School's Out! The Musical
Encyclopedia
School's Out! The Musical is a musical
television special
, based on Nickelodeon
's animated television series The Fairly OddParents
, created by Butch Hartman
. The plot involves Timmy Turner becoming president of "KidWorld" and The Pixies (guest star Ben Stein
) trying to take over the world using the clown-turned-businessman, Flappy Bob. It has eleven musical numbers (an average of one every 3½ minutes).
It was made in 2004, but not released until 2005. The special aired on June 10, 2005 in the United States
on Nickelodeon, but has aired several times in the United Kingdom
on BBC 1 and Nicktoons, then known as Nicktoons TV, Ireland
on TnaG (TG4
), Spain
on Antena 3
and the Philippines
on ABS-CBN
. This is common for Nickelodeon in the United States, as they will frequently air first-run episodes in other countries before airing them in North America
as a type of "test run" to scrutinize audience reaction to the programs. In addition, for certain programs there are contractual obligations which must be met that will not allow programs to air in the U.S. until specific dates.
Officially, in production order, the episode is divided into two "acts"--Act I being the first being 22 minutes, and Act II being the last also being 22 minutes. The TV movie was given a 80% from the Internet Movie Database, and was given positive reactions from critics.
parents, nearly approaching certain doom as their train heads up ahead where the bridge is out, send their child, Flappy Bob, to safety on a small rocket (parodying the origin of Superman
and his escape from Krypton
). However, the train switched tracks to another bridge, leaving the clowns without their son. Meanwhile, HP and Sanderson find the child, and decide to transform him into their "ultimate weapon" for their next 37-year plan.
37 years later, in the present day, Timmy and the children of Dimmsdale begin the first day of summer vacation ("Kids Just Being Kids"), having fun, along with the pixies making it more fun but also destroying the city. Meanwhile, the parents complain to the mayor that their kids could get hurt and Flappy Bob appears and offers a solution: to send all the kids to his Camp Learn-a-Torium, an overprotective and over-educational daycare center where they will be kept for the entire summer, while the parents enjoy ("Get Flappy"). The Pixies appear to Timmy and suggest to him that the camp, and boredom and restriction in general, can be blamed solely on adults, a notion to which Timmy agrees ("Adults Ruin Everything").
Timmy wishes for kids to be the ruling class in the world, and after an interlude in which the Pixies delight at their plan's progress ("We're Pixies" or "The Pixie Rap"), Timmy reflects on life as President while Cosmo and Wanda complain that they are stuck with the chores ("Ten and in Charge"). The Pixies remind Jorgen von Strangle of the loophole that allows them God-parental custody over Flappy Bob, and point out that with their newfound power, the children of the world no longer need fairies. To make the takeover of Fairy World complete, the Pixies convince Flappy Bob to sign a contract that allows him total control over what the world considers fun, in exchange for control of Fairy World being given to the Pixies. Jorgen now has no choice but to ("Pull Back the Fairies" and "Jorgen's Polka") to what used to be Fairy World.
Timmy tries to convince Flappy Bob that his current idea of fun (dull, boring and bureaucratic, by way of the Pixies) is wrong, and that his birth parents would never be proud of the way he chose in life. Timmy's plead falls on momentarily hesitant, but ultimately deaf ears as Bob signs the contract ("Where Is the Fun" or also known as "Hey Flappy Bob").
Meanwhile, back in Pixie World, the former Fairy World, Cosmo and Wanda are set to be incarcerated when they distract Jorgen (the acting investigator and warden) with an over-sweet love song ("Floating with You"). As the bridge to Earth is dwindling and can only support one fairy ("There is still enough pretty color magic left for one of us to slide down the rainbow bridge! ...Wow, there wasn't a manly word in that sentence!"), Cosmo sacrifices himself so that Wanda, the more dependable of the two, can find Timmy, while he and the fairies lament the situation, and Flappy Bob doubts what he did ("Unfundamentals").
As Flappy Bob heads to his building's furnace to burn what remains of his clown paraphernalia, he overhears HP and Sanderson laughing over their plan and the gullibility of Flappy Bob, stating that "only a clown would fall for this... a really dumb clown". Realizing he'd been duped, Flappy Bob changes his mind and tries to find a way to stop what he put into action.
