Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Family movie night? There's an app for that

Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Schoolhouse Rock!

By Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Classic, clever, kitschy songs that teach.

Movie NR 1977 283 minutes
Schoolhouse Rock! Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Schoolhouse Rock! Movie: Conjunction Junction
  • Schoolhouse Rock! Movie: Just a Bill
  • Schoolhouse Rock! Movie: Three is a Magic Number
  • Schoolhouse Rock! Movie: Fireworks

Community Reviews

See all
age 5+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Lowe's man
Lowe's man Adult
March 16, 2014
age 5+

educational and entertaining

Because of this show generations of kids learned things like multiplication facts, electricity, parts of speech (verb, etc.) and how a bill becomes a law, all to catchy jingles. Kids who were regularly exposed to this became smarter all because of it. At the same time kids were entertained. This shows what happens when educational programming is produced by someone who understands both children's educational needs and their entertainment needs. The only shortcoming with this series is that American history is only shown from the perspective of European immigrants. Beyond that, this show is top-notch. Parents should seriously consider buying the DVD for their children.
nduns
nduns Adult
April 21, 2010
age 4+

Never has learning been so fun

The songs in this show are so catchy you can't help but memorize what they're teaching you after a while. This is the ultimate in educational shows. Kids not doing well with multiplication? Well, this show has at least 20 songs dealing with that. Wanna teach kids about verbs? Show them the song about that very subject matter. I would recommend this for every child, and there's even some stuff for adults, such as a song about how to succeed in the stock market.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! is a series of songs designed to educate and entertain. Many parents will remember these few dozen cartoon music videos on everything from how a bill becomes law to counting, which originally aired in between Saturday morning cartoons. In fact, many parents can probably recite the fun ditty "Conjunction Junction" by heart. And that's exactly the point. By using snappy tunes and silly animation, these songs are designed to be so catchy that they sear themselves into the viewer's brain and suddenly they're learning. All the favorites are here, including "Conjunction Junction," "I'm Just a Bill," "Electricity," "Three Is a Magic Number," and "Interjections." This collection also features the series on how the body works: songs about circulation and feeding your body right.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (3 ):

These songs are likely to keep kids riveted, but there are a few duds. Most of the songs on money seem a little off-base somehow. While one song explains the virtues of living within your means, another song on where all your parents' money goes explains that there's never any money left over. It's a little confusing.

While the songs on the American Revolution and American histories are classics, it's glaringly obvious in retrospect that they only cover European immigrants. "The Great American Melting Pot" doesn't include the slaves brought here against their will, or the Asian immigrants who arrived on the West Coast instead of the East. The song about women's rights is glaringly white. You won't find the whole picture here, so it's up to parents and newer history books to fill in the gaps. But overall Schoolhouse Rock! is catchy and fun.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about their favorite songs in Schoolhouse Rock! Did any songs make you want to learn more about a particular subject?

  • What do you know about the history of America? How does it compare with the history that the songs describe?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate