Added: 5 years ago
From: laughingsal
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  • I still love this song and I'm nearly 20!

  • Awww, thanks. I'n currently jamming to Jack Johnson, lol. "Upside Down". I love that song. I don't know if it's the educator in me, or maybe it just makes me nostalgic for childhood.

  • pause at 0:23 she looks cool.

  • I used to love this.0:16 was my favroite part. thanks for uploading this. sesame street sucks now.

  • Oh my, I used to put on my pink and black outfit, spinner hat and brush and jam to my heart's content! I loved this song! I loved all these weird, modern videos! I still do. They were so funky.

  • @bitchingood wow, love your comments, wonder what you're jamming to now!

  • Sal I hope your birthday was good. If you don't know I'm Peter McKennon on Facebook.

  • i never knew sensemella street was so trippy and psychedelic back in the days! i l love this stuff!

  • Don't know why youtube flagged your nice comment as spam, Vinnybeau.

  • Comment removed

  • "below is not where I was at" lol but at the same time..."I was below, he was above" ah yes not quite above it ALL. xD

  • Hi Sally Just wondering if you have any info on who did the 40 dots annimation?

  • @Cats29 sorry I don't know what that is.

  • I remember this!

  • pure LSD

  • hahahahahaha, as a child, I swear she said she was an 'above-it-all', I swear that was the animal that she was, ah yes sighs......lololol

  • @Katarine08 That's funny!

  • Oh my god me too! i have these little dragon toys i called 'abobitors' thinking that't what they were called! hahaha

  • I think this song is about thinking you're a really smart and beautiful person, but at the same time realizing, that you aren't the best person in the world.

  • blah

  • 4 people are below it all!

  • Oh wow you did these? Thank you for my childhood!

  • Thank you so very much for these. I forgot about this one.

  • You are my favorite artist of all time!

  • @romeocologne yowzer!

  • @romeocologne yowser

  • @romeocologne yup

  • Sally, this is one of my favourite Sesame Street cartoons, and i've only recently stumbled upon some of my personal favourites.

    Besides our Fez-wearing alligator turning into an airplane, the thing i like about this song is that there was decent effort that went into the lyrics, it's a song that while targeted towards kids, it also palatable for older people.

    I'm so glad i've once again re-discovered part of my childhood!

  • @DJOZ88 You're right, the lyrics were indeed clever, I believe Chris Cerf wrote them.

  • @DJOZ88 The lyrics are really clever. I believe they were written by Chris Cerf.

  • the beetle and the mouse are so cute XD

  • This is THE clip I couldn't wait to see with every episode of Sesame Street!! And you're the animator! Sally, this segment is one of my treasured and most inspiring memories, and I'm so glad that I get to thank you directly! :D Now that I'm going to school to animate, I can watch your work in a new light - but still feel the kid in me grinning away! Thank you so much!

  • @FayeLunacorn aww that's so nice. Best of Luck to you in the future!

  • The little gator girl is cute

  • Ohh... Who sang those words... I need to know.

    My next Teen Titan Idol is depending on it

  • This takes me back,thanks for the memories!

  • KimNek, that's wild. Sometimes when I reread a book I haven't read in a long time I'll be astonished how it all comes back- all the junk our brains retain though we rarely touch it.

  • I had such vague memories of this animations in the back of my head. I couldn't remember the song nor what it was about. I barely remembered the characters. I just started searching through Sesame Street animations in this style, and when I saw the thumbnail for this, I gasped out 'That's IT!'. It's odd how our memories can cling on to the smallest clues which revive the most heartfelt memories. I last saw this when I was 2 or 3. I'm 23 now.

  • Ah! Love to watch this! xD

    I've been thinking this for a while...but about the voice of the singer...she somewhat sounds like Jennifer Hale the same voice actress who did the voice of one of the Hex Girls in the Scooby-Doo movie: "Witch's Ghost". Just speculation lol, although, if Hale was the singer she'd be around 17 when this was sung(did the math lol). x]

  • Below some dudes went for a sail!

  • Why is there not just a hole in the jumpsuit for alligator's tail instead of having the jumpsuit cover it? That hot its done for most anthropomorphic characters.

  • i wish i fly like her

  • No lie, one of my favorite videos from that show. Was always a joy to see.

  • aww. wish i'd had a cleaner copy to upload.

  • Sally, A sincere thank you for the beautiful works you created for this show.

    You gave me fond memories for my childhood.

  • That makes me happy.

  • This was one of my favorite Sesame Street songs as a kid! Chris Cerf is a master songwriter!

    Sally, you animated Island of Emotion, too, right? Because that's another one of my faves.

