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<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="3686511" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Josie-and-the-Pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</keyword>" directors hadn't written <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword> before collaborating on songs for the film.</li><li><keyword id="3535108" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Harry-Elfont">Harry Elfont</keyword> and Deborah Kaplan ended up cowriting several of the <keyword id="6356021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movie">movie</keyword>'s signature songs.</li><li>But it was a first for the filmmakers, who also worked with industry all-stars for the <keyword id="42128" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="soundtrack">soundtrack</keyword>.</li></ul>Fans may recall the iconic <a href="https://www.insider.com/eugene-levy-josie-and-the-pussycats-cameo-story-explained-2021-4">"Josie and the Pussycats"</a> soundtrack as one of their favorite parts of the movie, but the filmmakers behind the comedy had never written music before they <a href="https://www.insider.com/josie-and-the-pussycats-anniversary-cast-crew-interviews-2021-4">collaborated on songs for the cult classic</a>. Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont cowrote and codirected the 2001 film, which follows struggling rock band the Pussycats as they're discovered by a nefarious record executive with an ulterior motive. The Pussycats' music, of course, features prominently in the film, and a whole group of artists (including Kaplan and Elfont) assembled to write, produce, and perform the soundtrack. Legendary musician Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds led the charge as the executive producer, and teamed up with Gigolo Aunts' Dave Gibbs on half of the songs. Fountains of Wayne's <a href="https://www.insider.com/adam-schlesinger-dead-52-due-to-complications-with-covid-19-2020-4">Adam Schlesinger</a> produced and wrote tracks as well. And Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin, and others also contributed to the film's iconic soundtrack.But there was definitely a learning curve for Kaplan and Elfont, who first met as students at film school and worked on several songs for the movie."I've always been slightly musical, but it was a whole other deal going in and working with professional songwriters," Elfont told Insider. "It boosted our confidence to the point that we thought we could write songs." <div type="image" title="dujour" height="1496" width="1995" msid="82071008" hostid="261"></div>The filmmaking duo ended up cowriting some of the more memorable songs featured in "Josie and the Pussycats," including "Three Small Words," "Come On," "DuJour Around the World," and "Backdoor Lover."Also a part of the <a href="https://www.insider.com/girl-in-red-interview-midnight-love-kates-not-here-movie-2020-6">soundtrack</a> were several songs performed by the fictional boy-band DuJour, who mysteriously disappear at the beginning of the movie. DuJour's songs, Kaplan said, were some of the most entertaining to write because they contain numerous double entendres. The subversive catchy hit "Backdoor Lover," for example, is quite clearly about sex."That was a blast. To get away with that and not have anyone say, 'No, sorry you can't make a song about butt stuff,'" Kaplan joked.

'Josie and the Pussycats' directors had never written a single song before they teamed up with Babyface to create the cult film's soundtrack

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The "<keyword id="3686511" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Josie-and-the-Pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</keyword>" codirector explained how actor <keyword id="803897" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Eugene-Levy">Eugene Levy</keyword> ended up in the film. </li><li>An executive asked Levy to do the cameo as a favor since people "didn't want" to be in the movie.</li><li>According to the codirector, Levy agreed to the gig because he thought his children would enjoy it.</li></ul><a href="http://insider.com/category/eugene-levy">Eugene Levy</a>, a Canadian actor best known for his work on the Emmy Award-winning show "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/schitts-creek">Schitt's Creek</a>," has emerged as one of the biggest names in scripted comedy.But that wasn't exactly the case when he filmed a brief cameo in the 2001 musical comedy "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/josie-and-the-pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</a>."The film's creators tapped on the actor, who was coming off of roles in comedies like "American Pie" and "Best In Show," to appear in the live-action remake of the Archie Comics series after numerous other <keyword id="6412373" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="celebrities">celebrities</keyword> turned down the opportunity."People didn't want to be in the 'Josie and the Pussycats' movie," Harry Elfont, the film's cowriter and codirector, told <a href="https://www.insider.com/josie-and-the-pussycats-anniversary-cast-crew-interviews-2021-4">Insider</a>. In the film, Eugene plays himself in a short educational video that explains a record label's operation to hide subaural, pro-consumerism messages in rock music. These covert advertisements brainwash listeners into purchasing the latest products on the market.He reasons that teenagers working minimum-wage jobs have sizable spending power, telling the audience that they make "wads of cash as thick as, well, my body of work."<div type="image" title="eugene levy josie and the pussycats" height="900" width="1200" msid="82069746" hostid="261"></div>Before booking Eugene for the part, Elfont said he and his creative partner, Deborah Kaplan, had reached out to several other stars about the cameo."We were like, 'Who can we get?' We had written some other celebrities in it. At one point, it was Chris Rock. Then at another point, it was somebody more music-connected," Elfont said. "We were having a hard time."Eugene wasn't in the picture until an executive on "Josie and the Pussycats" asked the actor to star in the video "as a favor," since she was also working with him on "American Pie 2." He said yes.After production on "Josie and the Pussycats" wrapped, the crew lugged their equipment to the "American Pie 2" set to film the segment.<div type="image" title="eugene levy" height="900" width="1200" msid="82069747" hostid="261"></div>According to Elfont, the actor agreed to appear in the film because he thought his children, Daniel Levy and Sarah Levy, would get a kick out of it. "He said he did it because he thought his kids would find it funny, which now is funny because he must've been talking about Dan," Elfont said. Both Daniel and Sarah had roles on "Schitt's Creek" as David Rose and Twyla Sands, respectively, alongside their father. Over 20 years later, Elfont described his experience with Eugene as "lovely" and said the actor brought his own unique touches of humor to the part."It was quick, and he was lovely. And now it seems like we were really ahead of the time," he said. "He made everything funnier. It's not like it was a really super funny part."Elfont added, "It's just so weird because now it's the coolest cameo ever, because he's now Eugene Levy from 'Schitt's Creek.' But at the time, it was the best we could do."

