"Above It All"

just a cleaner version of the Sesame Street song I animated in 1989.

[@samueltemple9113]

I'm 40 and I never forgot this song. My old brother and I used to sing this as children. This is just awesome and captures the imagination. Thanks for your creation.

[@sallycruikshank]

wow, so nice.

[@mayurihatake8913]

I'm 28 years old and watching this video honestly makes me want to cry, this video and this song was such a huge part of my childhood. I was obsessed about the art style and the music. This and the island of emotion are 2 of my absolute favorite sketches from Sesame Street. Thank you Thank you Thank you 😊.

[@sallycruikshank]

And thank you for your thoughtful comment. It's wonderful when something can bring back childhood like that.

[@jaredtaylor3182]

@@sallycruikshankAbsolutely ❤❤❤❤

[@DavidMartir-r4d]

😮😮😮😮😮😮😂😂😂😂😂

[@DavidMartir-r4d]

😅😅😅😅

[@katiecranstonspadafora2512]

i love and i wish i colud fly

[@ElderDigiDestined]

These old sesame street cartoons always bring warmth and happiness in my heart! I'm so glad I get to reminisce these happy memories! 🤗🤗🤗

[@sallycruikshank]

That makes me happy too.

[@stealahb]

it is October 2019 and i still have A LOT of feelings for this piece!!! everything about this is SOLID GOLD!

[@sallycruikshank]

That's really nice, Tracy.

[@AllieMetz]

Remembered this song...but no one knew what I was talking about. Every time I hear "Gloria" I reminisce about this song. I remembered it as a flying dog and was so happy to find this online. Even cooler that it is the original artiste ..... I love it ❤

[@sallycruikshank]

That's nice!

[@Vailskibum]

THIS IS SO GOOOOOOOD

[@jaredtaylor3182]

Sally Cruikshank is definitely in my top 5 favorite animators list, love her work!

[@1visualfxguy]

It's great to know that one of my favorite sources of animation news can appreciate this beautiful work of art!

[@thenerdjohn7168]

As someone who grew up in the 2000s the song is definitely a banger I miss the good old days😎👍

[@thenerdjohn7168]

This was jam when I was 3 still love it to this day 🤘😎

[@bellalunaoxox]

I’m 34 and I had this tune in my head for YEARS and I didn’t remember where it came from. I finally found it!!!!!! Above it all! Omg. This is so wild. What a cool tune. So late 80’s/early 90’s.

[@sallycruikshank]

So cool when memories like that find their way back. Thanks!

[@Dariyahhh]

So many great memories ❤ This took me back❤

[@sallycruikshank]

This seems to be the ne people remember best.

[@jeremynuckolls7905]

For my whole life I’ve wondered if this was real or a dream. This short film shaped the development of my imagination. Wow❤️

[@sallycruikshank]

This is such a wonderful thing for me to read, thank you Jeremy.

[@jeremynuckolls7905]

Sally Cruikshank you created this? I remember being very small and this coming on. I would stop and stare at the tv and thing “I want to be JUST like her! I want to sing, I want to fly, and I want long hair” Thank you for your artistic contributions to the world, I’m so excited to have chatted with you❤️✨ You REALLY made my childhood a magical time and place for me. Thank you.

[@glenngriffon8032]

I know the feeling. Sally's style is like she pulled a dream out of your head and put it to film. The randomness, the chaotic, surrealistic feeling that makes you wonder if it's real or not. In my opinion I feel like this is the appeal of her work. To see it and then afterwards wonder if the experience was genuine or something you imagined. Which only draws you back to see it again and again and again.

[@FormulaPunRacer]

I gotta say GOD BLESS KZbin for helping have our childhood memories refreshed about your work, Sally. What a winning combination

[@sallycruikshank]

thank you thank you!

[@luisdominguez2048]

1:55 I love how that sun pulsates between colors like that. It is simply beautiful

[@drewski1535]

That's still super awesome to see

[@p11111]

I didn't realize it as a kid, but her discovering that there are things above too is a perfect metaphor for life

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks so much- always surprised by how much this piece resonated.

[@jaredtaylor3182]

God, this is so nostalgic for me, kids today are missing out on all the classics. I love and miss Sally’s work so much.

[@Mintjulep3]

This popped in my randomly! So glad it’s on here 🥰🥰

[@sallycruikshank]

Random is fun!

[@gestaltstate]

First encountered this as a small child in the early 90s, rediscovered it around 2007 or so, and really appreciating it right now. Grateful to share a world with your creations.

[@sallycruikshank]

That is so nice. Thanks you!

