“Whew! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get to this Capitol building here in Washington, but I wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is.” Cue the vocals, “I’m just a bill. Yes I’m only a bill and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill...”

Before the internet dominated our spare time, there was a small little box that educated us, it was called the TV. And back in 1973 through to 1984, while also often revived, Schoolhouse Rock educated the youth of America three minutes at a time about the elementary concepts concerning grammar, science, multiplication, money and American history. This year, while you choose not to vote and your kid or class is too young to vote, let them at least pretend with the power of music, and potentially interpretive dance depending on your children’s extracurricular activities.

Is it getting patriotic in here or is it just me? Schoolhouse Rock: The Election Collection gets you into the all-American spirit of 1776 with fifteen fun and memorable songs that celebrate everything that makes the US independent and how the government is set up.

It’s difficult enough to find an educational video that’s been upgraded to VHS and doesn’t flicker from the celluloid’s age. Schoolhouse Rock is engaging and considering the time since its debut, remarkable. It’s cleverly orchestrated in concept not to run in long durations as they are basically shorts. Schoolhouse Rock really focuses on avoiding the problem of a child’s short attention span. Then again, clocking in at 49 minutes might be enough to make your child want more if they’re the addictive type. Better the eyes and ears than the lungs I always say!

The new Election Collection offers only a small chunk of the original 46 episodes which are available on the 30^th Anniversary Edition, but this is the Election Collection for a reason. It includes 14 classic songs and a new one entitled, “Presidential Minute.” You can also keep track of the actual voting on November 4 state by state with an exclusive tracking kit that includes stickers, color-coded for Republicans and Democrats and a miniature map to rule them all. This set is really only disappointing if you put it beside the 30^th Anniversary Edition with every song ever created but otherwise, it’s fun, it’s catchy and it’ll amuse your kids. Though, if you’re a hardcore fan the 30^th Anniversary Edition is much more worthwhile but that all depends on your needs. If it’s for kids, you won’t get the little stickers and map and you might not need all the music videos. If they’re going to learn anything, it’ll be from this and if they don’t find it educational, (Don’t say that word out loud!), they’ll find it entertaining. (Sigh, much better)

So cast your vote or make your projections ahead of this year’s election as you consider the process of Schoolhouse Rock: The Election Collection on Disney DVD.

Film Rating: 4/5