  • right on both, TelephoneRock4ever. How'd you know about Chris Cerf?

  • Two months ago, I looked him up on the Muppet Wiki, because at that time I didn't know who wrote the songs for my second favorite Sesame Street band, Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats. And, I also learned he had a YouTube channel.

  • OMG! I forgot about this video! I use to love this as a kid! It made me wanna fly! lol

  • I'd like to fly too! My fez isn't working.

  • Happy 40th anniversary, Sesame Street!

  • I was born in 1986 and as soon as a saw the opening shot something about this rang familiar. I love looking at these old clips... I find myself singing along to tunes that I never realized I knew.

    Thanks for posting and thanks for your work!

  • if it weren't for youtube I'd have no idea kids were enjoying this so much.

  • I was born in 87...and I never forgot one word of any of these old songs because Sesame Street was my show!! I feel so old though...lol!

  • Love the msg. No one iz above it all.

  • What a wonderful cartoon. I'm also a big fan of Quasi and Anita (as an adult, although I remember being frightened by Quasi at the Quackadero when I saw it on Night Flight as a kid).

  • It's so unexpected for me, so many years later, to realize what an effect these cartoons had on kids.

  • great vid and music. it portrays a good subliminal message: no one is above it all ;)

  • perceptive comment, thanks.

  • Thank you for making these childhood memories possible, Sally. Kudos to you.

  • You're welcome!

  • Sweet, i was hoping to find this on youtube one of these days

  • Did the making of this Sesame Street skit begin in 1988?

  • yes it did, summer of 1988.

  • Was this skit completed in late 1988?

  • why u ask? I think it was completed 1989 but maybe 1988... (daughter was born jan 1989.)

  • oh my gosh- i remember seeing this on television when I was 4! Incredible. I love all of your other videos too! Psychedelic and creative. If I ever get back into animation, I want to do more accompanied with music.

  • thanks- wild screen name you've got!

  • Is this song about being high

    i like it, haha

  • a very thoughtful comment, dar3dav6, and I really don't know what the answer is.

  • Beautiful animation, and having grown up watching and loving Sesame Street, this one is that is up there with the best. This type of work gives me hope. Now looking at the world differently, with children of my own, I ask, "What is next. Can we deliver more educational television that makes a difference in today's broken 'corporate' world? "

  • No, but we can when we break the corporations.

    For one thing we need to organize against the capitalist as socialists. Look at countries with viable leftist party's in play. Socialist parties brought them "socialized" medicine, they invest in their kids and their people's welfare much more that the US because of the socialist influence. We need to get over our indoctrinated fear of socialism. The US ruling class want's us to be afraid of it because it threatens their greedy way of life.

  • Is this a real song? Cuz it should be....

  • One of my strongest memories of Sesame Street is the image of the alligator-woman flying over the city in this video. It was always one of my favourites. I remember finding it strangely melancholic and beautiful, even as a little kid. Especially so now of course. :P Thanks for the wonderful childhood memories. Peace from Australia!

  • Lovely comment, thank you.

  • That dove is cock eyed hahahaha but always did love this as a kid

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  • Haha Good memories. I had seen it on and off through my childhood on Sesame Street and one time, I was maybe 11 or 12 and I had happened to have this taped on an episode of Sesame Street. When I played it back, the memories came back and I believe I played it OVER and OVER and OVER. I am a HUGE fan of the 80's genre and this song sounds like 80's pop.

  • maybe because I wasn't into 80's pop I didn't see the charm of this one as everyone else did. Yes, I did the whole production except the cels were painted in Canada.

  • Man you gotta love this SONG.

  • Laughingsal,. did you say that YOU were the one that worked on the animation for the production of this video? If so, BIG PROPS. XD This was always one of my favorites. Thanks for the posting.

  • Oh my god! I actually remember this video- I loved it when I was little! Thanks for the good memories.

  • This is pretty neat. Was it liberating making animation for children, in that you could experiment without it being considered too weird?

  • Your note got me thinking. What was liberating was animating to music and working with a producer who trusted my instincts.

  • And your cartoon looks great with my channel's cloud pictures. :)

  • I'll have to take a look. Your cloud background was very pleasing to see.

  • Yay! I'm glad you like the background. That makes me happy. Other people I chat with on YouTube have also said they like it. I guess I got it right in its simplicity. :D

  • Did your cartoon first appear on Sesame Street in 1989? Your description says "animated," so I just wanted to be sure. Also, who is singing? Is it you? Either way, a beautiful voice.

  • Yes, 1989 was first year it was shown. I don't know who sang it. Various people have theories-- it was recorded in New York.

  • There's so much life in the way the characters move their bodies and faces, and how the background moves with them. There's a fluidity that, strangely, makes me feel fluid too.