[@NeonPegasus1979]

Thank you for creating this awesome animation. Loved watching this when I was a kid, and I still sing the song in my head sometimes.

[@sallycruikshank]

Neon Pegasus Thanks Neon Pegasus- sounds like maybe you like horses too.

[@NeonPegasus1979]

Yup, although I got my name and pic from a music video done by Parry Gripp (he did the music actually I think, someone else did the animation).

[@krisryan9181]

Me and my sis from Australia just spoke about this cartoon. Crazy I was able to find it. Memories of a better time.

[@benhoadley7259]

Sally your animations were the most memorable aspect of Sesame Street for me, growing up in New Zealand. I am so delighted to find them again here. You are amazing!!!

[@sallycruikshank]

Ben, thanks so much. So amazing to think they could have affected someone in New Zealand, so far away.

[@lovemeg5186]

I have always loved this pretty ditty!! The song and animation was remarkable.

[@lovemeg5186]

*were

[@sallycruikshank]

thanks.

[@jaywad8876]

This is that song ; 'ain't heard this in decades since I was a child!!

[@sallycruikshank]

It's really wonderful to read something like this. At the time I made this cartoon I had no idea of how many children would watch it. Thanks for writing.

[@drseabelo]

Yes, my song! I love this song. I was looking high and low for it. Thank you.

[@sallycruikshank]

Glad you found it

[@daniellelucia986]

I was 2 years old when i heard this and somehow it is still in my head! Lol love this so much! Thanks for sharing♡♡♡

[@sallycruikshank]

so cool how you've held on to this childhood memory!

[@J.RussellAnimations]

Deep childhood nostalgia just got unlocked in my mind. 😭 Really love this music piece. I know this is coming to 18 years since you uploaded this. I want to say Thank you for showing this great piece of 90s nostalgia. 😊

[@sallycruikshank]

And thanks for taking the time to write this. Happy 2025!

[@revengeoftheclones4365]

Thank you soooooo much for uploading. I seriously thought I had dreamed this segment (considering how nobody remembered it, XD). I remember loving this when I was a kid, but I somehow remembered the alligator as a pigeon, LOL.

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks- funny about the pigeon!

[@mgofferg6216]

First time I seen this cartoon was 1988/89 when I was in kindergarten. Wow it’s been over 30 years since I’ve seen and heard it. Thanks for posting!

[@sallycruikshank]

I'm glad you found it.

[@sarikadookie2489]

Thank you Ms. Sally! I love all your Sesame Street animations.

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks so much Sarika Dookie!

[@timharris2636]

This is awesome I’m 29 I was 4 years old when I seen this truly a classic and truly miss the 90’s for real

[@sallycruikshank]

sweet childhood memories.

[@sallycruikshank]

Happy Memories!

[@littlefroe3316]

One of my favorites

[@sallycruikshank]

So nice to be able to pull in great childhood memories- cheers

[@heidij2839]

Wow I forgot about this one 😃 thank you for sharing!!

[@kellyluck1626]

FWIW, it seems like the singer was Ivy Austin, who did a lot of songs for Sesame Street including "Cereal Girl" and "Six Circus Balls".

[@sallycruikshank]

Hopefully others will see this as it's an ongoing discussion.

[@jdsk800]

That's actually Angela Cappelli singing this. Although Ivy Austin WAS one of the backing vocalists.

[@drewski1535]

I enjoyed this short film then and I still enjoy it now at 32 I remember seeing it in 89/90s time still fantastic as ever

[@davidannderson9796]

We never know the fullness of life until we know the beautiful, wonderful things that are way above Man. Thank you for this wonderful animation! Absolutely classic from my own childhood!

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks. A nice interpretation.

[@chubbydearest]

Takes me back to the early 80s. My favorite clips to watch while sesame street was on. Thanks

[@JackoB716]

This is always one of my favorites! ^_^

[@riasheart111]

One of my most favorite Sesame Street songs ever!❤️

[@monicamoore5935]

One of My favorite songs on the show

[@newstarcadefan]

I finally was able to find this one. This was one of my favorites.

[@sallycruikshank]

Sorry it's not better image quality. CTW lost the original film.

[@newstarcadefan]

@@sallycruikshank that's understandable. Sometimes things like that did happen.

[@suzanner1630]

This was one of my favorite songs on sesame Street. This and my new computer

[@cherrypizza]

Spotify autoplay decided to treat me to 'Gloria'. No matter how many years have passed, it still takes my mind straight back to this song and a swift KZbin search occurred. It's so great to have found it in the presence of the talent responsible for the visuals 😀

[@mixiecat530]

I have been searching for this for years! Couldn’t remember what it was called, so happy to see it again. Thank you for this incredible memory!

