I'm glad I'm not the only 30 something who came here :-). I haven't thought of this song in years and it randomly popped in my head today. Really nice to hear it again :-).
I've been showing this era of Sesame Street to my daughter (she is 8 months, I am 40) - it's what I was raised on, such enriching and uplifting content. Not too saturated or hyperactive, like the rest. This particular animation and song... I'd completely forgotten until we came across it, then every bit of it came rushing back in to my mind. When I was very little though, I did't underatand the resolution into "above below," but I still remember having my tiny perceptual mind expanded by this art!
Was watching seaseme Street and I don't think I grew up with this song but I heard it today and I got hooked reminds me of another seaseme Street familys
Sally, I just wanted to say how much your animations mean to me. I grew up with them as a kid and had admittedly forgotten about most of them for the longest time. I vaguely remembered seeing something about a crocodile skydiving though I wasn't sure if it came from Sesame Street or Between the Lions. All my life, I had wondered what that beautiful piece of animation from my childhood was. Until recently, when I was suffering from serious depression, and I stumbled upon Above It All here on UA-cam. Just seeing the thumbnail, a wave of nostalgia went over me. That was it! I finally found this beautiful, almost dream-like cartoon. I've since rewatched your entire Sesame Street portfolio. I later showed this clip to my mom, and we shared a heartfelt moment remembering it. It first aired long after she had outgrown Sesame Street, but she remembered it from my childhood. Your artwork is absolutely beautiful, and you helped me through some dark times. You helped me get off my island of emotions, that's for sure. Did you catch the reference? Lol.
bobafett2205 thank you for this very moving comment. I can imagine how it must have felt when you found the video you wondered about, and there it was. I'm glad you are no longer in deep depression, people use the term casually but it's a very serious condition. I really appreciate what you wrote. Stay well, stay inspired. Sally
Lol. Wow well we all have our own fears. For me it was the Ronald mcdonald statue at the playplace at McDonald's as a child....this dead eyes...waiting to snatch you. Lol
Thank you, Ms. Cruikshank, for posting this. I would like to say of all the sketches you made, this one is truly my favorite. I remember seeing this ever since when this first aired, which was when I was four. I like the part with the dove, sun, and the clouds. The dove's voice was very sensational, and the background choir during this part was inspiritional. Thanks again.
This song popped to my head a few days ago, and I forgot the first lines again. I finally got wind of the lyrics after so much thinking. I didn't recall that this was from Sesame Street (I thought this song was from some cartoons in the afternoon). Thank you for posting this. I haven't heard this in years.
@Sally Cruikshank: This song popped into my head the other day, as it often has over the years. I hadn't seen it in 25 years. I looked it up, and voila! Great song, great work, and thanks for the memories!
I'm so happy to have found this. I think it's funny the baggage and message people put with this song because when I first saw it when I was little it taught me exactly what it was meant to -- about things above and below. I love the animation. Thanks Sally!
This was absolutely one of my most favorite Sesame Street animations next to the 1-2-3 Red Ball and the 12 Pinball! Always looked forward to watching this after school when I lived in Hong Kong as a pre-teen!
I was born the same year as Sesame Street (1969), so I had long since graduated from the show when this aired, but I remember seeing it with my nephew when he was little. They were still doing great stuff then.
I loved this one as a child! Possibly also because of the funky female character. Heck I still love this one. Thanks for revieving it. Great song too, I had to save it to my favorites.
Your work isn't just "pop" or funny as golden age cartoons... it's pure visual poetry, as Beatrix Potter or Maurice Sendak drawings, mixed with a touch of cheesy sixties psychedelic art. In term of pictural invention, From Your Head is just amazing. It reminds me of the William Steigs picture books!
continuing...I haven't seen the show in a long time. They would send me a song in demo form, I'd then provide a storyboard, then get a finished song, and go away and animate the whole thing. It was a nice arrangement.
Hahaha, so do I! I'm 24 and I still remember the words to EVERY single song, lol. I caught myself singing the Cecile theme song (the singing rubber ball?) and started youtubing all the old songs.
yay!!!! this was my favorite sesame street song. at last I have found u. didn't realize back then it was so long tho hahha..it's like a music video :) above below it all!