  • I'd like to have a flying fez.

  • Yes! Or Calvin's flying beanie in Bill Watterson's cartoon.

  • Duuuude, this song popped into my head today, and I saw this thing about ten years ago o.O

  • I always loved this song...one of my favourite Sesame Street ones. Thanks for the memories...1st for animating it and then posting it. You're awesome ^_^

  • Thanks. There are rumbllings that Sesame Street pieces may vanish from youtube.

  • This was one of my favorite Sesame Street scenes ever! I always thought the pink girl was called "a bubbelow" like a bubbelow was a kind of animal -- I wanted to be a bubbelow! ;-)

    You're the person who animated this? Wow... thanks for the happy childhood memories!

  • I loved your note so much I wrote a blog piece about it.

  • Man I miss this music video. I haven't seen it when I was a kid.

  • glad you found your way back memory lane.

  • I love the color pink, how the pink airship and the pink submarine foreshadow the Aha!

  • AHA!

  • I think this was my favorite video from sesame street because I always wanted to fly when I was a kid. That was my only wish.

  • I know what you mean about flying!

  • This song is partially responsible for a lot of music i enjoy.

    I enjoyed this short clip as a toddler, and the nostalgia is wonderful.

  • That's amazing about the influence!

  • I entered the kitchen, to find seven sickly cat skeletons quickly but calmly climbing the kitchen counters cunningly chasing six small silver mice.

  • uh oh, what was in that cookie jar?

  • Where can I get this as an .mp3? I need this song!!

  • sorry, don't know.

  • wasn't most of the music done by the pointer sisters? you can look that up...

  • Wow it amazes me how much this video was seen so long ago. Thanks for your nice comments, glad it brings back good memories.

  • OMG i love this one!! I still sing this sometimes. it gets in my head. I'm so glad i saw this tonite. Thanx!

  • I love the way she winks at you before turning her propeller. This is one of my favorites too, the animation is unique and I love the classic 80's vocals.

  • I was up above it I was down in it

  • This song was my favorite when I was little!

  • i like the song; i just wish i knew who sang it! Hearing it brought back so much memories!

  • I don't know who sings it, but if I were to place a guess: Desiree Goyette, who did some of the songs on the 80s Garfield specials.

  • Well, I contacted Desiree, and she confirmed this is not her singing it, but she admited it does sound like her. She did say she remembers seeing this bit fondly, and said that her husband wrote some of the songs on Sesame Street.

  • thanks for checking it out for me! :)

  • i loved this as a kid. I am so happy you animated this!!!

  • OMG, its Britney Spear Flying how gay LOL

  • I loved this one so much. It was one of my favorites.

  • Oh my Goodness, this piece of animation influenced me so very much as a kid, especially the design of the dove! You've been such an influence on me, albeit anonymously since I only found out who you were today! Thank you, so much!

  • I remember watching this as a kid.:D

    Thank You for sharing it with all of us.=)

  • this gator is the best character design ever this animation is wicked

  • I remember this even though the animation doesn't make much sense. I remembered the back up vocals at the end, I love it.

  • OMG I just left a comment on anothe rof your vids, not knowing who you were, thinking "I love this it reminds me of something..." and then clicked on your page to find this! *spazz* Wonderful this was my favorite thing on Sesame street!...so long ago now, lol. Thank you so much for posting your work! I cant wait to share it with my son.

  • Woah man, I used to watch Sesame Street so much when I was young in the early '90s, and a lot of these things have been stuck in the back of my mind to this day. I haven't seen this in years. It's nice to see that the person who animated these is on Youtube.

  • You know, and this is not meant as any kind of criticism to the animator, it reminds me of the opening sequence of the movie "Mannequin." Do you know what I'm talking about?? :)

  • That's because I designed and directed the titles for "Mannequin"!

  • Wow...then it makes perfect sense! D'uh... :)

    I should have looked at the credits for "Mannequin" first. It's great. I love it..I figured as much but did not want to offend. :)

  • This is one of the cartoons I remembered from my youth watching Sesame Street because of the lyrics and the melody. Unfortunately I could hardly remember the lyrics as I tried to recall this song over the years. When I discovered YouTube I thought I'd try to find this song since I was able to find other songs I thought were equally impossible to find. I typed "Above it all" which were the only words I could remember in the search pane and lo and behold there it was.

  • Sometimes search functions on the internet seem positively magical.