[@sallycruikshank]

It's so neat when things like that happen, childhood memories tracked down when you think you'll never see them again.

[@DeconvertedMan]

8 years latter, back again to check this out - so good. :)

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks. Angela Cappelli is the singer.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@sallycruikshank thank you :D I love this a lot. Part of my (and others) childhood.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@sallycruikshank omg she was in Jem :O

[@andy4an]

This had a profound impact on me as a 5 year old. It was the first thing on TV that shattered my mind, then put it back together. That pull-the-rug-out moment is brilliant.

[@sallycruikshank]

wow! I would like a moment like that. funny, when I made this I thought no one saw it-

[@andy4an]

Sally Cruikshank Yay for nostalgic connections realized 24 years later! I hunted this down because I wanted to see it again. Today's kids will take for granted that their favorite cartoons will be enshrined forever on sites like this.

[@jwace]

Sally Cruikshank The was the one I saw the most....or at least remember. 89/90 it was my sister who was watching. I usually watched with her... Part of the Whole is my personal fav...was possibly my fav Sesame Street segment

[@andy4an]

+ hyper, above most of it all, and shoot the rest down : )

[@sallycruikshank]

Wow, love comments about this short but never sure when I post a reply via google if it will reach you. cheers!

[@tb3411]

This is definitely your theme song, Sally. I really miss seeing your animations on Sesame Street and the amazing songs that came with them. I don't think they get shown anymore. You are definitely my favorite Sesame Street animator.

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks T B . I wish they ran them too. They may not even have decent media to run. The first three songs I did, (this is one of them), I sent the original film negatives to Sesame Street at conclusion. With songs I did after that they told me not to bother sending the film, just to send the 1" master videotape. Videotape gets corrupted pretty easily. For the later ones, I kept the film negatives and have printed low fade 35mm prints which are in the Academy. A couple of years ago I tried to find out if they had the tapes of those first three, spoke to someone in their archives- they really had no idea. :(

[@tb3411]

Do you still like to draw anthropomorphic lizards in your free time?

[@sallycruikshank]

@@tb3411 Of course I do. Check out my paintings on Etsy.

[@tb3411]

@@sallycruikshank I will! Thanks! ❤ Btw, have you ever considered storyboarding for more Spongebob episodes? Legend of Boo-kini Bottom became my favorite special because of you

[@sallycruikshank]

@@tb3411 Maybe if they asked me. They were nice people to work for.

[@TheGamegod1984]

The best thing about Sesame Street back in the 80s and 90s was all the shorts and beautiful Animations like this 😃

[@Baby1990f]

i remember watching this as a child and i use to love to sing along to this!!!!! memory lane *sighs* great work!!!

[@BigEWR]

I must admit, you've created the best animated segments that Sesame Street has to offer. This one in particular is my favorite both musically AND artistically. 5 stars.

[@SharpstowntheotherDanMal-ld3nc]

Thank you Sally for the beautiful cartoon

[@sallycruikshank]

You're welcome. Cheers!

[@Rubberneck1965]

It's amazing to me how the mind works. I was just watching another video on here, one of "TheDailyWoo" from 2020 with him driving through California. Suddenly out of nowhere, I think "Above Below it All" and opened another tab, came here and found your work. I would've been around 7 when this aired, and I definitely remember it now. But what is fascinating is, I rewound what I was watching a bit. Surely, I thought, he must've said something that triggered this decades-old memory. But no, it was just ambient noise from the road. I didn't have music playing, I wasn't also looking at my phone. How cool it is in this era to for whatever random reason have this pop into your head and be able to not only find it right away, but shared by the very person who created it. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

[@JaneDoe-po4gu]

thank you for making this available here on youtube 💖

[@sallycruikshank]

You're welcome!

[@TheLovelySheri]

One of my favorite animations.

[@iv1908]

This is literally my childhood in a song!!! I've been singing this song for 30 years straight. Nostalgia!

[@beardo373]

It would be interesting to do a study of people who remember watching Sesame Street as preschoolers to figure what they actually got from it. For me, this clip was pure entertainment, and I understood that the alligator-looking woman was flying through the air. However, I didn't understand the phrase "Above it all." Instead, I imagined that the flying character's name was "Abominall," or some such thing.

[@Sandlot1992]

this really takes me back since I always like the classic Sesame Street we grew up on! I always wish I could fly!

[@sallycruikshank]

I always wished that too.

[@bandman83]

Nostalgia. Thanks for the upload.