Eugene Levy's cameo in 'Josie and the Pussycats' happened because nobody else wanted to do it

The 2001 musical comedy "<keyword id="3686511" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Josie-and-the-Pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</keyword>" has all of the trappings of an early aughts hit: a killer soundtrack, a glitzy makeover scene, a wardrobe of low-rise jeans, and three talented leads determined to bring the Archie Comics series to the big screen."Josie" was written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, creative partners who grew up 10 minutes from each other in Pennsylvania but didn't meet until they attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.Kaplan told Insider that writing and directing an original musical like "Josie and the Pussycats" was an opportunity they couldn't pass up, even though neither had ever written a song before.They enlisted <keyword id="1604657" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rachael-Leigh-Cook">Rachael Leigh Cook</keyword>, Rosario Dawson, and <keyword id="14231" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tara-Reid">Tara Reid</keyword> to play the Pussycats. Alan Cumming and the indie darling Parker Posey rounded out the cast.But the <keyword id="6356021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movie">movie</keyword>, which follows the Pussycats as they're discovered by a nefarious record executive with an ulterior motive, bombed at the box office.<div type="image" title="josie and the pussyctas" height="1500" width="2000" msid="82050584" hostid="261"></div>Critics weren't too keen on the film either. In <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/josie-and-the-pussycats-125972/">Rolling Stone</a>, Peter Travers called the movie a "harmless girlie trifle" that lacked "any kinky action," while <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/josie-and-the-pussycats-2001">Roger Ebert</a> said the Pussycats were "not dumber than the Spice Girls, but they're as dumb as the Spice Girls, which is dumb enough" in his half-star review. The initial reception for "Josie and the Pussycats" suggested it was a film doomed to be forgotten, written off as a feel-good "girlie" movie that missed the mark.But in recent years, the movie has begun to resonate more with audiences. And with newfound appreciation from critics and fans alike, "Josie and the Pussycats" has finally received some positive recognition two decades after its release.Why did this famous flop become a cult classic? Does it still hold up for cast and crew two decades later? And how on earth did Eugene Levy end up in the film?On the movie's 20th anniversary, Insider spoke with Kaplan and Elfont, as well as Reid and Cook, about the legacy of this "totally jerking" film.Based on characters introduced in the Archie Comics, "Josie and the Pussycats" follows three young women - Josie (Cook), Val (Dawson), and Melody (Reid) - in a ragtag rock band who are discovered by big-shot record executive Wyatt Frame (Cumming).The only problem is Frame's boss, Fiona (Parker Posey), is secretly colluding with the US government to hide subaural, pro-consumerism messages in the Pussycats' songs. Their plan is to brainwash America's teenagers through music, leading to total mind control.As the Pussycats, Cook, Dawson, and Reid not only had to look the part of aspiring rock stars but had to learn the basics of their characters' instruments too.Since authenticity was important for Kaplan and Elfont, the movie's stars headed to a three-week band camp, where Cook learned to play guitar, Dawson honed her bass-playing skills, and Reid set out to become a drummer."We had to drill them on getting comfortable with their instruments. We had actual musicians show them where their hands should go on the guitar," Elfont said. "We wanted them to look like they were playing the real chords, not just moving their hands up and down quickly."<div type="image" title="josie and the pussycats 4" height="1500" width="2000" msid="82050585" hostid="261"></div>Cook agreed, telling Insider: "It was very important to them for the movie to never just seem like an impersonation of itself, with regard to the musical element. The music had to be true."She added: "I think that Deb and Harry are incredibly cool. And the idea of being fakers or posers would have been totally blasphemous to them."The filmmakers were so dedicated to the actresses' musical training that when Reid's drum coach wasn't there, Elfont said he stood in to show the actress exactly what she should be hitting when.Reid said she had trouble "separating her hands from her feet" in the early days of camp."I was, like, 'I'm never going to be able to do this.' And we had to do it for about two months, every day for about - I don't know - five hours a day," Reid said. "None of us knew how to do anything. We were, like, 'Oh gosh, we're never going to make this - like, we're going to get fired.' And it just worked itself out, you know?"While all three ended up playing their instruments during the movie's scenes, Josie's vocals were provided by Letters to Cleo singer Kay Hanley instead of Cook, who said she wasn't as confident as a vocalist."I feel like I got away with murder because I didn't really do any of the recorded stuff," Cook told Insider. "I just got to pretend - the way people sing into hairbrushes at home."Behind the scenes, an all-star team of artists assembled to write, produce, and perform the soundtrack, which <a href="https://mondoshop.com/blogs/news/music-weekly-josie-and-the-pussycats">went gold</a> after its release.Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds led the charge as the executive producer, and teamed up with Gigolo Aunts' Dave Gibbs on half of the songs. Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger produced and wrote tracks as well. And Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin, and others also contributed to the film's iconic soundtrack.Kaplan and Elfont joined the list of legendary musicians, embarking on their first foray into writing music. They cowrote tracks, including "Three Small Words," "Come On," "DuJour Around the World," and "Backdoor Lover."<div type="image" title="dujour" height="3000" width="1995" msid="82050586" hostid="261"></div>"I've always been slightly musical, but it was a whole other deal going in and working with professional songwriters," Elfont said. "It boosted our confidence to the point that we thought we could write songs." And while the Pussycats' songs remain pop-punk classics, those tracks weren't the only original music written for the film. Another fictional group - the ill-fated boy band DuJour - plays an important role, and they also had their own memorable tunes.DuJour's songs, Kaplan said, were some of the most entertaining to write because they contain numerous double entendres. The subversive catchy hit "Backdoor Lover," for example, is quite clearly about sex."That was a blast. To get away with that and not have anyone say, 'No, sorry you can't make a song about butt stuff,'" Kaplan joked.Both Reid and Cook had appeared in popular films before "Josie and the Pussycats" - Reid in "American Pie" and Cook in "She's All That." Dawson was still relatively early in her career, but that didn't stop the three women from becoming close, especially after long days of filming."None of us knew each other at all beforehand. It was an intense bonding experience," Cook said."It was the first movie I ever did that was a 'girl movie' and we had so much fun," Reid added. "It was kind of like sleepaway camp.""Imagine three girls basically going on vacation, becoming rock stars," Reid continued. "Going out at night and having dinners, having fun, studying your scripts together, playing our instruments in the room."<div type="image" title="josie and the pussycats" height="3290" width="4462" msid="82050588" hostid="261"></div>She touted the film's costumes as being a special part of filming. As to be expected for a film set in 2000s Hollywood, most of the costumes in "Josie and the Pussycats" involved low-rise jeans, belly tops, and sky-high heels, which led to some discomfort, Reid said.It was the "little things like that," Reid said, that made shooting the movie "amazing."Reid also defended her character Melody, the childlike and naive drummer of the Pussycats who seems to be the group's token "dumb blonde" - a mainstay in late-'90s and early-2000s teen movies."I fell in love with Melody, and yeah, she seemed ditzy," Reid said. "But if you really look and watch the movie again, she's not. She seems clueless, but then all of a sudden she comes to these revelations.""Really, what attracted me to Melody was that this was a girl that had such belief in this band, and her heart was so pure," she said.The movie takes a dark turn about a half hour in, when Fiona (Posey) descends into the underground epicenter of the operation with numerous world leaders.There, she hopes to convince her guests that they, too, should be molding children's "Play-Doh" brains. Fiona plays an educational video hosted by Eugene Levy, who appears as himself to make the case for hiding "subliminal messages in rock 'n' roll music.""We had written some other celebrities in it," Elfont said. "At one point it was Chris Rock, then at another point it was somebody more music-connected."Eventually, they landed on Levy, who was asked to appear in the cameo as a favor, Elfont said."It happened because our executive on the movie was also the executive on 'American Pie 2,'" he added, referring to his other film. They brought their cameras to the set of Levy's "American Pie 2" to shoot the scene. <div type="image" title="eugene levy josie and the pussycats" height="1500" width="2000" msid="82050591" hostid="261"></div>Levy has since become a household name after creating and starring in the award-winning "Schitt's Creek." But when the cameo was shot, the actor was coming off major roles in "American Pie" and "Best in Show." As Elfont said, Levy's appearance only became