I randomly thought about this recently. I remember when I first saw this as a kid, I thought she was saying a made up word like "Bobbidal" and mentioning one of them, i.e. "A bobbidal", I'm not sure if I thought a bobbidal was what she was supposed to be or what she turned into at 0:15 to 0:16 and at 1:10 to 1:11 (I was young, keep in mind), but I at some point, realized it was "above it all". This song is even more beautiful than I remember, and I didn't think of this when I remembered it out of nowhere, but as was already said in some older comments, there is a similar sound to this song, and Laura Branigan's version of Gloria. I remember when I (presumably) first heard Gloria, it drove me mad, because I knew that it sounded like a song from something I watched when I was kid, but I just couldn't place what it reminded me of, but now I think it may have been this!! This video actually brought tears to my eyes, partly because the songs so beautiful, partly because of the nostalgia overload, and partly because I think I've finally found the answer to the whole Gloria thing, which I've been wondering for years now.
This was my favorite clip of yours on Sesame Street! The Gator Girl was totally me. I'm pretty sure her and the fact that my name is Liz made me pick out a lot of reptile jewelry and definitely influenced my taste in animals. I even went around calling myself "Lizard" lol Thanks so much for making this cartoon, it's even inspired my strong psychedelic aesthetic! (not that I knew that work when I was little!)
Thank you for telling me all this. I've noticed they paid zero attention to Arlene Sherman who died a few years ago and produced the independent animation pieces, mine included. Again, thanks.
I've always loved this one!! I thought the message it brought with it was sort of religious. Or spiritual, sort of. Like, humans think they're above it all, but there's always some higher power... I never thought of it as just above and below, but like in terms of superiority. I love this one though, it's beautiful, and the music is great. Good job with the video! I love all your stuff.
Kids shows have some ridiculously good music. SpongeBob has Sweet Victory, The Fairly Oddparents has Shiny Teeth, and even Teen Titans Go has The Night Begins To Shine.
Hi Marbles471, It was never easy to get work with Sesame Street, because there was an abundance of independent animators at the time, and very few opportunities for them to work. I started getting songs to animate when a new producer came on who liked my work and contacted me, in 1989. She's no longer in charge of animation though. continued...
Lordy loo, I remember this. I miss those days, man. When educational stuff didn't have to be educational. you could spend almost 3 minutes on a song about absolutely nothing, and aside from teaching you the contextual meanings of all the words in it, it didn't find it necessary to teach a damn thing. good times.
They've turned themselves inside out over the last decade, and especially over the last couple of years. Whereas they used to compile mountains and mountains of old material built up over the decades and always mix it up with new stuff, they recently made the decision to scrap everything and start over again from scratch. It's so strange to us "old timers," because for all these years until just now, a huge rotating collection of old films was what the words "Sesame Street," well....MEANT. X)
@darkwee009 this song has been in my head for the last 20 years. Be glad if it's with you only a day. Anytime some mentions any phrase that has "above it all" in it.... here comes this song.
When I was little I saw this on sesame street. But the bad news is they don't even show any of this stuff on sesame street anymore. Sesame street has changed a lot lately.
@laughingsal Laura Branigan was a famous 80s singer whose most famous song. "Gloria", sounds a lot like this. Did you just draw the art for this sing and have a musician write the music? I am so touched that I can talk to someone like you. I remember this from my childhood, which was in the 80s! ;,)
@reniebeanie84 I've been deeply moved by all the responses to this short, which I was never that keen on, but I understand how childhood memories can last a life time.
man, i remember this... watching sesame street used to kick ass when i was a litle kid because of stuff like this. back when it was still sesame street, and not the "elmo show" like it seems to be now...
That seems to happen a lot with artists. They can look at something they made and think, "This sucks." But, others will look at it and think, "This is awesome!" I think part of the appeal of this cartoon is the catchy song, and just the visual of the flying alligator that gets burned into your childhood mind.
I'm glad I'm not the only 30 something who came here :-). I haven't thought of this song in years and it randomly popped in my head today. Really nice to hear it again :-).
かっこいい
I've been showing this era of Sesame Street to my daughter (she is 8 months, I am 40) - it's what I was raised on, such enriching and uplifting content. Not too saturated or hyperactive, like the rest.
This particular animation and song... I'd completely forgotten until we came across it, then every bit of it came rushing back in to my mind.
When I was very little though, I did't underatand the resolution into "above below," but I still remember having my tiny perceptual mind expanded by this art!
Enjoy your baby and thanks for this wonderful comment.
Sally is a legend!!! Thank you for the wonderful childhood memories!
-30 something… I’ll be back in a decade for my 40 something!
I just discovered your work while looking for short films, and im absolutely captivated by your art!!
Oh that's great. enjoy!
Brilliant collaboration of music and animation. Thank you Sally, et al
thanks Elliott!
“Below is not where I was at!” Thanks for the lift.
