Really Rosie

Much to my surprise, this show (along with other Maurice Sendak works) is finally available on DVD; the two stories I enjoyed the most were "Pierre" and "Chicken Soup with Rice." I cannot honestly comment on the others in the show ("Alligators ALl Around" and "One was Johnny"). Carole King's whimsical songs are still very singable and are just a lot of fun!

I recall being caught up with the music from this when I was in 1st grade; my teacher had a tape and I listened to it incessantly, singing along...with headphones on! :) My parents liked hearing about that one..but I digress.

The animation for the show is a bit stilted (no worse than any Anime' I've seen!), but the stories and the encouragement for kids to use their IMAGINATIONS is certainly welcomed! Of course, with "Pierre" you get the obligatory message ("CARE!!")and that's fine. The story is told with so much whimsy and frivolity that the moral is kind of a surprise reminder by the end!

Once again, if the video of this is not for you, then at least check out the songs or the books individually. They are worthwhile on their own. Imagine my surprise when I grew up from 1st grade and found out that Carole King was famous for songs OTHER than those from "Really Rosie"! What a cool surprise.

I still have my original vinyl copy of the album which I played nearly to death as a child. Thankfully it has been remastered on CD and there are used copies of the video out there.

If you missed it as a child, it's not too late.

I like Maurice Sendak's work. I mean, who doesn't like Where the Wild Things Are?

And Carole King never bothered me too much.

But pair them together and you end up with this lame special that CBS aired at least a handful of times, from the unfortunate feel-good / let's-use-our-imaginations / "Free To Be You and Me" era of the mid-1970s.

I think you had to be a little rich girl living in Manhattan to appreciate this yawner of a cartoon. Or maybe you had to be a little rich girl living in a suburb of New York. Because all the girls in my class were singing the mostly forgettable songs the next day. Then it was back to their overpriced and equally pretentious Shel Silverstein books.

Having said that, the song "Chicken Soup with Rice" has stayed with me all these years. I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.

All I know is if this thing was on at eight p.m., I'd play with my Legos until it was over and come back to the TV set at 8:30 for the infinitely superior Rikki Tikki Tavi.

Why hasn't this come out on DVD? I would love to play this for the kids in my life.

Do you know how many times I've said I Don't Care over the years? Or rather sang? Too many to count. The music in this is fantastic and Carole King really did a be wonderful job writing it and performing it. It is is so nice to see something so innocent, it's not about social causes or programming children or of my their innocence, quite the opposite, it's just about good morals and teaching things like the abcs. Some people could learn a lesson from "Pierre" or "Screams and Yells".

Growing up, I am watched this so much it drove my brother's crazy. My mom rented it from the library for me and I would watch it several times a day when I was 4 or 5. I was just really into it. No the animation isn't mind-blowing, but it's cute and it's fun. The story is thin, but fun, it's really a vehicle for teaching basic life lessons and preschool level stuff.

I would happily let my kids watch this, and stuff just isn't this innocent. I'm not a huge fan of most stuff made for children, but this is one that stands the test of time in terms of children's media. It's not intended for adults, so even though I still in enjoy the songs, I think it's only fair to taste it based on how much I loved it as a child, and that was more than any other show.

SOOO many memories. This is actually "before my time" since I'm a child of the 80's, but my mother got me the record, and singing Alligators all around (and Pierre, and Chicken Soup and Rice, and One was Johnny, and pretty much everything on this album!) was all part of my childhood experience. I stumbled across the CD on amazon.com, and started talking about it to my boyfriend, who surprised me with the CD. LOVED IT! Cant wait to share it with my own kids one day. If this is a lovely reminder of your childhood, as it is for mine, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of the CD--after all, you're in it for the songs, not the images (although those don't hurt, and I suppose brainwashing the next generation to really appreciate Really Rosie may require some visual stimuli).