cooler with time."He said he did it because he thought his kids would find it funny, which now is funny because he must've been talking about Dan," Elfont said, referring to Levy's son Dan, who also created and starred in "Schitt's Creek." "And it's just so weird because like now it's the coolest cameo ever, because he's now Eugene Levy from 'Schitt's Creek,'" Elfont added. <div type="image" title="josie and the pussycats concert" height="1309" width="2000" msid="82050593" hostid="261"></div>The movie's final scene - in which the Pussycats play a live concert for the first time - was an emotional experience for the cast and crew.Reid said that it "was a moment of pure bonding when we did it.""I think every actor wants to be a rock star and every rock star wants to be an actor," she said. And Cook, who makes an emotional speech to the Pussycats' young fans at the start of the concert before reuniting onstage with her love interest, Alan M. (Gabriel Mann), said the scene is unforgettable."I remember it feeling just as epic and special and massive in scope as the movie depicts it," she said. "It was also at the end of an incredibly fun and bonding, and also physically taxing, shoot. So the whole day was emotional and spectacular in all the very best ways."Despite Kaplan and Elfont's unique vision, the film - with its slyly subversive message of staying true to yourself, even when trapped in a capitalist hellscape - was mostly misconstrued by critics, who took the hundreds of tongue-in-cheek product placements in the film at face value.The lukewarm reception influenced the filmmakers' careers in a notoriously difficult industry, though they eventually went on to write and direct episodes of shows such as "Mary + Jane" and "Liza on Demand."<div type="image" title="deborah kaplan and harry elfont" height="2074" width="3258" msid="82050596" hostid="261"></div>"It's not that we weren't offered any work after that. We were offered scripts to direct," Elfont said. "We were still viable directors, but I think because the experience was hard, we ended up saying no to a lot of things just because we wanted to really love it." "The takeaway was it was hard to have the movie come out and not do well," he added.Cook said that most film critics didn't exactly fall into the movie's target audience."It's easy to write off the lack of critical attention - or should I say appreciation - that we could have gotten to the fact that they weren't the demographic, that's an easy out," Cook said of critics, who are <a href="http://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/cricits-choice-2018.pdf">largely white and male</a>. "But they just quite simply didn't get it. It just sort of seemed to fall on deaf ears."<div type="image" title="josie and the pussycats" height="3000" width="1995" msid="82050598" hostid="261"></div>The movie's satirical tone may have gone over critics' heads, but "Josie and the Pussycats" still holds a special place in the hearts of cast and crew.Its feminist undertones and promotion of individualism and free thought also began resonating with viewers in the years since its release, earning Kaplan and Elfont's film a cult following.In 2017, Mondo released the <a href="https://mondoshop.com/blogs/news/music-weekly-josie-and-the-pussycats">"Josie and the Pussycats" soundtrack</a> on vinyl, and the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles <a href="https://theatre.acehotel.com/events/josie-and-pussycats-record-release-party/">hosted a screening with a concert</a> for fans - exposing a whole new generation to the magic of the film.Since so many people have now latched onto "Josie and the Pussycats," with its unforgettable characters and catchy soundtrack, the cast and crew said they ultimately would not want to go back in time and change a single aspect of the movie.The Ace Hotel concert was "pretty cathartic," Elfont said, "having been through the failure of the movie, to see a packed house full of rabid fans who knew every word of the movie and every word of the song."According to Kaplan, Elfont alerted her that people were talking about "Josie and the Pussycats" on Twitter shortly after he joined the social-media platform. Elfont told Kaplan that numerous fans had reached out to him about the 2001 film."It's a movie for the outcasts, the weirdos, and the artists. It's not a movie for the class presidents. It's for everyone else, which is kind of where we'd rather sit," she added.Both Cook and Reid were similarly enthusiastic about the movie's newfound popularity."What's interesting about it is that it became such a cult film. I think it really deserved that," Reid told Insider.Cook added that the film's popularity ballooned because of "pure word of mouth. This is not anything other than people just actually liking the movie ... It caught zero lucky breaks - it completely made its way by itself.""I'm just really happy that we're talking about it all these years later," Cook added. "My God, I still can't believe I got to be in that movie."

