Schoolhouse Rock (TV Show) (DVD)

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Generation X'ers may recall the "Schoolhouse Rock" segments that aired on ABC during their Saturday morning programming from 1972-86. These catchy little animated songs taught a generation of children about math, grammar, science, U.S. history, and the American political system. Now the creators of those musical lessons have put together a dozen new songs related to saving the planet, and Disney has packaged them together with the original "Energy Blues" Schoolhouse Rock song just in time for Earth Day (April 22).

They're done in a style similar to the original cartoons and songs, which raises an interesting question: will they work on a generation that's been weaned on music videos, quick cuts, and high-powered graphics? I can't answer that, except to report that my kids (ages seven and 11) didn't run away when I played them. However, all 13 songs in a row can seem like a lot. They're lessons, after all, and how many kids today are going to sit through 50 minutes of lessons? If Disney is truly interested in teaching, then I hope that they start to incorporate one of these lessons on every kids' DVD they produce, so it kicks in with the previews on their "FastPlay" option. Snuck in one at a time, I think these little ditties can be effective. But as I said, when you watch them in a group, you feel like you're getting hit over the head with the messages. The only convenience, I suppose, is that teachers can buy the disc and integrate a song or two at a time into their lesson plans on various aspects of conservation.

Here's a rundown on the songs that are included. All are sung in a soft-pop style, with repetition to reinforce their messages:

Report from the North Pole features three polar bears on an ice floe that continues to shrink as they sing about global warming and the way that the reduction of their habitat has a domino effect that touches all of our lives. The lyrics are fine, but the tune itself has some discordant elements and it doesn't have that catchy sing-along quality of the originals.

The Little Things We Do is catchier. It features Mr. Morton and his family as they learn about little things they can do to help the planet conserve energy, like turn off lights when they're not being used, don't leave video games on when you're watching TV, car pool, get a tune-up, drive slower, use push lawn mowers, take shorter showers, and turn down the thermostat (which the Morton's cat proudly does).

The Trash Can Band is also about what you can do to save the planet, with the focus on Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Singing about it are three containers who play instruments in a slightly rockabilly style with Dolly Carton (pictured here) taking center stage. Some of the points they drive home are buying in bulk to cut down on packaging that ends up in landfills, reusing plastic, using cloth bags at the supermarket, rejecting Styrofoam (yeah, good luck come Christmas toy time),

You Oughta Be Savin' Water" features Dewey Drop and the Drips in a faux doo-wop ditty ("If you're not conservin' water, you oughta, you oughta") and basically talks about those minute-less showers again.

The Rainforest is a nice change of pace because it teaches about the levels of the rainforest before it starts whacking you with another conservation message, and then it's to draw the connection again between the animals' loss of habitat and human consumption and the effect that the diminishment of carbon dioxide-consuming plants will have on the planet.