:)
Was watching seaseme Street and I don't think I grew up with this song but I heard it today and I got hooked reminds me of another seaseme Street familys
Sally, I just wanted to say how much your animations mean to me. I grew up with them as a kid and had admittedly forgotten about most of them for the longest time. I vaguely remembered seeing something about a crocodile skydiving though I wasn't sure if it came from Sesame Street or Between the Lions. All my life, I had wondered what that beautiful piece of animation from my childhood was. Until recently, when I was suffering from serious depression, and I stumbled upon Above It All here on UA-cam. Just seeing the thumbnail, a wave of nostalgia went over me. That was it! I finally found this beautiful, almost dream-like cartoon. I've since rewatched your entire Sesame Street portfolio.
I later showed this clip to my mom, and we shared a heartfelt moment remembering it. It first aired long after she had outgrown Sesame Street, but she remembered it from my childhood.
Your artwork is absolutely beautiful, and you helped me through some dark times. You helped me get off my island of emotions, that's for sure. Did you catch the reference? Lol.
bobafett2205 thank you for this very moving comment. I can imagine how it must have felt when you found the video you wondered about, and there it was. I'm glad you are no longer in deep depression, people use the term casually but it's a very serious condition. I really appreciate what you wrote.
Stay well, stay inspired. Sally
@sallycruikshank I never expected a response from the creator of this masterpiece! That made my day!
@@bobafett22005 sweet
Wow...youtube has everything...just thought of this song and decided to search. PBS was great back in the day
The singer sounded so familiar. I mean, there were a lot of female 80's singers but this voice sounded so familiar among those with that similar voic
Angela Cappelli performs the lead vocals for the song, with back-up by Sarah Durkee, Paul Jacobs, and Ivy Austin
This song is going to be in my head for days.
Thanks for sharing this! Sweet childhood memories for me....
I absolutely loved this clip! I didn't know it was from 1989 though!
same :)
33 and still singing/loving this. very much so!
+Tracy Hutchings sweet- if only you had the magic fez you could fly along with it! ;) thank you.
This gave me the creeps as a child. That gator stayed in my head for quite a while. I was always afraid that she was around the corner. LOL
oh dear!
Damn, me too. I don't know what is was about that character that spooked me.
Are you kidding me, I thought she was the coolest.
Lol. Wow well we all have our own fears. For me it was the Ronald mcdonald statue at the playplace at McDonald's as a child....this dead eyes...waiting to snatch you. Lol
Thank you, Ms. Cruikshank, for posting this. I would like to say of all the sketches you made, this one is truly my favorite. I remember seeing this ever since when this first aired, which was when I was four. I like the part with the dove, sun, and the clouds. The dove's voice was very sensational, and the background choir during this part was inspiritional. Thanks again.
This song popped to my head a few days ago, and I forgot the first lines again. I finally got wind of the lyrics after so much thinking. I didn't recall that this was from Sesame Street (I thought this song was from some cartoons in the afternoon). Thank you for posting this. I haven't heard this in years.
@Sally Cruikshank: This song popped into my head the other day, as it often has over the years. I hadn't seen it in 25 years. I looked it up, and voila! Great song, great work, and thanks for the memories!
Devastatingz I agree!
What a touching comment and anecdote, it really moved me to read this.
I'm so happy to have found this. I think it's funny the baggage and message people put with this song because when I first saw it when I was little it taught me exactly what it was meant to -- about things above and below. I love the animation. Thanks Sally!
This was my favorite song growing up
Glad you got to see it again.
@@sallycruikshank I am too, BTW was that you singing the song?
@@DJDizzyStorms haha no way! Angela Cappelli is the singer. muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Above_It_All
@@sallycruikshank You both did an awesme job on the song & thanks for the info.
remember growing up in the late 80s and early 90s watching this! Im 24 now .priceless moments, thanks for uploading this!
This style of cartoon always freaked me out for some reason, but I love this song SOOOOO much. Thanks for sharing!!!
Ahh man I haven't herd this song in years thanks for the memories
That was always one of my favorite SS cartoon skits. So heavenly sounding. :)
getting to make something and have it published by sesame street is a true honor. You really have made it big.
Thanks. Sesame Street was very open to independent animation until the mid 90's. A great producer, Arlene Sherman, hired many of us.
This was absolutely one of my most favorite Sesame Street animations next to the 1-2-3 Red Ball and the 12 Pinball! Always looked forward to watching this after school when I lived in Hong Kong as a pre-teen!
Now here's a trip down Memory Lane.
This song had popped into my head recently, but I could only remember the opening lines and part of the outro.
I was born the same year as Sesame Street (1969), so I had long since graduated from the show when this aired, but I remember seeing it with my nephew when he was little. They were still doing great stuff then.
I would have the utmost respect for any artist that sampled this
Sonny1546 oh yeah this doing is no joke!
I loved this one as a child! Possibly also because of the funky female character. Heck I still love this one. Thanks for revieving it. Great song too, I had to save it to my favorites.
this ding just popped into my head today... wow...39 and still jamming
i remember this, i love the song so much....cuz, some days i feel "above it all" when i'm over the moon happy about achievements....thanks
omfg man i was STONED. when i saw this last night xD
Your work isn't just "pop" or funny as golden age cartoons... it's pure visual poetry, as Beatrix Potter or Maurice Sendak drawings, mixed with a touch of cheesy sixties psychedelic art. In term of pictural invention, From Your Head is just amazing. It reminds me of the William Steigs picture books!
+Clément Arbrun Thank you Clement.
The effect this segment had on so many continues to amaze me. At the time it was one of my least favorite and I wondered why it got so much play time.
That happens a lot in the creative arts
I love this!!! I remember this from when I was 5!!!! Beautiful!! Thank you!!
I never thought about it, but there's a moral in this song.
80's Sesame Street had some sick tunes.
continuing...I haven't seen the show in a long time. They would send me a song in demo form, I'd then provide a storyboard, then get a finished song, and go away and animate the whole thing. It was a nice arrangement.
Thanks to cartoon physics, Ally needn't worry about fuel or this would turn very quickly into AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA! For the Awesome!
i love it very much i have been looking for it for a long time thank you for poasting it for me
love
katie
I remember being like 5 waiting for this song to come on ….
Sesame Street
Thanks for remembering. Cheers!
@@sallycruikshank 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
oh my goodness, i think this is what started me thinking i could fly when i was a kid!!! haha, love the post! good childhood memories here!
Just discovered your works! They were my favorite pieces on Sesame Street as a kid!
Thanks for your nice comments. Vhunter, that's an interesting interpretation of the song, I like it! It's from 1989.
Been searching for this for ages.
Thank you for this! I like the dove the best. He,s so hansome. :D
Great stuff, great song...Sally brings a certain humor to everything that makes it that much better
Hahaha, so do I! I'm 24 and I still remember the words to EVERY single song, lol. I caught myself singing the Cecile theme song (the singing rubber ball?) and started youtubing all the old songs.
Oh man, the memories with that song!
Jeez, Sal. You've been making stuff since I was born. As a fan and student of animation, I really admire your work!
I've been trying to remember the title of this song for years! Was on my Sesame Street PC game.
yay!!!! this was my favorite sesame street song. at last I have found u. didn't realize back then it was so long tho hahha..it's like a music video :)
above below it all!
Totally! I also saw some of your work when I was like 8 in Singapore too. Hope you keep up the good work!
Thanks JoeyPencils. Keep em sharp!
i love it very much thanks for the meromries
I randomly thought about this recently. I remember when I first saw this as a kid, I thought she was saying a made up word like "Bobbidal" and mentioning one of them, i.e. "A bobbidal", I'm not sure if I thought a bobbidal was what she was supposed to be or what she turned into at 0:15 to 0:16 and at 1:10 to 1:11 (I was young, keep in mind), but I at some point, realized it was "above it all".
This song is even more beautiful than I remember, and I didn't think of this when I remembered it out of nowhere, but as was already said in some older comments, there is a similar sound to this song, and Laura Branigan's version of Gloria. I remember when I (presumably) first heard Gloria, it drove me mad, because I knew that it sounded like a song from something I watched when I was kid, but I just couldn't place what it reminded me of, but now I think it may have been this!!
This video actually brought tears to my eyes, partly because the songs so beautiful, partly because of the nostalgia overload, and partly because I think I've finally found the answer to the whole Gloria thing, which I've been wondering for years now.
It's funny how lyrics get reinterpreted. I used to think the Beegees song was "Stay in a Line."
yeah I couldn't understand squat back then. I think a lot of it was low quality audio?
Maybe the Bobbidal was the private jet of the Lady Mondegreen.
This was my favorite clip of yours on Sesame Street! The Gator Girl was totally me. I'm pretty sure her and the fact that my name is Liz made me pick out a lot of reptile jewelry and definitely influenced my taste in animals. I even went around calling myself "Lizard" lol
Thanks so much for making this cartoon, it's even inspired my strong psychedelic aesthetic! (not that I knew that work when I was little!)
i've been singing the lyrics to myself all day and I haven't seen this since it first came on TV when i was 4!