'Josie and the Pussycats' bombed at the box office 20 years ago, but the cast and creators say they wouldn't change a thing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Starting in the 90s, <keyword id="193300" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cartoon-Network">Cartoon Network</keyword> Groovies fused new and old cartoons with music.</li><li>Songs included "<keyword id="3686511" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Josie-and-the-Pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</keyword> in Musical Evolution" and "Go Monkey! Go!"</li></ul>It's hard to combine disco, punk, country, and techno into one song, but singer-songwriter Chrystina Lloree Fincher did the unthinkable.Fincher may not be a household name, but her voice echoed in just about every child's household 20 years ago as the singer of Cartoon Network's song, "Josie and the Pussycats in 'Musical Evolution.'" By her own admission, she never saw the show - a music-filled cartoon featuring the adventures of a girl pop group - in the '70s although she saw it re-air in the '90s."And when I got the 'Josie and the Pussycats' theme to get familiar with it, I just took it decade by decade," Fincher told Insider, explaining how the song seamlessly takes the pop group through different decades of music.One of the main reasons why the song worked was because of composer Michael Kohler, who has worked with Cartoon Network for years. When he got the "all genres" concept for it, he told Insider he was shaking his head initially, but still embraced the challenge. "It was really rewarding when it paid off, especially when [director] Jonas Odell finished the animated piece to the music," Kohler said.Fincher - a multi-genre, professional musician of over 30 years - looks back at the song and said it's been incredibly interesting how people in their 20s have reconnected with it."It speaks to the power of music, the power of <keyword id="6463276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nostalgia">nostalgia</keyword>, and the power of cartoons," Fincher said.The song is just one of many music videos part of the Cartoon Network Groovies series, which ran from 1999 to 2005. The series - full of songs set to videos of new and old cartoons - included a number of catchy tracks, including the Magilla Gorilla-themed "Gorilla 4 Sale" and the "Ed, Edd n Eddy"-inspired rock cut "The Incredible Shrinking Day."In the decades since, as box TV watchers grew into social media users, YouTube videos from the Cartoon Network Groovies series have seen millions of views with nostalgia-filled comments.<h2>The series started in the early days of Cartoon Network when they failed to secure advertisers</h2>Groovies was a product of Michael Ouweleen, then-creative director at a fairly new Cartoon Network and now-president of Adult Swim. He tasked Steve Patrick and his creative services department to create content to creatively fill time between the network's popular shows. The department helped make blocks like "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" and "The Big Game.""The ratings didn't matter as much in those early days. It was just about trying to get onto as many different cable systems as possible," Patrick told Insider. "We had so much commercial time available because we didn't have big advertisers at that point." By the late '90s, Patrick said the objective was to make old cartoon characters have a contemporary feel. That idea started the Cartoon Network Shorties series, featuring modern visual renditions of characters like Hanna-Barbera's happy alligator Wally Gator and JabberJaw, the talking shark. Patrick said the ska-themed JabberJaw video did so well it paved the way for more musical shorts.<h2>The lyrics for 'My Best Friend Plank' were created because the writer's brother had no idea what he did for a living.</h2>After Cartoon Network Groovies featured the likes of "Yogi Bear" and "Super Friends," a series featuring Justice League superheroes, a video based on a modern show was Patrick's James Taylor-inspired "My Best Friend Plank."The song, produced by late composer Eddie Horst, explored the friendship between a wooden board Plank and Jonny from "Ed, Edd n Eddy." In the video, Plank hops around various, vintage scenes like a park, a campground, and a forest. Patrick said he crafted the lyrics because his brother didn't know what he did for a living."He was a huge James Taylor fan so I wrote 'Sweet Baby James'-era lyrics with as many different woodworking puns I could throw in there," he said.Some of puns include references totree disease Dutch elm disease, swelling up in the rain and former Vice President Al Gore's wife Tipper Gore, a name to rhyme with "chipper." <h2>The producer of 'Gorilla 4 Sale' called the rap song 'the best porn track ever.'