Absolutely brilliantly produced video. The animation was such a spot on match with the spirit of the song, you'd think Allan Sherman had produced it himself.
While Allan was certainly ahead of his time, I'm sorry to inform you the animation was made by yours truly in 2012. The main source of inspiration was Saul Bass and his intro for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World. Thanks for the comment!
I've loved Allen Sherman's music and this song in particular for many years now. I stumbled across this video about ten minutes ago, and it is brilliant! Exquisitely illustrated, perfectly in time with the music, and 100% true to the spirit of that music as I interpret it. I think Mr. Sherman himself would have loved it. Very enthusiastic thumbs-up!
ZooTycoonLord Actually, that's a different Alan Sherman. Though coincidentally, both died at about the same time. Lots of people make that mistake. Edit: It appears I made a big error in judgement. There were two Alan Shermans, yes, but this was indeed the same one that played Cat in the Hat. My mistake, I likely accidentally read the page wrong. Sorry for the confusion!
I LOVE THE ANIMATION! YOU ARE FANTASTIC! I've loved this song for years, but your animation really suited the music wonderfully! Why haven't I seen this before? Why hasn't this had millions more views? Why haven't you done more? You are truly talented! Your transitions, your content, your style, it was excellent! I have watched this 4 times now and LOVE IT! Thank you SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK!!
It was "Py-Co-Pay" (formerly a product of the former Block Drug Company). "Boo-Boop" was a reference to the bleeped-out names of "other razor blades" people formerly used until they switched to the PERSONNA brand {"What do YOU think of Personna, Mr. Jones?"/"I think the Personna blade is better than *boo-boop* and *boo-boop*"}
wonderfull. Stunning animation, so simple, but perfectly like those comercials around 1940-60, not to mention how it's similar to the opening of "Bewitched". hilarious, yet, catchy lyrics with a nice singing voice, I must add. In other words, a piece of art ^^
Thanks for placing this song up! I used to play it on my college radio show over three decdes ago. The animations help, but one MUST have seen those commercials in the 1960's to understand the puns.
Completely amazing. I thought this was an actual '60's animation until I read the comments. Brilliantly done. (That explains the font listing at the end ... which I loved!) Big Allan Sherman fan, but I did not know this one!
It's always "just soap." I first heard this parody in the mid-90s, and I've carried that message with me my entire life. It's all "just soap." Thanks, Allan. You said what American was thinking.
One of the rare Allan Sherman songs that was based on a then-current song (Chim Chim Cher-ee, of course, was written by the Sherman Brothers -- no relation -- for Mary Poppins; it even won an Oscar for Best Original Song). Most of the time Allan Sherman used songs in the public doman -- Frere Jacques, Greensleeves, Ponchielli's "Dance fo the Hours," Pop Goes the Weasel, etc. He encountered trouble from some artists not wanting their songs "done," while others granted him very limited permission (e.g., he could perform a parody in a theater, but not on television, nor permit it to be recorded). In a couple of cases, he mistakenly thought that the songs were in public domain, but they turned out to be, and he was sued. In this case, he must have gotten permission from either the Shermans or (more likely) Disney.
This is terrific! Beautiful typography--plus, I've been wondering for years how to spell all those products. You have solved several mysteries. Please do more!
I don't know if someone posted it already, but I found out what the "boo-boop" thing was: There was a commercial at the time for some brand of razor (I don't remember which one), which had supposedly real people saying how much better it was than their old brand. They'd say things like "I used to shave with a (old brand), but after trying this brand, I find I get a much closer shave." They would mention their old brand by name, but the name would be covered up with a "boo-boop" sound effect. It was considered very bad form at the time to mention a competing brand in your commercial. And there's a subtle dissing of competing brands when you bleep out their names.
Autronic Eye was an option on GM products in the 50's and 60's. It would automatically switch the high beam headlights to low when an oncoming car approached.
Again, let me say that you did a hell of a job here. I was honored to be the person that you consulted for info about the "giant in the washing machine" when this video was still in production (it was Action detergent), and I was more than happy to help you, although I wasn't able to give you more help in accessing images of those ads. And thank you once again for the opportunity to help.
Bless you, metalgeo. I knew all the lyrics by heart as a kid, but it was the 1970s and some of those products were obsolete by then. So finally, after all these years, I know it was Vitriol-D he was singing about! (Why anyone would name something after vitriol is a head-scratcher.)
