Cro (TV series)

Cro
Based onThe Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Developed byMark Zaslove
Written byLibby Hinson
Sindy McKay
Dev Ross
Marianne Sellek
Mark Zaslove
Directed byAnne Luiting
StarringMax Casella as Cro
Voices ofCharlie Adler
Ruth Buzzi
Jim Cummings
Tress MacNeille
Candi Milo
Laurie O'Brien
April Ortiz
Jane Singer
Jussie Smollett
Frank Welker
ComposerStacy Widelitz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes21 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersPhil Roman
Jeffrey Nelson
Franklin Getchell
Marjorie Kalins
Joan Ganz Cooney
Mark Zaslove
ProducersCatherine Mullally
Bob Richardson
Running timeapprox. 23 mins
Production companiesChildren's Television Workshop
Film Roman
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 18, 1993 (1993-09-18) –
December 3, 1994 (1994-12-03)
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Cro is an American animated television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) and Film Roman. It was partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Every episode has an educational theme, introducing basic concepts of physics, mechanical engineering, and technology. The show's narrator is an orange woolly mammoth named Phil, who was found frozen in ice by a scientist named Dr. C and her assistant, Mike. After they defrost him, Phil tells both of them about life in the Ice Age, including stories about his friend Cro, a Cro-Magnon boy.

The show debuted on September 18, 1993, on ABC. ABC canceled the series in 1994, which caused the Children's Television Workshop to plan its own TV channel so that it would not have to rely on other companies to air its shows.[1] The new channel, Noggin, debuted in 1999 and aired Cro reruns from its launch date until 2004. From 2000 to 2002, Cro also aired on Nickelodeon during the "Noggin on Nick" block.[2]

The series' story editors were Sindy McKay and Mark Zaslove, who was also the developer of the show. The premise of using woolly mammoths as a teaching tool for the principles of technology was inspired by The Way Things Work, a book by David Macaulay.[3] Cro was created with the help of a developmental psychologist, Dr. Susan Mendelsohn, and its educational content was heavily researched. According to the Children's Television Workshop, testing of over 2,600 viewers aged 6–12 found that they were absorbing basic science concepts through the show.[4]

  1. ^ Kaplan, Karen (25 April 1995). "Company Town : TV's 'Sesame Street' Creators Want Their Own Niche on Dial". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ "Noggin on Nick". Nick.com. May 10, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-05-10.
  3. ^ "MORE THAN CARTOONS IN FALL LINEUPS". Chicago Tribune. 27 April 1993.
  4. ^ Knell, Gary E. (1995). "The Children's Television Act: Encouraging Positive Television for Our Children". Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal. 17 (3): 699–704. ISSN 1061-6578.

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