</h2>Patrick also wrote this jazzy, rap song inspired by the popular cartoon ape <keyword id="11035200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="magilla-gorilla">Magilla Gorilla</keyword>. The accompanying video is a mix of random clips from "The Magilla Gorilla Show," a show about a talking ape that spent his days in a pet shop and ran from 1963 to 1967, overlaid with colorful blocks to evoke a minimal, '50s feeling.It's a product of Sandblast Productions co-owner and producer Michael Ungar and audio mixer Diriki Mack. The two were at audio post-production facility Broadway Sound, an extension of "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, when Patrick asked the pair to add their musical flair to it."The wording was so packed in and the beat was so laid out, you could never get through it just trying to be on the one, and the two," Mack, who also rapped the track, told Insider. "You kind of had to get other syncopation in there to fit all the wording for it to make sense and speak it clearly."Mack said Ungar, the track's producer, showcased his editing genius."I remember one comment, which I loved, that was like 'this is the best porn track ever,'" he told Insider. "Put that on my tombstone."<h2>'Circles' and 'Rolling' recycled retro cartoon footage, introducing older cartoons to newer audiences</h2>Alternative rock band <keyword id="11035202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="soul-coughing">Soul Coughing</keyword>'s hit record "Circles" saw animated airtime with a video full of scenes from old Hanna-Barbera cartoons - literally - walking amongst circles. The group's "Rolling" also mended "Betty Boop" footage with lyrics from a repetitious alternative bop.Mike Doughty, the vocalist and guitarist for the band, told Insider that former Warner Bros. Records' president Steven Baker helped craft the videos. "This guy who was the most important person at the label, as kind of a last stand of the old artist-oriented Warner Bros. to the new corporate Warner Bros., made this beautiful thing," he added. Doughty said it was a massive effort on Baker's part as it took a level of obsession and a "massive" effort to find the old cartoon clips and clear them or get permission to use them.As a kid, Doughty himself saw old black and white cartoons and predicted children were "fascinated" by the mystical spookiness offered in the "Betty Boop" clips seen in "Rolling." Throughout the video, Betty Boop is taking part in a wacky automobile race.The group had ties to other animations, as well, beyond Cartoon Network."Rolling" and "Circles" came from the group's "El Oso" album, a project featuring artwork from cartoonist Jim Woodring's comic "Frank" about a cat's psychedelic journey. Doughty said Soul Coughing's first album also features a sample by Carl Stalling, a composer who used Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" in old Warner Bros. cartoons.<h2>'Go! Monkey Go!'spurred a <keyword id="2066091" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="devo">Devo</keyword> song years later</h2>Devo's "Go! Monkey Go!" - inspired by "Powerpuff Girls" villainous ape Mojo Jojo, who is hellbent on destroying the girls - included everything from a dancing woman to flashy visuals. The video also featured Mojo Jojo with a laser blaster as the ape presses various destructive buttons. After the network asked rock band Devo to do the song, founder Gerald Casale told Insider he started paying closer attention to Mojo Jojo."You can't have superheroes without a supervillain. It's mythology, it's Jungian, it's the duality that we all live with about human nature," Casale said. "But you're having fun with a kid's cartoon [and] here's an evil character that's interesting. So I wrote lyrics about him that were sympathetic towards his self-conflicted personality."Fellow Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh laid down a mean, "cascading carnival" riff that took listeners back to Devo's 1983 album "Oh, No! It's Devo!," Casale said. He said the group later used the song again in the form of 2010's "Don't Shoot (I'm A Man)." <h2>'The Incredible Shrinking Day' features lyrics that were relatable to kids</h2>This infectious rock number follows the trio from "Ed, Edd n' Eddy," the animated TV series that ran for five seasons until 2008, as they are shrunk to fit inside the dollhouse of Ed's sister Sarah. After Sarah's lemonade shrinks the trio, the video shows Ed, Edd, and Eddy as they try to escape in a toy car.It started with composer Eddie Horst, according to musician and vocalist Garrett Freireich, who was working for Turner Broadcasting at the time. Originally, the idea was to animate a band - Freireich's rock band Eden - for "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" although budget cuts made the plan not see the light of day. Instead, Freireich would sing a song based on the show, produced by Horst and penned by writer-producer Stuart Hill. Hill told Insider he thought the song would be relatable to kids."If the story is her putting you in this house, it was like 'I'm not staying in there, I'm not coming in, my friends are more important to me,' [it's] something kids would sing," Hill said.After the pandemic hit in 2020, Freireich hopped online to stream an acoustic version of the song, now available on YouTube. He said it's only proved the song's lasting power."I'm getting messages from Estonia and from Russia, even one kid commented, 'You saved 2020,'" Freireich told Insider. "It's quite an honor to be a part of something that's become that big."

