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Kids' TV entrant 'Crayon Box' teaches tolerance

Scenes from July 24, 1997
Web posted at: 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT)

From Correspondent Dennis Michael

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- Does it sometimes seem to you as though there really is nothing for your children to watch on television? Thanks to a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission, children's programming may gradually become easier to find. And one of the brightest new entrants is a show created not from a line of toys, but from a public service announcement.

"The Crayon Box" comes from Random House Entertainment and Polygram Home Video. It's being produced by brothers Stephen and Edward Chiodo of Chiodo Brothers Productions, whose last gig involved fabricating the creatures used in filming the Power Rangers sequel, "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie."

Lest you shake your head in dismay, remembering the glut of toys that preceded that munchkin-set movie, take heart. "The Crayon Box" is a colorful, whimsical puppet production, born in the educational end of the children's TV business.

'We are a box of crayons

Its predecessor was a public service announcement called "The Crayon Box that Talked," made for the Ad Council's national children's anti-discrimination campaign. "We are a box of crayons, each one of us unique, but when we get together, the picture is complete," the PSA went.

"It's a great metaphor for people," said Shane DeRolf, the president of Random House Entertainment. "Every crayon is a different color, different personality, different attitude, and they all live in this box together, like we do in this world."

And the Chiodo brothers agree, saying that their new syndicated show's themes are simple and straightforward, covering just the kind of socialization skills that children learn in preschool.

Simple theme, hard work

The theme may be simple, but the execution is anything but. The ancient art of puppetry puts special requirements on television, and stretches the performers to be actors-plus, says producer Richard Clayman.

The sets are built three feet above the ground so that actors can crouch beneath them to hold their puppets above their heads. At the same time, they have to move the characters' mouths and manipulate the rods to move them. The intense, above-your-head work gives them shoulder pain -- but at its very core, Clayman says, "it's still performing. It's still just acting."

See what it's like to be on the set
video icon 992K/27 sec. QuickTime movie

Whether the show will have staying power depends, as always, on viewers, and the Chiodos say they expect to have a lot of competition. In an effort to increase the amount of "family-friendly" programming on television, the FCC ruled in August 1996 that broadcasters had to devote three hours a week to educational programming for children.

Thanks to the ruling, "There's a lot of competition, a lot of high-profile product out there, competing for a limited number of spots," Edward Chiodo said.

Videos, books and toy spin-offs are to be expected from "The Crayon Box," but the primary sell for this preschool show is an idea: getting along. And the Chiodos say they are heading the show not for the gadgets, but because it's the right thing to do. "The Crayon Box" will debut in early morning time slots this fall.

 
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