Wanda finds Timmy nearly immediately, and Flappy Bob appears soon afterwards, decked out in full clown regalia. The three begin to form their plan, with Bob drawing on his business and law education in order to find a loophole while all three do their best to have fun and draw the ire of HP and Sanderson ("Reprise Remix"). On cue, the Pixies appear and remind Bob of the contract, and Bob takes the opportunity to point out the loophole and the Pixies quote...
"In return for making the world what we want...
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
We get the power...
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
...Earth will be safe and fun as defined by Flappy Bob".
He declares fun to be "everything the way it should be," and the entire takeover of both Earth and Fairy World is undone. Cosmo is reunited with Timmy and Wanda again. Wanda finds Bob's birth parents, and although the Learn-a-Torium remains (now run by Flappy Bob's former assistants, Gary and Betty, and renamed "Gary and Betty's Camp Learn-a-Torium"), Timmy however says that it is "fun time" and Cosmo turns the place into a concert with a giant pool and a huge skateboard ramp, and it is hinted the kids will have a normal, no Learn-a-Torium involved summer, with some limits from their parents (Mr. and Mrs. Turner: "with some control parentally"). ("Kids Just Being Kids Reprise") In a black screen, HP and Sanderson are again seen peddling, thinking they should try a 6-week plan.
At the end of the TV Movie it's been dedicated to Ray Charles
.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, based on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's animated television series The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
, created by Butch Hartman
Butch Hartman
Elmer Earl "Butch" Hartman IV is an American animator, executive producer, animation director, storyboard artist, voice actor, occasional singer, producer, and creator of the animated series The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and T.U.F.F. Puppy.-Childhood:Hartman was born in Highland Park,...
. The plot involves Timmy Turner becoming president of "KidWorld" and The Pixies (guest star Ben Stein
Ben Stein
Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
) trying to take over the world using the clown-turned-businessman, Flappy Bob. It has eleven musical numbers (an average of one every 3½ minutes).
It was made in 2004, but not released until 2005. The special aired on June 10, 2005 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Nickelodeon, but has aired several times in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on BBC 1 and Nicktoons, then known as Nicktoons TV, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on TnaG (TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on Antena 3
Antena 3 (Spain)
Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
on ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
. This is common for Nickelodeon in the United States, as they will frequently air first-run episodes in other countries before airing them in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as a type of "test run" to scrutinize audience reaction to the programs. In addition, for certain programs there are contractual obligations which must be met that will not allow programs to air in the U.S. until specific dates.
Officially, in production order, the episode is divided into two "acts"--Act I being the first being 22 minutes, and Act II being the last also being 22 minutes. The TV movie was given a 80% from the Internet Movie Database, and was given positive reactions from critics.
Synopsis
The story opens in Kansas, 37 years in the past (1968, as the movie is set in 2005). The two pixies, the Head Pixie ("HP") and his assistant Sanderson, are driving home, after the failure of their last 37-year "anti-fun" plan to take over Fairy World. Meanwhile, two clownClown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
parents, nearly approaching certain doom as their train heads up ahead where the bridge is out, send their child, Flappy Bob, to safety on a small rocket (parodying the origin of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and his escape from Krypton
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
). However, the train switched tracks to another bridge, leaving the clowns without their son. Meanwhile, HP and Sanderson find the child, and decide to transform him into their "ultimate weapon" for their next 37-year plan.
37 years later, in the present day, Timmy and the children of Dimmsdale begin the first day of summer vacation ("Kids Just Being Kids"), having fun, along with the pixies making it more fun but also destroying the city. Meanwhile, the parents complain to the mayor that their kids could get hurt and Flappy Bob appears and offers a solution: to send all the kids to his Camp Learn-a-Torium, an overprotective and over-educational daycare center where they will be kept for the entire summer, while the parents enjoy ("Get Flappy"). The Pixies appear to Timmy and suggest to him that the camp, and boredom and restriction in general, can be blamed solely on adults, a notion to which Timmy agrees ("Adults Ruin Everything").