[@drewski1535]

Now since I've found this vid again and watched it once now I cant stop watching it this song has since been stuck in my head

[@valkunstgeist5041]

oh my gosh I never thought i'd see this one again, love this, great work!

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks Val. It's always fun to come upon things you didn't think you'd see again.

[@jaredtaylor3182]

@@sallycruikshank Do you still have the storyboards for this?

[@CartoonCritter1985]

So glad to see this again! I always got excited when it came on Sesame Street as a kid :-D

[@AMDave1023]

When I first saw this, I fell in love with it. The animation was mind blowing for me. I want to thank the artist who created this as a way to keep Sesame Street so fresh and new. Even as it enters it's 50th season, Sesame Street continues to be a valued and entertaining learning aid for the young people around the world.

[@sallycruikshank]

Thanks. I don't think they run the animated songs any more, unfortunately.

[@Jonathane20012]

Oh man... I remember this from my childhood. Thanks miss Sally!!!

[@sallycruikshank]

sweet

[@davesa9277]

I remember watching this on Sesame Street!

[@ZeoViolet]

I remember this!!! This was your work?! That's so awesome! I was around eight or nine but visuals like these (and the "In Crowd/Out Crowd" one) never fully left my mind.

[@sallycruikshank]

They had a wonderful producer in those years who gave animators so much freedom and such great music to work with.

[@ZeoViolet]

@@sallycruikshank Did you do the classic by-hand animation?

[@sallycruikshank]

@@ZeoViolet of course, there was no alternative then.

[@sallycruikshank]

When I was growing up Betty Boop cartoons were on tv, even though they'd been made 30 years before. Thanks!

[@sallycruikshank]

It's so unexpected for me, so many years later, to realize what an effect these cartoons had on kids.

[@SaturnBoy87]

this cartoon is one of my earliest memories, i must have been 3 or 4 when i saw it on sesame street. i have never forgotten it's surreal and wondrous animation. it not only acts as a healthy dose of nostalgia but also as a source of inspiration. thank you Sally :)

[@katiecranstonspadafora2512]

I love. And miss it very Much please bring this back

[@ElectricShark]

Sally, A sincere thank you for the beautiful works you created for this show. You gave me fond memories for my childhood.

[@jccw227]

This was one of my favorite Sesame Street segments when I was a kid. Thanks for the memories.

[@Nekosenpai24]

Oh my God, I completely forgot about this song!😂❤

[@TraceOfMe19]

One of my favorites! I thought I grew up watching that, but I must have watched it with my son, who was 3 at that time ;)

[@sallycruikshank]

funny!

[@xyzhegrist]

It was fun to watch this. It occasionally comes to mind as a fond memory from well over a decade ago. It sticks in my mind, and I must agree that it's better for wee noggins than more recent "entertainment". Thanks!

[@daregularperson]

I remember this!!! I was born in 1989, so this may have been one of the first things I saw and remembered :D

[@sallycruikshank]

That's so nice.

[@MarthaRoseQuartz]

BAppleJuice Same. I remember the Sally Cruikshank bits from when I sporadically watched SS over the course of 95-98, along with Cecille, the Felines song, and an animated short about words ending in "AT" featuring a bat who reminded me of Judy from Doug, a cat, and a rat with a poem recited by a voice that sounded like Spike Spiegel.

[@Scythemantis]

Alligator girl with flying fez is one of the best character ideas I've ever heard of, and you made her really cute. The song can bring a tear to your eye.

[@VinnyBeau]

I have been looking for this clip for years! It was my absolute favourite animation from Sesame Street when I was a child. Thank you so much for posting it!

[@pandorlla]

This was my favorite sesame street video when I was a kid

[@blazeginsberg7278]

@Sally Cruikshank, we all can look back on a lovely memory during this coronavirus pandemic

[@sallycruikshank]

That's really nice, Blaze. Stay well.

[@Lovemylife8285]

I've been searching for this clip for awhile! I'm so glad i finally found it. it gives me the goosebumps :) takes me back to kindergarten, eating bacon on the couch drinking juice outta my yellow dinosaur cup just b4 we walked to school. my day was complete if i saw this clip & ladybug picnic! im so happy to have the chance to say thank you Sally! you enhanced my childhood experience :)

[@KyleX515]

Sally, I really can't put into words about how much I loved this cartoon as a kid. The animation was so vivid and loose and the music just made me so inexplicably happy. The lizard girl was always so pretty to me and the characters were INTERESTING to look at. To this day it still brings a smile to my face. I can thank a book about Spike and Mike to finally put a name to your work :)

[@captainfantastic9158]

Music. Is. So. 80's.