  • Indeed they do. Thanks for this :)

  • I just wanted to let you know that as a child I adored this animation, as well as "I'm so curious"...and the Mannequin titles! I was young back then, so when I discovered Mannequin was really "just a movie" and not a full-length cartoon I was severely disappointed! :) You have wonderful creative talent. Really a pleasure to see them again as well as "meeting" you, in a sense :) Thanks for the memories

  • funny about Mannequin. I'm wondering now if it was maybe one of the first films to come out on vhs, if that's why so many people remember it.

  • I love this song!!!!! I used to sing it all the time when my nephew watche Sesame Street.. Oh man, I'm putting it on my favorites...

  • Hu MJKelley, I did the titles for Mannequin too, so you were right to make the association, thanks.

  • I LOVE THIS!!!!! I still have a tape of this when it was first aired. It was on the Big Bird Birthday Special. There's something about this that reminds me of the movie Mannequin. I think it reminds me of the opening. That's one of my favorite movies and this is one of my favorite shows. LONG LIVE THE 80'S!!!! THE GREATEST DECADE EVER!!!!

  • Wow, watching this now makes me realize what a great message this gives. I actually added it to my fave videos. I guess I'm still a kid inside xD. This always just brings a smile to my face.

  • COOL

  • That was such a heavenly song. Pure animated genius. :)

  • The part with the angelic voices makes me tear up.

  • It was fun to watch this. It occasionally comes to mind as a fond memory from well over a decade ago. It sticks in my mind, and I must agree that it's better for wee noggins than more recent "entertainment". Thanks!

  • Oh man, this brings back memories. I'll say again that I feel bad for the kids and alot of the shit that's on tv for them these days. I consider myself lucky being an 80's baby. CLASSIC!

  • True. I feel bad too.

  • This is one of the best songs ever.

  • The strage thing is, I didn't find this creepy at all when I saw this as a child. I just remeber loving the music and the very colorful and lively animation; still do.

  • Whoa. I was watching "Don't Go In the Basement" and suddenly was reminded of this (which I'd forgotten all about) and sure enough, here it is. Funny how memory comes and goes like that.

  • the people sleeping in bed look like they were crying. Love the animation

  • one of my favs!

  • the music in the beginning reminds me a little bit of lionel richie's "dancing on the ceiling"

  • Creepiest Sesame Street segment EVER.

    I'm 24 now and it's still on my mind from all those years ago. CREEPY.

  • Hysterical!

  • I think it's because I couldn't really understand what was being sung, and I just saw this strange allligator-woman flying and doing weird things.

  • I was always surprised that this was the most popular of all my Sesame St. songs-- maybe because it was also the most frequently aired.

  • Maybe they liked scaring kids

  • Possible religious undertones?

    One of my favorites!

  • This clip always felt a bit creepy to me when I was little... probably because of the weird animating style (and that crocodile/alligator? is dressed up all 80s like).

    I also noticed them recycling some of the animations when I was a kid...

  • So fantastic. I especially love the way that you made the sun. :)

  • Thank you for posting this. I was really ecstatic when I saw it on TV. Sadly, Noggin didn't show this when it first aired.

  • Our daughter loves this clip. Mommy used to sing her the song (remembered from her own Sesame Street days) and one day thought of looking it up on YouTube. An instant hit! The baby smiles every time it starts playing. Thanks, laughingsal!

  • You're welcome- nice story.

  • Oh. Okay, then.

  • Watching your videos has been really inspiring to me. I just recently got into animation, and was troubled by how some anime and especially 3-D movies just don't have the same personality that cell-drawn cartoons had. Today, it's all about details, and less about creative freedom. Did you ever feel the same way during the 80's, or were things different back then?

  • I was always an outsider in animation, so I certainly understand how you feel. When independent animation was at its peak, (16mm pre-vhs) everyone was doing serious stuff, not cartoon like at all. And tv animation was drek.

  • just gotta tell you that these inspired me to copy and i got really into drawing because of many of what i am finding are your animations. thanx! :D

  • Wishing you a happy life drawing! So nice of you to post this!

  • So you're the one who made this? I loved this as a kid! I even drew a fan art of the alligator girl =D

  • These comments make me very happy!

  • My daughter and I love watching this!

    Who is singing?

  • I love you! This is one of my personal favorites! This is my first favorite. What I like to see the most is Part of the Whole also. I love your videos! :)

  • Part of the Whole is linked off of my channel. I don't actually have a copy of it. Thanks!

  • What sorts of things influenced your animation style for these sesame street shorts? they fascinated me when I was a kid.

  • When I was growing up Betty Boop cartoons were on tv, even though they'd been made 30 years before. Thanks!

  • I love your style of animation! I think you're the best animator working for Sesame Street.

  • Thanks, nekojima 1987. But I don't work for them anymore, alas.

  • Aw, that's too bad. You were cool.

  • So who do you work for nowadays?