

And here's another question (it fits, sort of, with the animation thread) I was listening to the "Lowercase n" song today...and is that Richard Hunt singing that song? It reminds me of him, kind of. Anybody know?

"The wind is very still...for the lowercase n."

Convincing John

 

[Convincing John]

I remember reading that the "Jazzy" number sequences with Grace Slick came from Imagination, Inc., the same company responsible for "Pinball Number Count". I believe the source was either from one of the musicians or the defunct animation company.

I wonder if the "Jazzy" animators were also responsible for the psychadelic 1-20 cartoon, starring the yogi with four arms? And if so, would the singer be Grace Slick? Sounds like a stretch, yet plausible.

The four-armed guru! That's one of my all time favorite clips! Yeah...the kaleidoscopic backgrounds for each number, the factory scene...the version in Spanish...that was truly one of the best!

Say, speaking of the "Pinball Number Count", did they do ones for "1" and "9"? I've never seen them. I have "2"-"8" and "10"-"12" on tape, but "1" and "9"...don't know.

Convincing John

 

[ssetta]

The Indian Counting 1-20 song was written by Darby Slick, so I would assume so.

There were Pinball segments for all numbers from 2-12.

The animation with the yo-yo man with the lost boy, the song was written by John Magneusson.

Imagination, Inc. was a very big animation company. They did many things for Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Schoolhouse Rock. You wouldn't happen to remember an animation where Simple Simon meets animals that have their body parts mixed up? That was by Imagination as well.

 

[Splurge]

The four-armed guru! That's one of my all time favorite clips! Yeah...the kaleidoscopic backgrounds for each number, the factory scene...the version in Spanish...that was truly one of the best!

Say, speaking of the "Pinball Number Count", did they do ones for "1" and "9"? I've never seen them. I have "2"-"8" and "10"-"12" on tape, but "1" and "9"...don't know.

Convincing John

There was one for "9" - in a baseball diamond. There was never one for "1", according to this info about the CD track of "Pinball Number Count":
http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/release.php?id=763

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

According to the post he made, Pinball Number Count was Animated by Imagination, Inc, but the studio went bankrupt or something and all the cells were destroyed or lost...

Unless Jeffrey Hale (who was credited for one of the segments when it was entered in the Ottawa Animation Festival) worked at Imagination, Inc., those segments were done by Jeffrey Hale, not Imagination, Inc.

 

[ssetta]

Jeffrey Hale did a lot of animations in the late 80s. And he wrote music for songs by that banjo playing turtle, as in the song "Green Grow the Rushes."