That was awesome! I wish this song was on Itunes (among other songs).
nice lesson in humility
Thank you for telling me all this. I've noticed they paid zero attention to Arlene Sherman who died a few years ago and produced the independent animation pieces, mine included. Again, thanks.
When I die I wanna hear the bridge of this song...
DUDE... Is it strange to say that part made me teary?
It's a different world, and Sesame St. is no longer a shared part of childhood as it was for a few decades (before dvds and computers)
Fun. Actually a secret animators all know is that you can put almost any track on and mute the original, and some things will seem to sync perfectly!
It's funny that it seems long now, with the way youtube shapes our sense of how long things can be. At the time I thought it was too short!
I've always loved this one!!
I thought the message it brought with it was sort of religious. Or spiritual, sort of. Like, humans think they're above it all, but there's always some higher power...
I never thought of it as just above and below, but like in terms of superiority.
I love this one though, it's beautiful, and the music is great.
Good job with the video! I love all your stuff.
This song is too good to waste on a kids show!
Aww, kids deserve good music too!
Kids shows have some ridiculously good music. SpongeBob has Sweet Victory, The Fairly Oddparents has Shiny Teeth, and even Teen Titans Go has The Night Begins To Shine.
Holy shit. A whole chamber of nostalgia inside me just got busted wide open!
Hi Marbles471, It was never easy to get work with Sesame Street, because there was an abundance of independent animators at the time, and very few opportunities for them to work. I started getting songs to animate when a new producer came on who liked my work and contacted me, in 1989. She's no longer in charge of animation though. continued...
what a lovely comment- thanks very much.
I was 4 when this was on Sesame Street, I remember watching it and eating peanut butter crunch
This song reminds me of Laura Branigan's "Gloria". Sally, were you inspired by Laura Branigan to do this short?
OMG! I remember this very well!
Happy 40th Anniversary Sesame Street!
Lordy loo, I remember this. I miss those days, man. When educational stuff didn't have to be educational. you could spend almost 3 minutes on a song about absolutely nothing, and aside from teaching you the contextual meanings of all the words in it, it didn't find it necessary to teach a damn thing. good times.
Such an interesting skit. Love it.
They've turned themselves inside out over the last decade, and especially over the last couple of years. Whereas they used to compile mountains and mountains of old material built up over the decades and always mix it up with new stuff, they recently made the decision to scrap everything and start over again from scratch. It's so strange to us "old timers," because for all these years until just now, a huge rotating collection of old films was what the words "Sesame Street," well....MEANT. X)
:o I used to love this!
@darkwee009 this song has been in my head for the last 20 years. Be glad if it's with you only a day. Anytime some mentions any phrase that has "above it all" in it.... here comes this song.
I feel that way when I see "That's About the Size" an early Sesame St piece that is sometimes on youtube but often yanked.
yes it's on my channel here. Candilicious
When I was little I saw this on sesame street. But the bad news is they don't even show any of this stuff on sesame street anymore. Sesame street has changed a lot lately.
I get chills too!
This was my favorite . The kids now are really missing out:(
Now l seems wonderful view up there and down in the airplane.
Hi Liz, Fun for me to read this! Sally
and I like your screen name- thanks!
@laughingsal Laura Branigan was a famous 80s singer whose most famous song. "Gloria", sounds a lot like this. Did you just draw the art for this sing and have a musician write the music? I am so touched that I can talk to someone like you. I remember this from my childhood, which was in the 80s! ;,)
@reniebeanie84 I've been deeply moved by all the responses to this short, which I was never that keen on, but I understand how childhood memories can last a life time.
You get to make cool animations. I had to take 'Remedial Stick Figure Drawing.'
Pretty soon AI will do that for you!
another wonderful comment. thank you.
Nice
man, i remember this... watching sesame street used to kick ass when i was a litle kid because of stuff like this.
back when it was still sesame street, and not the "elmo show" like it seems to be now...
I always had a crush on her
That seems to happen a lot with artists. They can look at something they made and think, "This sucks." But, others will look at it and think, "This is awesome!" I think part of the appeal of this cartoon is the catchy song, and just the visual of the flying alligator that gets burned into your childhood mind.
I never thought about it before, but you're right. There is a minor similarity to "Gloria".
I used to dance this song when it came on!
This explains my odd fascination with keyboard heavy synth pop.
I love Angela Cappelli.
I don't know that song, but I think others have referred to it. When I did the animation, the song was already recorded.
thanks it reaminds me of bufflo