Musical Mornings

Sprout_Musical_Mornings_With_Coo_2007-2009 — Sprout Musical Mornings With Coo 2007-2009

Musical Mornings was a programming block created by Sprout. It aired for three hours on weekday mornings from 6:00 to 9:00am ET, as the first block of the day (The Good Night Show aired from midnight to 3AM ET prior, but is not intended to be a morning block). It was hosted by a turquoise cuckoo clock bird named Coo, a digital puppet. The block dissolved on August 21, 2009, and was superseded by Sprout's Wiggly Waffle.

Premise

"Meet Coo, who sings about getting dressed, brushing your teeth and all the things children do to start the day." (link)

From the Sprout Press Room:

"On weekday mornings, preschoolers and their families can sprout out of bed singing with this block of programming that focuses on children starting the day with music. During the three-hour block, host Coo, an animated cuckoo bird that lives in the Sprout® clock, introduces preschool-friendly music videos and musically themed shows from Sprout’s trusted programming library, including Dragon Tales,™ Sesame Street,® and Barney & Friends.™ Musical Mornings also includes the exclusive premiere of Bounce, a short-form series hosted by Elizabeth Balzano, a board certified music therapist from New York. Throughout Musical Mornings, live-action segments show real kids in their morning routines, with tasks like waking up, getting dressed and eating breakfast. Musical Mornings with Coo features long-time Henson puppeteer Julianne Buescher and songs written and produced by Mike Himelstein. Coo marks the television debut of a digital puppet using the groundbreaking real-time performed animation technology developed by The Jim Henson Company." (link)

Goals

"Musical Mornings helps parents start their preschooler’s day in an upbeat manner, exploring the joy of music, and helping to reinforce key morning routines. As part of the block, music therapist Elizabeth Balzano hosts Bounce, which encourages children to connect to their emotions, thoughts and words through music."

Interactive Components

"Preschoolers and their parents can visit SproutOnline.com and view video clips of Coo singing some of her favorite songs. The site also includes activity pages featuring Coo."

Co-Viewing Components

"Themed songs including “Morning Checklist” and “Getting Ready” encourage families to watch together as parents help their preschoolers get going each morning. Segments featuring real kids practicing their morning routines help parents reinforce these habits with their own preschoolers."

For Parents

"Get kids talking by describing an event from your day. They'll be more likely to share something from their day with you."

Cast

Coo is a turquoise CGI-animated cuckoo clock bird. She loves to sing and introduce episodes of Sprout shows. She is voiced by Julianne Buescher.
Elizabeth Balzano accompanies Coo and she also sings songs about various topics. She had her own children's show exclusive to DVD entitled Bounce, a show targeted to children on the autism spectrum.
Balloo is a yellow and red CGI-animated humanoid ball-like mascot. He loves to hang out with Elizabeth Balzano and knows all the songs from Bounce.

Programming

History

2000s

Musical Mornings and The Sunny Side Up Show were announced by Sprout on September 10th, 2007, as part of the channel's 2nd anniversary programming (along with Bounce and Play With Me Sesame). Both blocks first appeared on Sprout's lineup on September 26th, 2007.

The block quietly closed when Sprout's Wiggly Waffle launched in 2009, although Coo continued to air segments on its replacement and its page remained up on SproutOnline.com for some time.

Notes

Mike Himelstein wrote and produced the songs for this block.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop produced 50 animated segments with Coo for Sprout. The entire collection of animated segments was produced with less than two days spent filming on the digital puppetry stage.
In 2008, the National Academy of Television Arts and Science honored Musical Mornings with Coo by awarding the program the Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award in the "Graphic Arts & Animation" category.
Unlike most blocks, which had websites, Musical Mornings had a character page on SproutOnline.com.
The series was called "Musical Mornings with Coo" on the top of its SproutOnline.com page.