Fantastically done! You caught the animation style of the mid-60's brilliantly. It was only when I paused at the credits that I realized this was not done by the animator who did the credits for "It's a Mad Mad Mad World".
This is a great production of a great song by Sherman, who started taking down the advertising business as least since his "Headaches" song on My Son, The Nut. You might be interested in my new (the first) biography of Sherman. Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman (Brandeis U. Press). All the info is at allanshermanbiography. Thanks for this excellent video!
Oh darn, did I really forget to list that font? It's Loungy of Fontdiner.com. www.dafont.com/fontdinerdotcom-lou.font And of course thanks for all the lovely comments!
England calling. This is England calling. I cannot begin to tell you how much Allan Sherman cheers me up every time I listen. I was born in 1961 and hadn't heard of Allan until one day two years ago they played Old King Louie on BBC Radio 2. That very afternoon I got in the car and drove a 44 mile round trip to a record store to buy My Son, The Greatest (the only CD available over here), and it has delighted me and family and friends ever since. Allan is not only funny but he has a lovely voice - it's kind of warm and friendly. He must have been such good fun to be around. I am not Jewish but come from a very Jewish area (Cheetham Hill) of Manchester, England, where catholic boys such as myself did shop work in the shmutter trade - the orthodox lads had to observe the sabbath on Saturdays - the busiest trading day of the week - but we catholic boys could run the shop or market stall. I have such happy memories of lovely, generous,.friendly Jewish families, and this kind of brings it back. It was such an integrated community back then, and I think it probably still is now - I hope so. This is a wonderful video and I thank you so much for all your efforts.
I remember this well from my childhood, but when was the animation done? It's a great recreation of all the 60's styles and a little Jason Ward? Rocky & Bullwinkle. But only recall Allen Sherman doing live TV or records, never animated music videos. Or was he ahead of his time !
Wonderful video from a great funny record! Though I'd like to offer to correct a few misheard brand names (understandable after all these years): Py-Co-Pay (tooth brushes,) Vytrol-D (the "secret ingredient" in Alberto VO-5, later replaced by Mirol and Mirol-Plus, whatever the hell THEY were...) Acrilan (synthetic fiber, for carpets, I think,) and Marfak (Texaco auto chassis lube.) I just read about a Texaco station owner who named his poor kitty cat Marfak...
About the subject of this song, when I was little, I wasn't open to toys that used batteries because if the batteries went dead, it meant no more playing with the toy until my parents had a chance to buy new batteries. But when I saw the Energizer Bunny commercial with Wile E. Coyote, I became open to things that used batteries. Subsequent mail-order promotions from Energizer batteries kept me open to things that used batteries, and I became a fan of the Energizer Bunny, and would only buy Energizer batteries, no other brand.
I only came to find the song because Facebook had a post up saying "write on your pillow -2-2+= to the rhythm of the song and you'll hear it" so tada! it actually works!!
Believe it or not, Mark, but that book arrived yesterday in the mail! After having it pre-ordered since April too. It's lying next to me right aside A Gift of Laughter and Rape of the A.P.E., just waiting to be read! Thanks for the book and comment!
Susan Martin True, but unlike Allan, he didn't lose steam after a few years. Let me clarify that I'm not at all saying that he's bad. Far from it; he was a parody pioneer of songs, and this, Pop Hates the Beatles, and Hello Muddah, Hello Fuddah are some of his best. That said, you can't deny he kinda lost his touch after a while. Especially when he made that parody of Funiculi Funicula.
Brilliant! Fantastic animation. However, there's more than a hint of truth in the words : we're brainwashed by the things we see - it programmes our behaviour.
Eight years later and this is still one of the finest kinetic typography music videos I've ever seen. Thanks for uploading!
1000x!
The Sherman brothers wrote the original great "Chim Chim Cheree", so it makes sense that another Sherman (no relation) turns it into a great parody!
I just noticed that! Haha
About Pharmacy refers.
Absolutely brilliantly produced video. The animation was such a spot on match with the spirit of the song, you'd think Allan Sherman had produced it himself.
William Petersen So I think myself!!!
Who did the animation?
While Allan was certainly ahead of his time, I'm sorry to inform you the animation was made by yours truly in 2012. The main source of inspiration was Saul Bass and his intro for It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World. Thanks for the comment!
you're the real MVP for listing the fonts used. As a big sucker for the 50s aesthetic, this will be perfect for my commissions.
Saul bass was top notch
👍👏😊
Kudos to you. This was great
You really know how to interpret a song.
