Does anybody recognize this series of classroom movies?

April 17, 2005 10:16 AM

I'm trying to figure out the name of this one series of classroom movies that I remember from when I was a kid. They all begin with this guy singing a song that goes like, "I am the storyteller, and my story must be told," and then he goes on for a bit, talking about what names he is known as among different cultures, and he ends with "and in America, I'm John." They were all short films, probably 30-60 minutes in length, and usually fairytales or cautionary tales. I'd imagine that they were made in the 1970s or early 1980s, and they were on actual filmstock, not VHS or anything. I think they were all narrarated, and I am not sure if the actors themselves had any dialog. I remember enjoying these movies a lot when I was in elementary school, and would love to find out more about them.

I know this is a longshot, but if anyone's going to be able to answer this, it's probably someone who reads this blog. Anyone out there who was an elementry school teacher in the late 1980s?

posted by afroblanca to education (6 comments total)

Sounds like this to me: Jim Henson's The Storyteller (1987)
posted by dpcoffin at 10:58 AM on April 17, 2005

No, it's not The Storyteller. The description is ringing bells for me, but it's too dim in childhood to remember details. I doubt I saw them in school though, I'm guessing they've been on TV in some places.
posted by -harlequin- at 11:19 AM on April 17, 2005

Storybook International

"in russia i am ivan" etc etc"
posted by the cuban at 11:22 AM on April 17, 2005

Hmm, I don't remember there being any muppets or puppets, and I'm pretty sure there were more than 9 episodes. I'll have to see if I can find a clip of the intro music - if it's the same, I would recognize it instantly.

Thanks for the suggestion.
posted by afroblanca at 11:30 AM on April 17, 2005

Storybook International

Oh wow! That's it! That's AWESOME! Thanks!

(I'm totally going to spend the rest of the afternoon Googling this)

That's great that they're putting this on DVD. I'd love to have a copy for when I have kids. I remember how happy I was on those 4th grade afternoons when my teacher declared, "Movie time!"
posted by afroblanca at 11:35 AM on April 17, 2005

Cool - I remember this, but couldn't for the life of me remember what it's called :-)

I had it in my head that it was an animated history lesson, rather than something with actors - but now I think that I must be muddling up two different programmes...
posted by Chunder at 3:34 AM on April 18, 2005