FableVision Celebrates Sesame Street’s 50th Anniversary

To commemorate their 50th anniversary, Sesame Street is taking to the streets of the United States to meet kids in their own neighborhoods. From February until December, the beloved muppets will leave Sesame Street to travel cross-country and interact with their fans young and old, symbolizing the spirit of Sesame Street: that it’s for everyone, everywhere. Sesame Workshop will also publish a study on the state of children and their families in an effort to provide insight into how they can continue to support them.

Here at FableVision, we’re celebrating by looking back on our collaborations with Sesame Workshop. From online interactives to live action videos, the media we created further Sesame Workshop’s mission to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, and we’re proud of the creativity and teamwork that was involved.

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The O Show

Modeled after The Oprah Winfrey Show, The O Show is an animated short FableVision created for Sesame Workshop to help preschoolers build letter recognition skills. The host of the segment, our friend “O,” interviews her orangutan buddy, Otto, about about his breakfast filled with “o” foods, and an octopus pal, Ophelia, about her food-flinging juggling. The segment, aimed to help preschoolers learn a letter of the alphabet, includes elements of humor that parents can appreciate as well. Voiced by Oprah Winfrey herself, The O Show is a delight for parents and kids alike.

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The Silliest Counting Show

Follow the adorable antics of four-year-old Victoria and one-year-old Otis as they count six blocks and a fox in Sesame Studios’ The Silliest Counting Show. With story, script, and graphics created by FableVision, and original music and live-action footage produced by Big Breakfast, The Silliest Counting Show was destined to be a lighthearted, fun-filled success.

As Victoria plops each of the six plush squares in front of Otis and counts aloud, Otis eagerly pulls each one into his lap and giggles as he tosses them back to the carpeted floor. The live-action video is fun and silly while promoting early counting skills, patience, and problem solving. Victoria knows Otis is little and just wants to play! Ever-patient Victoria keeps counting and laughs along with her friend, collecting the blocks off the floor as she goes. After she is done counting to six, Victoria hands Otis a plush fox and both giggle. The quirky video is available for enjoyment on the Sesame Studios YouTube channel.

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Zebra Penguin
Skunk: Beach

I bet you didn’t know a zebra, penguin, and skunk could teach a kid about engineering! In Zebra Penguin Skunk: Beach, Penguin, Skunk, and Zebra put their minds together to solve a common beach day problem. Penguin wants to build a sandcastle, but all castle-building efforts are thwarted by the ocean waves. After Skunk comes along with a shovel and helps Penguin rebuild, another wave comes crashing through and knocks down the new sandcastle. As Penguin and Skunk sit sadly on the shore, Zebra wanders over and builds a wall out of sand. The three create a beautiful sandcastle behind the wall, and it is finally safe from the waves. The cute and inspiring short video emphasizes the importance of teamwork, perseverance, and problem solving. FableVision team members brought together the script, story, animated title card, and motion graphics, and the studio enlisted the help of Duncan Studio to create the colorful, soft animation of the beach scene.

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Spinner Engines

Spin the wheel to play HTML5 interactive games “Grover’s Playground Workout” and “A Little Help From My Furry Friends” on Sesame Street in Communities, a free online resource for parents that provides information on how to best support children 0-5 and provides activities for those children to help them learn and grow. In the game “Grover’s Playground Workout,” FableVision artists animated Sesame Street monsters and arranged them on a spinner, so kids can either click the spinner to select a monster at random or choose a monster they like best. Once a monster is chosen, that monster displays three different physical moves that kids can follow to practice healthy habits!

“A Little Help from My Furry Friends” utilizes the same spinner model, but the spinner is designed to land on a topic related to stress or coping: notice, imagine, count, move, hug, and listen. When the spinner lands on a topic, a video pops up on a separate screen and features a monster discussing the topic. With the help of a Sesame Street friend, feelings don’t have to be scary!

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Check out Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary campaign #Sesame50 here and take a peek at our full portfolio to see the other amazing projects our team has created.

New Year, New You

I love the start of the New Year—fresh start, clean slate, the promise of a new you. As a big fan of lists, making my New Year’s Resolutions is my favorite tradition that began when I was in the third grade.

A week before the start of winter vacation, Ms. Ferrugio—the teacher who fostered my love of reading—stood up and announced that she had presents for everyone. She got everyone a book (mine was The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots), a pack of red pencils, and stationery with illustrated birds. She said that in addition to doing lots of reading over the break, she hoped that we were also going to make a few resolutions ourselves. To get us started, she shared a few things from her personal list: to create a new unit lesson plan about Egypt, read 50 new books, and do 10 intentional acts of kindness. From her career as an educator to stoking her love of literature to being a nicer human being, these resolutions touched upon different parts of Ms. Ferrugio’s personality.

I’m reminded of this as I make my own list. It’s important to not just be a better person for myself but also to those around me, doing my part to keep FableVision’s mission of moving the word to a better place alive.

This year, I’m sharing a few things from my New Year’s resolution list with a little help from some of my favorite FableVision stalwarts. I hope that this toolkit of games, animation, interactives, and more enables you to meditate on the goals you want to achieve this year. Here’s to making Ms. Ferrugio proud!

Get in Touch with the Natural World with the New England Aquarium
As winter makes the weather frightful, the lull of home’s warmth and comfort can be powerful. Combat this habit and stay cozy by taking a trip to Boston’s New England Aquarium. With the installation of the interactive and educational Fish Identification iPad app designed by FableVision, the Boston attraction offers something that other aquariums don’t. The aquarium mounted six iPads around their signature Giant Ocean Tank so that aquarium goers like me can identify the fish and other animals in this central exhibit. Much better than Netflix! Learn more here.

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Improve Financial Literacy with Commonwealth
In the US, there are few young people who know how to manage their personal finances. I don’t want to be one of them. That’s why I’m upping my financial literacy by playing Con ’Em If You Can. In the game, the player assumes the role of a con artist learning key techniques—phantom riches, reciprocity, scarcity, social consensus, and source credibility—to scam the residents of Shady Acres. The intention is that by playing as the con artist, the user learns how not to fall for the schemes in the real world. Play for free on the game’s site.

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Practice Self-Care with Marc Colagiovanni
By being kind to ourselves, we’re able to be kind to those around us. As we get older, the way we talk to ourselves can be less than compassionate. That’s why I’m reminding myself that I’m perfectly perfect just the way I am with Marc Colagiovanni’s The Reflection in Me. With FableVision founder and renowned children’s book author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds at the helm as illustrator and executive producer, The Reflection in Me follows the impactful experience of a child going through the practice of self-love and acceptance. The film seeks to promote the message of having a positive self-image and unconditional love. Watch for free here.

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Get Movin’ and Groovin’ with Sesame Street in Communities
Wellness is possible this year thanks to Grover’s Playground Workout! Developed by FableVision, the interactive is crafted to encourage families to get up on their feet and have fun exercising together. Players either spin the wheel to land on a random monster or pick a monster of their own choosing that then models up to three different moves that kids and parents (and Mitul!) can mimic. An excellent way to break a sweat with my favorite furry monster. Play Grover’s Playground Workout on Sesame Street in Communities’ website.

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Exercise Kindness with Committee for Children
The world can always do with more kindness and playing ParkPals: Kindness Rules is a good way to remind yourself of the little ways we can make a big impact. ParkPals provides a safe space for children ages 7–9 to practice kind social behaviors in a safe, structured, online space. The game features an avatar creator, mini-games, and a virtual playground where the child has the opportunity to implement learned strategies in a simulated real-world experience. Play ParkPals for free in iTunes and the Google Play store.