Amazingly done. I love your artistry.
We lost him at a young age. Just think what he and Weird Al, could have produced together. The world needs more Alan Sherman’s.
Al's a huge fan, of course!
I've loved Allen Sherman's music and this song in particular for many years now. I stumbled across this video about ten minutes ago, and it is brilliant! Exquisitely illustrated, perfectly in time with the music, and 100% true to the spirit of that music as I interpret it. I think Mr. Sherman himself would have loved it. Very enthusiastic thumbs-up!
2021 and I'm still seeing this magic piece of work.
I could most certainly hear the Cat in the Hat sing this. Sherman did happen to do the voice of the Cat in the tv specials.
ZooTycoonLord Actually, that's a different Alan Sherman. Though coincidentally, both died at about the same time. Lots of people make that mistake.
Edit: It appears I made a big error in judgement. There were two Alan Shermans, yes, but this was indeed the same one that played Cat in the Hat. My mistake, I likely accidentally read the page wrong. Sorry for the confusion!
ZooTycoonLord In my mind's eye, and mind's ear, I hear the Cat in the Hat singing this song as well!
ZooTycoonLord *_EGGS, EGGS, E DOUBLE G S, EGGS_*
Absolutely brilliant animation. A fitting modernization of a great Allan Sherman parody.
I'm just flabbergasted by the astounding quality of this video. Thumbs up!
I LOVE THE ANIMATION! YOU ARE FANTASTIC! I've loved this song for years, but your animation really suited the music wonderfully! Why haven't I seen this before? Why hasn't this had millions more views? Why haven't you done more? You are truly talented! Your transitions, your content, your style, it was excellent! I have watched this 4 times now and LOVE IT! Thank you SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK!!
My favorite part is "Does it my blue things white, or make white things blue?" :)))
nakaharaindria Also, the nauga.
Wow, you actually depicted what a Nauga really looks like. Props to you for doing your homework.
Great stuff. Love how the animation, visuals, typography and colours cohesive with the 1960’s,
It was "Py-Co-Pay" (formerly a product of the former Block Drug Company). "Boo-Boop" was a reference to the bleeped-out names of "other razor blades" people formerly used until they switched to the PERSONNA brand {"What do YOU think of Personna, Mr. Jones?"/"I think the Personna blade is better than *boo-boop* and *boo-boop*"}
You would not believe how long I've been waiting to here the explanation for that. o_O
@@mattferrantino5855 Hear hear! Thank you Barry I. Grauman
wonderfull. Stunning animation, so simple, but perfectly like those comercials around 1940-60, not to mention how it's similar to the opening of "Bewitched". hilarious, yet, catchy lyrics with a nice singing voice, I must add. In other words, a piece of art ^^
This is one of my favorite songs of all time and the addition of the video was the icing on the cake. Well done there in every aspect.
What a wonderful thing TV would be if all the ads would be compressed into a song/video like this.
John'sHeadintheClouds in fact this is almost the exact length of the average commercial break in hour-long tv shows.
He did it in "Headaches".
Congrats on 200k views! It's great to see this song getting recognised, it's awesome!
Thanks for placing this song up! I used to play it on my college radio show over three decdes ago. The animations help, but one MUST have seen those commercials in the 1960's to understand the puns.
Completely amazing. I thought this was an actual '60's animation until I read the comments. Brilliantly done. (That explains the font listing at the end ... which I loved!)
Big Allan Sherman fan, but I did not know this one!
43 people do not like this ..... ??????!!!!! Brilliant it is , RIP Allan Sherman !
It's always "just soap."
I first heard this parody in the mid-90s, and I've carried that message with me my entire life. It's all "just soap."
Thanks, Allan. You said what American was thinking.
At the credits it shows all the tools: Adobe After Effects, Audition, Illustrator, Photoshop and Blender 3D. Nothing more, nothing less!
I can't believe how much pleasure I'm getting just watching the fonts change.
Love the animation. I remember a lot of those ads, and I hadn't thought of them in many years.
I found this through the Bulwark article on Allan Sherman. Wonderful video! Thank you!
Great concept, & finished product!
Way to go!
Have not heard this song for decades. Thanks.
This video must be one of the greatest things on UA-cam! Amazing job!
I have to agree! The animation is amazing! Thank you for taking the time to do that!
