"Really Rosie"

October 22, 2013 9:15 AM

In 1975, CBS aired the half hour animated special "Really Rosie" with story and lyrics by Maurice Sendak (based on five of his children's books) and with music composed and performed by Carole King. Many have fond memories of the broadcast ("Chicken Soup with Rice" is a particular childhood earworm), and though it has yet to make it to DVD, you can watch it in full on YouTube. The special was later turned into an Off-Broadway production in 1980 and continues to be performed by kids across the country.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI (34 comments total)

I rented this VHS cassette so many times when I was a kid.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:36 AM on October 22, 2013

My kids, born in '70 and '72 loved this.... thanks... I sent it on the the kid for his own little one to watch....
posted by HuronBob at 9:49 AM on October 22, 2013

Born in 1970, and I loved this so much. I does strike me that Alligators All Around is pretty melancholy, musically speaking. I don't think I noticed that when I was little.
posted by schoolgirl report at 9:51 AM on October 22, 2013

Turns out the album is on Spotify, by the way.
posted by schoolgirl report at 9:52 AM on October 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

I had an audio cassette of this in my mid/late 80s childhood--I assume a recording of the off-broadway show. I don't think I understood musicals and was really confused why they were singing and what the connection was with my Sendak books. But it definitely stuck with me. Alligators all around!
posted by rustcellar at 9:53 AM on October 22, 2013

This was my favorite thing as a wee bairn. I always wanted to play Rosie.
posted by pxe2000 at 9:56 AM on October 22, 2013

Pretty sure the majority of the "Really Rosie" content is on this DVD. It was a favorite of my kids. I still hum "Alligators All Around" occasionally.
posted by cosmicbandito at 9:58 AM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

I've been eyeing this Really Rosie song book (with guitar and piano music).
posted by mbrubeck at 9:58 AM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Born in 1973. I so loved this. My parents still have the record, I think. They used to sing the songs (particularly "Alligators All Around" and "Pierre") to my younger sister and me when we were little kids. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 9:58 AM on October 22, 2013

A classic. The animation is really deceptively simple, but very smart. One example: the characters' steps in the dance sequences are actually choreographed and are not just random jerks.
posted by GeorgeBickham at 10:25 AM on October 22, 2013

Here's where it all began
Here's where I heard that beat
Here's where I tapped that tap
With my natural rhythm feet
In my simple humble neighborhood
On my simple humble street

Here's where the dreams I had
Were crowded on a stoop
Were pecked and pushed and hustled
Just like chickens in a coop

Life wasn't always neat
In my simple humble neighborhood
On my simple humble street

Here's where I learned the rules
Of Rosie's way of how to play
A magic game that changed the same
Old sheepy bleat
In my simple humble neighborhood
On my simple humble street

Here's where I made up folks
Who came to visit me
Not just ordinary folks
Coming unexpectedly

Talent scouts, producers, directors
Glamour boys

In other words
The Hoi polloi
The grand elite

To make them green with envy
In my simple humble neighborhood
On my simple humble street

Here's where it all began
Here's where I heard that tune
Here's where I sang of sailing
In a carnival balloon, life was so darn sweet
In my simple humble neighborhood
On my simple humble street
posted by Brocktoon at 10:26 AM on October 22, 2013

I loved this as a kid, too. I was always totally mystified by the lyric "I can tap across the Tappan Zee" (from Rosie's theme song) until I lived in New York for a year after college, at which point I had to explain to my boyfriend why I was suddenly so excited to cross the Hudson via a certain bridge when we were out driving one day.
posted by scody at 10:39 AM on October 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

Saw it once. Had the album and played it over and over - can still sing some of the songs from memory. My mother also says "Pierre" is about me. Rosie was one of my introductions to the world of divas!
posted by dnash at 10:41 AM on October 22, 2013

Used to get the double LP out of the public library and wonder at what brought about this detailed little world; didn't discover until years later it had been a TV show.

Forgot about it entirely and then was knocked over years later with recollection when I read my daughter "Alligators All Around".

