Cro (TV series)
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.
| Cro | |
|---|---|
| Based on | The Way Things Work by David Macaulay |
| Developed by | Mark Zaslove |
| Written by | Libby Hinson Sindy McKay Dev Ross Marianne Sellek Mark Zaslove |
| Directed by | Anne Luiting |
| Starring | Max Casella as Cro |
| Voices of | Charlie Adler Ruth Buzzi Jim Cummings Tress MacNeille Candi Milo Laurie O'Brien April Ortiz Jane Singer Jussie Smollett Frank Welker |
| Composer | Stacy Widelitz |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 21 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Phil Roman Jeffrey Nelson Franklin Getchell Marjorie Kalins Joan Ganz Cooney Mark Zaslove |
| Producers | Catherine Mullally Bob Richardson |
| Running time | approx. 23 mins |
| Production companies | Children's Television Workshop Film Roman |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 18, 1993 – December 3, 1994 |
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. 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.
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. 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.