One of the rare Allan Sherman songs that was based on a then-current song (Chim Chim Cher-ee, of course, was written by the Sherman Brothers -- no relation -- for Mary Poppins; it even won an Oscar for Best Original Song). Most of the time Allan Sherman used songs in the public doman -- Frere Jacques, Greensleeves, Ponchielli's "Dance fo the Hours," Pop Goes the Weasel, etc. He encountered trouble from some artists not wanting their songs "done," while others granted him very limited permission (e.g., he could perform a parody in a theater, but not on television, nor permit it to be recorded). In a couple of cases, he mistakenly thought that the songs were in public domain, but they turned out to be, and he was sued. In this case, he must have gotten permission from either the Shermans or (more likely) Disney.
This is terrific! Beautiful typography--plus, I've been wondering for years how to spell all those products. You have solved several mysteries. Please do more!
Fantastic animation... Very clever and appropriate usage of fonts and animations were spot on.
Mr. Sherman would be proud!
Love the animation! Great job!
Added to "Favorites" as a fan of Allen Sherman, a lover of fonts, and a critic of advertising.
And what the heck did he mean when he talked about sharpening his boo-boop?
I don't know if someone posted it already, but I found out what the "boo-boop" thing was: There was a commercial at the time for some brand of razor (I don't remember which one), which had supposedly real people saying how much better it was than their old brand. They'd say things like "I used to shave with a (old brand), but after trying this brand, I find I get a much closer shave." They would mention their old brand by name, but the name would be covered up with a "boo-boop" sound effect. It was considered very bad form at the time to mention a competing brand in your commercial. And there's a subtle dissing of competing brands when you bleep out their names.
Love the production on this. I keep coming back. Also it really is always soap
Love it!!!--And I finally I get to see the Ajax knight that my mom told me I was scared of as a young child
Really great animation set to a great tune. Bravo!
1ucasvb This is really fantastic.
This has been my favorite Alan Sherman song since I first heard it and each time I come back to this video I'm delighted by it. Just makes me grin.
I figure all the people that didn't like this are under the age of 45. Such great nostalgia here.
good funny music, and still true, and nice retro animation. good job.
One of the best song parodies of all time!!
Beautiful!!! Thank you so much for the animation, it made my day :)
Autronic Eye was an option on GM products in the 50's and 60's. It would automatically switch the high beam headlights to low when an oncoming car approached.
I have a new favorite UA-cam video. Now don't panic, it's this one.
This is the most amazing thing I've seen all day.
hell yeah it made no sense but it was still funny
Excellent work.
Just found this and I about died laughing! Fantastic job!
Brilliant !
Absolutely brilliant!
Wow. Absolutely fantastic
Again, let me say that you did a hell of a job here. I was honored to be the person that you consulted for info about the "giant in the washing machine" when this video was still in production (it was Action detergent), and I was more than happy to help you, although I wasn't able to give you more help in accessing images of those ads. And thank you once again for the opportunity to help.
This is that Kind of Song that you wish to never end and hope that there comes more and more. Beautiful and outstanding xD
Thank you Jeff Boice! I never heard of that brand before. Must not have outlasted the 60's ;)
This is great. More uploads!!!
video production/design is great!
Out of all the songs I’ve heard so far, I think this is going to be an earworm later when I don’t even expect it.
great animation i appreciate the work put into it :)
Bless you, metalgeo. I knew all the lyrics by heart as a kid, but it was the 1970s and some of those products were obsolete by then. So finally, after all these years, I know it was Vitriol-D he was singing about! (Why anyone would name something after vitriol is a head-scratcher.)
LOVE THIS ONE.. GREAT VIDEO TOO
Your really did your research! Excellently done.
This is wonderful!
I love how the lyrics animation follow the song rhythm and isn't just monotone words, keep the good work pal
Nice job on the animation! Allan was great!
BRAVO on the ANIMATION!!! FANTASTICO!!!
Excellent!!!
Thank you all for the kind words. :)
The punchline still gets me every time :D
So fucking good, my dude. Jesus, such quality.
I like this a lot. There's some really good stuff in here.
I remember this song from my childhood, but I've never heard of about 90% of those brands. Awesome video dude.
Amazing!!!!!!
Fantastically done! You caught the animation style of the mid-60's brilliantly. It was only when I paused at the credits that I realized this was not done by the animator who did the credits for "It's a Mad Mad Mad World".
+Michael Manning I had to check the credits to believe this video wasn't done several decades ago, but in this very same century!
I'm pretty sure that the animator who did the opening credits for "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," was Saul Bass who also did "Why Man Creates."