@schoolgirl, in terms of melancholy I remember I used to skip over "the ballad of chicken soup" for that reason.
posted by hearthpig at 11:02 AM on October 22, 2013

Oh, boy. My boyfriend (ok, and my cats) are going to be thrilled that I'm going to be singing "Good morning, darling boy, you are my only joy" to them every morning for the next week. Not to mention occasionally belting out "Oh, can't you see? I'm terrific at everything! No star shines so bright as me!"
posted by amarynth at 11:07 AM on October 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

When everybody screams and yells
Who calms them down?
Who rings their bells?
When everybody screams and yells

The enchanted one
That's me

happy Melismata
posted by Melismata at 11:15 AM on October 22, 2013

Oh, and when I think of Really Rosie, I think "ah, that's the animated special that was based on the Nutshell Library." One of the few things my mother, sister and I have in common is a love for those little books, and to this day we quote them to each other.
posted by Melismata at 11:19 AM on October 22, 2013

Oh man, I am gonna watch this like a thousand times and force all my siblings to watch as well. This was a big hit around my house way back when. I used to scour the TV Guide weekly looking for a rebroadcast.

My kingdom for a DVD!
posted by BrianJ at 11:31 AM on October 22, 2013

I don't care.
posted by newdaddy at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2013 [13 favorites]

Don't make me hit you with a folding chair, newdaddy.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:07 PM on October 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

It's unfortunate that the Off-Broadway version hasn't been remastered and it's only available on cassette. My siblings and I used to sing along to the entire production in gradeschool and we've between the four of us, still got the entire script memorized dozens of years later.

For those of us who haven't had the pleasure, it's available at here. Well worth the listen--though these days it's frowned upon for children to call each other stupid-head or talk about jumping out the window of the 14th floor of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital!
posted by loquat at 1:18 PM on October 22, 2013 [3 favorites]

Pretty sure the majority of the "Really Rosie" content is on this DVD.

I'll be damned. I guess that never came up in my searches because they don't call it "Really Rosie" on the DVD but instead just list the individual songs. I'd be curious to know if it's the whole special or just chopped up pieces of it.

At any rate, much thanks cosmicbandito!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 2:30 PM on October 22, 2013

I LOVE this. I tracked down a copy of the VHS and CD (which is also out of print -- had to get a Japanese import!) for my neighbor's kids, and they LOVED it as well. It's always wonderful to share the joy.

...but it's still a crime it's not out on DVD. With bonus features. And bonus cans of chicken soup (with rice).
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 3:08 PM on October 22, 2013

Alonzo, it's just chopped up songs. None of the Rosie storyline is there, it's just the Nutshell songs.
posted by cosmicbandito at 3:28 PM on October 22, 2013

Usually upside down.
posted by moonmilk at 3:50 PM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, this MADE MY DAY!

(Born in 1977, this might have been the only children's record my parents had in the house. I listened to it endlessly and can probably still sing most of it!

...In January it will be/my snowman's anniverary/with cake for him and soup for me/happy once, happy twice, happy chicken soup with rice!)
posted by TwoStride at 4:30 PM on October 22, 2013

I was born the year this came out, but my after-school center that I went to during my elementary years used to show short movies once a week, and Really Rosie was a regular on the list so I've probably seen it 10 times. It was always one of my favorites of the movies we saw on any kind of regular basis. I got on a nostalgic kick a year or so ago and found it on YouTube myself. I'm still not entirely sure how old Rosie is supposed to be or why I should spend the whole show worrying about a guy named Chicken Soup who I've never met before.
posted by LionIndex at 5:01 PM on October 22, 2013

I loved this program so much. Thank you for finding it!
posted by lysimache at 5:07 PM on October 22, 2013

Oh I love this so much. Loved it as a kid and then my kids loved it too. . . we had the VHS tape and my son must have watched it a zillion times. I finally gave it to a friend for his first child, never dreaming that it would then disappear and I wouldn't be able to find it again. You can find most of the songs, though. People always look surprised when Alligators All Around comes up on my iPod but there it is, throwing tantrums.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:46 PM on October 22, 2013

I have the VHS and the CD.

But when I was in elementary school, the librarian would let me use the small film projector to watch it on a section of blank wall between a couple of bookshelves. Best Thing Ever.
posted by desuetude at 10:21 PM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, Pierre!

We had the album and the book in elementary school. So much love for this. Hooray.
posted by Spatch at 10:27 PM on October 22, 2013

I saw this on VHS so many times, the tinny "tracking is off" sound is part of my mental concept of the music.

Frankly, I can't listen to Carole King's other work without being vaguely confused that her voice doesn't actually sound like a worn-out VHS tape.
posted by Sara C. at 10:45 PM on October 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

I saw this on TV in the mid-90s for the first time and was so sad when the VHS I made of it wore out. I was lucky enough to find the songbook in a charity shop a few years ago and have been known to sing the entire thing on my own (accompanying myself on the piano) after too much wine.
posted by joboe at 4:05 PM on October 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Say what you will about 'Tapestry', but Really Rosie is CK's strongest solo album.
posted by softlord at 7:53 PM on October 23, 2013