[@sallycruikshank]

I love hearing from people who remember this from their childhood, thanks.

[@captainfantastic9158]

You're welcome. I treasure my childhood memories, believe me. So thank you for reminding of this lost gem! Seriously, this sounds like it could have been released as a single back in the late 80's and made the charts! Bananarama or the Go-Go's, maybe. Even Stevie Nicks solo. =)

[@NYPressPhoto]

Sally - You'll be happy to know that, when I was growing up, that poster was on my wall while this piece was on my television. Loved them both!

[@thenewageriseth]

Haha Good memories. I had seen it on and off through my childhood on Sesame Street and one time, I was maybe 11 or 12 and I had happened to have this taped on an episode of Sesame Street. When I played it back, the memories came back and I believe I played it OVER and OVER and OVER. I am a HUGE fan of the 80's genre and this song sounds like 80's pop.

[@RestRabbitRest]

My family moved to the States when I was ten, back in 1992. I barely spoke English and thus my school teacher let me watch Sesame Street instead of sitting blankly through morning classes. And this song.. was my favorite, even though I didn't get any of the lyrics except the 'I love to fly' part 😅 Yeah, that's how I found this video.

[@sallycruikshank]

This is a wonderful story, thanks.

[@RestRabbitRest]

@@sallycruikshank I didn't know you replied to my comment! Why didn't KZbin give me any notification..! I came back here just to listen to this song again and discovered it by myself. Sally, it is I who need to say thank you (which I forgot to say in my last comment) for creating this piece of art that will forever reside in memories of the happiest time of my life! 😄 Love from South Korea

[@sallycruikshank]

@@RestRabbitRest Hello again and thanks!

[@dkallj4050]

Like many others have posted, I discovered your work as a child watching Sesame Street. Your style is very unique and stands out and was unforgettable and a part of my childhood. Question: Did you have complete say over what you could animate when given the song? Also did you do the work all by yourself frame-by-frame or did you have a team of animators?

[@sallycruikshank]

@dkallj4050 thanks. I did all the animating myself, then sent the drawings to a place in Canada for ink and paint. I was given great freedom with designing and animating- there was a Sesame Street bible which they checked things against but I don't recall having to make any changes. Just the way artists like to work!

[@sallycruikshank]

@@dkallj4050 nope!

[@saiyangirl45]

You did this, Wow, I never thought I'd have a chance to leave you a message!

[@grahamko]

Flashback!! I was so obsessed with this as a kid. Thank you for bringing it back :)

[@sallycruikshank]

This is such a wonderful message to read. It really affected me to read this. Wishing you all the best!

[@matthewmiller7207]

One of my favorites. ^^

[@MangetsuSAMURAI]

God, I think I was five when this came out? This was one of, like, seven things I would be so jazzed for when watching Sesame Street.

[@thomchiki]

I totally remember this in 1989 when I was 2. Thanks!

[@sallycruikshank]

glad you found your way back memory lane.

[@banjogyro]

Life-affirming

[@sallycruikshank]

sweet-

[@ladonna327]

The "Island of Emotion" video was recommended to me, and although it was cute, I didnt remember it because it was probably from the 90s..when I got too old for Sesame Street...but the characters reminded me of the flying alligator lady from this cartoon that I loved! I havent seen this in over 20 years and I think of it randomly but figured I'd never see it again! Your work is awesome Sally and thanks for posting!

[@homg85]

Wow! This reminds me of my early childhood but here in Australia, we didnt see this until about 1992/1993. I used to love this song when I was a child, so many found memories of getting home from primary school in the afternoon and Sesame Street would be on and myself and my younger siblings would watch it, and most of the time this was on we loved it!

[@PenriceProds]

The song sounds like ‘Gloria’ by Laura Branigan, I wonder who sang it!

[@sallycruikshank]

Angela Cappelli according to Muppet Wiki.

[@daftoptimist]

You know, this is a pretty unique concept to introduce to kids -- to appreciate how small humanity is on the cosmic scale of things -- and what a fun and kid-friendly way to present it: Using "above and below" as an analogy for the larger idea and putting it to a catchy song with vivid animation. Good one, Sesame Street! (Also, it was fun to stumble on this and find it was real, and not one of my childhood fever dreams. Nostalgia!)

[@jtomally9681]

Thank you so very much for these. I forgot about this one.

[@sallycruikshank]

So nice of you, thanks. Here's to Memory Lane!

[@Random_VHS_TV]

Thank you for making these childhood memories possible, Sally. Kudos to you.