This is a great production of a great song by Sherman, who started taking down the advertising business as least since his "Headaches" song on My Son, The Nut. You might be interested in my new (the first) biography of Sherman. Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman (Brandeis U. Press). All the info is at allanshermanbiography. Thanks for this excellent video!
Oh darn, did I really forget to list that font? It's Loungy of Fontdiner.com. www.dafont.com/fontdinerdotcom-lou.font
And of course thanks for all the lovely comments!
England calling. This is England calling.
I cannot begin to tell you how much Allan Sherman cheers me up every time I listen. I was born in 1961 and hadn't heard of Allan until one day two years ago they played Old King Louie on BBC Radio 2. That very afternoon I got in the car and drove a 44 mile round trip to a record store to buy My Son, The Greatest (the only CD available over here), and it has delighted me and family and friends ever since.
Allan is not only funny but he has a lovely voice - it's kind of warm and friendly. He must have been such good fun to be around.
I am not Jewish but come from a very Jewish area (Cheetham Hill) of Manchester, England, where catholic boys such as myself did shop work in the shmutter trade - the orthodox lads had to observe the sabbath on Saturdays - the busiest trading day of the week - but we catholic boys could run the shop or market stall. I have such happy memories of lovely, generous,.friendly Jewish families, and this kind of brings it back. It was such an integrated community back then, and I think it probably still is now - I hope so.
This is a wonderful video and I thank you so much for all your efforts.
@frzi
Lovely, lovely animations! Amazing job indeed!
this is awesome!
Gorgeous
I remember this well from my childhood, but when was the animation done? It's a great recreation of all the 60's styles and a little Jason Ward? Rocky & Bullwinkle. But only recall Allen Sherman doing live TV or records, never animated music videos. Or was he ahead of his time !
Frzi , u r one talented guy!
This is great.
Wonderful video from a great funny record! Though I'd like to offer to correct a few misheard brand names (understandable after all these years): Py-Co-Pay (tooth brushes,) Vytrol-D (the "secret ingredient" in Alberto VO-5, later replaced by Mirol and Mirol-Plus, whatever the hell THEY were...) Acrilan (synthetic fiber, for carpets, I think,) and Marfak (Texaco auto chassis lube.) I just read about a Texaco station owner who named his poor kitty cat Marfak...
What was Melmac? I only know the name as in ALF's home planet.
Melmac was a plastic product (melamine resin) used for making unbreakable dinner plates.
About the subject of this song, when I was little, I wasn't open to toys that used batteries because if the batteries went dead, it meant no more playing with the toy until my parents had a chance to buy new batteries. But when I saw the Energizer Bunny commercial with Wile E. Coyote, I became open to things that used batteries. Subsequent mail-order promotions from Energizer batteries kept me open to things that used batteries, and I became a fan of the Energizer Bunny, and would only buy Energizer batteries, no other brand.
I only came to find the song because Facebook had a post up saying "write on your pillow -2-2+= to the rhythm of the song and you'll hear it" so tada! it actually works!!
Awesome lyric video
Believe it or not, Mark, but that book arrived yesterday in the mail! After having it pre-ordered since April too. It's lying next to me right aside A Gift of Laughter and Rape of the A.P.E., just waiting to be read! Thanks for the book and comment!
some body put a lot of love into this
thank you for this!
Allan Sherman was making funny parodies of songs long before Weird Al Yankovich was born...funny how people dont know that
Susan Martin True, but unlike Allan, he didn't lose steam after a few years. Let me clarify that I'm not at all saying that he's bad. Far from it; he was a parody pioneer of songs, and this, Pop Hates the Beatles, and Hello Muddah, Hello Fuddah are some of his best. That said, you can't deny he kinda lost his touch after a while. Especially when he made that parody of Funiculi Funicula.
Susan Martin That's right. Also both filkers are Jews for some reason...
Yankovic*
Weird Al is not Jewish
Spike jones
This video is simply, hmm, what shall I put it, just supercalifragiliticexpialidocious!
This guys a genius!!
Amazing
Well done!
Featuring Allan Sherman as the voice of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat singing “Chim Chim Cheree” from Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964).
Cheer detergent had "Blue-Magic Whitener".
Brilliant! Fantastic animation.
However, there's more than a hint of truth in the words : we're brainwashed by the things we see - it programmes our behaviour.
A comedy genius who left us way too soon.
Pure Genius!
Did you know...
This song parody is actually a song in the popular Disney movie Mary Poppins!