Timmy wishes for kids to be the ruling class in the world, and after an interlude in which the Pixies delight at their plan's progress ("We're Pixies" or "The Pixie Rap"), Timmy reflects on life as President while Cosmo and Wanda complain that they are stuck with the chores ("Ten and in Charge"). The Pixies remind Jorgen von Strangle of the loophole that allows them God-parental custody over Flappy Bob, and point out that with their newfound power, the children of the world no longer need fairies. To make the takeover of Fairy World complete, the Pixies convince Flappy Bob to sign a contract that allows him total control over what the world considers fun, in exchange for control of Fairy World being given to the Pixies. Jorgen now has no choice but to ("Pull Back the Fairies" and "Jorgen's Polka") to what used to be Fairy World.
Timmy tries to convince Flappy Bob that his current idea of fun (dull, boring and bureaucratic, by way of the Pixies) is wrong, and that his birth parents would never be proud of the way he chose in life. Timmy's plead falls on momentarily hesitant, but ultimately deaf ears as Bob signs the contract ("Where Is the Fun" or also known as "Hey Flappy Bob").
Meanwhile, back in Pixie World, the former Fairy World, Cosmo and Wanda are set to be incarcerated when they distract Jorgen (the acting investigator and warden) with an over-sweet love song ("Floating with You"). As the bridge to Earth is dwindling and can only support one fairy ("There is still enough pretty color magic left for one of us to slide down the rainbow bridge! ...Wow, there wasn't a manly word in that sentence!"), Cosmo sacrifices himself so that Wanda, the more dependable of the two, can find Timmy, while he and the fairies lament the situation, and Flappy Bob doubts what he did ("Unfundamentals").
As Flappy Bob heads to his building's furnace to burn what remains of his clown paraphernalia, he overhears HP and Sanderson laughing over their plan and the gullibility of Flappy Bob, stating that "only a clown would fall for this... a really dumb clown". Realizing he'd been duped, Flappy Bob changes his mind and tries to find a way to stop what he put into action.
Wanda finds Timmy nearly immediately, and Flappy Bob appears soon afterwards, decked out in full clown regalia. The three begin to form their plan, with Bob drawing on his business and law education in order to find a loophole while all three do their best to have fun and draw the ire of HP and Sanderson ("Reprise Remix"). On cue, the Pixies appear and remind Bob of the contract, and Bob takes the opportunity to point out the loophole and the Pixies quote...
"In return for making the world what we want...
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
We get the power...
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
...Earth will be safe and fun as defined by Flappy Bob".
He declares fun to be "everything the way it should be," and the entire takeover of both Earth and Fairy World is undone. Cosmo is reunited with Timmy and Wanda again. Wanda finds Bob's birth parents, and although the Learn-a-Torium remains (now run by Flappy Bob's former assistants, Gary and Betty, and renamed "Gary and Betty's Camp Learn-a-Torium"), Timmy however says that it is "fun time" and Cosmo turns the place into a concert with a giant pool and a huge skateboard ramp, and it is hinted the kids will have a normal, no Learn-a-Torium involved summer, with some limits from their parents (Mr. and Mrs. Turner: "with some control parentally"). ("Kids Just Being Kids Reprise") In a black screen, HP and Sanderson are again seen peddling, thinking they should try a 6-week plan.
At the end of the TV Movie it's been dedicated to Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
.
Musical numbers (in order of occurrence)
- "Kids Just Being Kids" (Timmy)
- "Get Flappy" (Flappy Bob)
- "Adults Ruin Everything" (Timmy)
- "Da Pixie Rap" (HP and Sanderson: performed by Method ManMethod ManClifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
and Redman, in contrast to HP and Sanderson's simultaneous voiceover work by Ben SteinBen SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
) - "Ten and in Charge" (Timmy)
- "Pull Back the Fairies" (Jorgen Von Strangle)
- "Where Is the Fun?" (Timmy, Flappy Bob, and the Rapping Pixies)
- "Floating With You" (Cosmo and Wanda)
- "Unfundamentals" (Cosmo, Flappy Bob, Timmy)
- "The Reprise Remix" (A reprise of "Where Is the Fun?", "Kids Just Being Kids", "Da Pixie Rap", and "Adults Ruin Everything")
- "Kids Just Being Kids" (Reprise)