Sally Cruikshank

Sally Cruikshank began her career as an independent animator while a college student in the 1970s. In 1975, while working in San Francisco for Snazelle Films, she wrote, designed, directed, and animated (with only minimal assistance) Quasi at the Quackadero, a surreal short featuring art deco-ish, vibrantly colored, indistinct characters, reminiscent equally of birds and frogs. The short, which was later chosen for inclusion in the 1994 book The 50 Greatest Cartoons, led to other projects, including animating a nightmare television sequence for Twilight Zone: The Movie (partially directed by John Landis).

Between 1989 and 2000, she lent her "neo-thirties" style to a number of Sesame Street animated inserts, mostly dealing with directional concepts such as "in and out" or "next to" (the latter presented as a satirical look at a bizarre social gathering). Many of these use jazz lyrics and 30s style swing. She also created an animated frog to join Kermit for Jimmy Buffett's performance of "Caribbean Amphibian" in Elmopalooza.

In a 1997 interview, Cruikshank discussed her relationship with Children's Television Workshop: "[They] sent three songs and that is how it started... [I] didn't use the curriculum, I've had a really easy time [essentially] just adapting songs. Arlene Sherman [CTW producer] has been tuned into my musical interest, so she has chosen appropriate music. I've really liked working with them because they give you complete freedom and they're very supportive and non-interfering. I wish there were more work like that available."

Sesame Street Filmography

Picture	Title/Topic	Earliest Known Appearance	Description
	Above it All	Episode 2615	A song about flying and seeing the world from a bird's eye view.
	Beginning, Middle, End	Episode 3865	A trio of picture books explain the concept and structure of stories.
	Dance Myself to Sleep	Episode 3848	A song previously used in a Bert and Ernie segment, featuring an insomniatic lion.
	From Your Head	Episode 3979	A frog explains about using the imagination; vocals by jazz singer Betty Carter.
	I'm Curious	Episode 3187	A walking lizard's curiosity takes him variously underground, underneath, behind, and underwater.
	In and Out Crowd		A hip group sing about hanging out with the "in" and "out" crowds; not as a study in social cliques, but to demonstrate the prepositions.
	Island of Emotion	Episode 3309	A reggae song about an island where happiness, sadness, love, and surprise manifest themselves in various ways.
	Ooh What a Fabulous Party		A party; gathering dignitaries and celebrities from many lands and even planets, and including such figures as "the bowling pin heiress," features a seemingly endless guest list, placed "next to" each other.
	Part of the Whole	Episode 2963
	Your Feets Too Big		Song from Ain't Misbehavin, previously performed on The Muppet Show, here sung by a shoe salesman voiced by Kevin Clash.

External Links

• Official Site
• "CTW and MTV: Shorts of Influence"
• Cruikshank's YouTube profile