The creators of Cartoon Network Groovies break down the iconic music videos and explain why these songs have resonated for over 2 decades

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11963357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rachael-leigh-cook" source="Orion">Rachael Leigh Cook</keyword> said that she regrets turning down the part of a mutant named Rogue in "<keyword id="12003358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="x-men" source="Orion">X-Men</keyword>."</li><li>"As soon as I saw the posters for it, I knew that I'd made a mistake," she told the New York Times.</li><li>The role in the Marvel franchise was played by <keyword id="12003357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anna-paquin" source="Orion">Anna Paquin</keyword>, Cook's "She's All That" costar.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/rachael-leigh-cook">Rachael Leigh Cook</a> said that she regrets turning down the role of Rogue in "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/x-men">X-Men</a>.""As soon as I saw the posters for it, I knew that I'd made a mistake," Cook, 41, told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/movies/rachael-leigh-cook-interview.html">New York Times</a> in a recent interview. The "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/shes-all-that">She's All That</a>" star turned down the part in the popular <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/marvel">Marvel</a> franchise prior to starring in the 2001 <keyword id="11897475" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movie" source="Orion">movie</keyword> "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/josie-and-the-pussycats">Josie and the Pussycats</a>" so that she could dedicate her time to smaller, more grounded projects.In retrospect, Cook said that the move was a "huge misstep."The actress also said that she made a conscious decision to take on more serious roles after "Josie and the Pussycats" failed to perform at the box office."I really thought what everyone told me was correct when they said, 'What we need to do now is make sure you're taken seriously,'" Cook said. "I definitely did things for the wrong reasons."The part of Rogue would go on to be played by "True Blood" star Paquin, who had previously <a href="https://www.insider.com/shes-all-that-cast-then-and-now-photos-2019-1">shared the big screen with Cook in "She's All That."</a> Cook played the main character, Laney Boggs, while Paquin portrayed Zack Siler's (Freddie Prinze Jr.) younger sister named Mackenzie.<div type="image" title="Anna Paquin as Rogue in &quot;X-Men.&quot;" height="1164" width="1552" msid="85835886" hostid="261"></div>Paquin made her debut as Rogue, a mutant with the ability to absorb the energy, powers, and memories of any person she touches, in the first "X-Men" film released in 2000.She reprised the role for three additional films: "X2: X-Men United," 'X-Men: The Last Stand," and "X-Men: Days of Future Past."The blockbuster movies also starred <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/hugh-jackman">Hugh Jackman</a> as Wolverine, <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/halle-berry">Halle Berry</a> as Storm, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/james-marsden">James Marsden</a> as Cyclops. But "X-Men" screenwriter David Hayter told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/x-men-screenwriter-hugh-jackmans-wolverine-casting-drama-982045/">The Hollywood Reporter</a> that the cast could have been completely different. "Angela Bassett was our first choice for Storm, but her agents wanted more money than we had at the time," he said in a 2017 interview. "Same with Rachael Leigh Cook for Rogue."

Rachael Leigh Cook says turning down a role in 'X-Men' was a 'huge misstep'

<ul><li><keyword id="685487" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Spotify">Spotify</keyword> and <keyword id="316698" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Archie-Comics">Archie Comics</keyword> have announced an exclusive partnership to bring the Archiverse to life on podcast. </li><li>In addition to producing all-ages content, Spotify plans to create podcasts aimed at older audiences akin to Riverdale and the Chilling Adventures of <keyword id="3264" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sabrina">Sabrina</keyword>.</li><li>The podcast will extend beyond the main characters to include side the side stores of Sabrina and Josie and the Pussycats.</li></ul>Many a kid in India has grown up reading Archie Comins in the ‘80s and ’90s but after most them upgraded from dial-up to broadband interest — comics took a backseat. Now, Spotify is ready to cash-in on that nostalgia by bringing back the comics on podcast not just in India but worldwide. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76854425" title="Spotify-led global music streaming market hits 394million subscribers" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The Swedish audio streaming giant has signed an exclusive deal with Archie Comics to stream the world of old school soda shops, jalopies and ‘sock hops’ on audio. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. In addition to producing all-ages content, Spotify plans to create podcasts aimed at older audiences akin to Riverdale and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. “Bringing the iconic Archie library of characters to Spotify is a perfect match, and we’re so excited to partner with them to explore new, compelling stories featuring our characters. It’s an amazing frontier and we can’t wait to unveil what we’ve been working on,” said Archie Comics CEO and Publisher <a href="https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-spotify-to-launch-slate-of-new-podcast-series/">Jon Goldwater</a>. The deal with Spotify includes the entire Archieverse, including Archie, Betty, Jughead and Veronica as well as Sabrina and Josie and the Pussycats among others — much to the relief of Sabrina fans who just learned that the series on Netflix will be coming to an end this year. The Archieverse has sold more than 2 billion comics worldwide, and its brand reach includes deals with Scholastic, Comixology, Little Bee Books. Spotify’s deal with Archie Comics comes after it announced an exclusive deal with Warner Bros for exclusive DC podcasts. According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/spotify-led-global-music-streaming-market-hits-394million-subscribers/articleshow/76854425.cms">Counterpoint</a>, its subscriptions have increased 35% year-on-year (YoY) to hit 394 subscribers globally. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/facebooks-software-kit-to-blame-for-popular-apps-crashing/articleshow/76904154.cms">Facebook's software kit to blame for Tinder, Spotify, Pinterest and others crashing on iPhone</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/spotify-led-global-music-streaming-market-hits-394million-subscribers/articleshow/76854425.cms">Spotify-led global music streaming market hits 394million subscribers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/spotify-now-works-with-amazon-alexa-on-echo-devices/articleshow/76640066.cms">Alexa can now play your Spotify playlist on Amazon Echo devices in India</a>

Archie Comics on Spotify will include content for older audiences

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider found over 90% of <keyword id="729067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="LGBTQ">LGBTQ</keyword> characters in children's cartoons are behind a paywall. </li><li>Experts say it's because of the rise of cable, which resulted in low-income kids having less access. </li><li>Still, families, shows, and distributors are trying to help kids have greater access.</li></ul>Most millennials remember PBS' animated hit "Arthur," about a glasses-wearing aardvark and his animal friends and family. What they may not have seen is its spinoff, "Postcards from Buster," which aired one of the earliest LGBTQ <keyword id="581888" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="representation">representation</keyword> moments in kids' <keyword id="6355065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TV">TV</keyword>.The live-action-animation hybrid, aimed at 4-to-8-year-olds, followed Arthur's best bunny friend Buster as he traveled around the world, introducing young viewers to diverse communities and the kids who lived in them. In 2005, "Postcards to Buster" aired "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_HFhb0mXOM">Sugartime</a>" a 26-minute-long episode where Buster goes to Vermont to learn how maple sugar is made. He also pays a visit to a local family with two moms."We just wanted to showcase how there are so many different kinds of kids - how they can learn something from that,'" Carol Greenwald, "Arthur" and "Postcards" executive producer, told Insider.While a few stations ran the episode, commissioned by PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of an effort to air more stories about real kids, the network effectively pulled "Sugartime."The move came after then-secretary of education<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6869976"> Margaret Spellings publicly urged</a> the network to return any federal funding used to produce the episode on the grounds that the nation's parents wouldn't want their children "exposed to the lifestyles portrayed.""I think what happened was George Bush hired a new secretary of education who had to prove her conservative credentials, and she happened to see this and then we were off to the races," Greenwald said.<div type="image" title="A married couple watches TV with their son and daughter" height="2613" width="3986" msid="83725883" hostid="261"></div><h2>Over 90% of LGBTQ characters in animated kids programming require a fee to view them</h2>The moms in "Sugartime" are among some of the earliest publicly confirmed representations of LGBTQ people in US animated children's TV.When it was initially produced, it was just one of a handful of series - including "Gargoyles" and "Superman: The Animated Series" - to have representation on a free TV network. Since the episode aired in the mid-2000s, LGBTQ representation has skyrocketed. The year 2019 marked the highest number of newly-confirmed animated queer and gender diverse characters in a single year of TV. But <a href="https://www.insider.com/lgbtq-cartoon-characters-kids-database-2021-06?page=explore-database">Insider's database, featuring more than 250 LGBTQ and other gender-minority characters</a>, shows the majority of this representation is hidden behind a paywall. More than 90%, or exactly 234 of these characters, require either a cable, satellite, streaming, or internet subscription to view them on first airing, meaning children whose families can't afford paid TV or internet have virtually no access to the animated representation meant to represent them. David Levine, the head of Moonbug <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, which owns YouTube kids animation behemoth "Cocomelon," told Insider that "kids TV on US broadcast" has died."That's a big driver. You have to consider that a crazy percentage of animation, of any kind, is behind a 'paywall,'" he added. Levine, who's also Disney's former vice president of international kids programming, pointed to one major reason for this: the demise of the syndicated cartoon block and the rise of cable television. <div type="image" title="Two children sitting on a couch watching TV and eating popcorn" height="3416" width="5119" msid="83725886" hostid="261"></div><h2>The LGBTQ inclusion boom in animated children's TV got locked behind a paywall because of cable TV's growing popularity</h2>Beginning in the 1950s, Hanna-Barbera dominated the Saturday morning cartoon space with hits like "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" and <a href="https://www.insider.com/josie-and-the-pussycats-anniversary-cast-crew-interviews-2021-4">"Josie and the Pussycats,"</a> which it developed for CBS, ABC, and NBC.But by 1990, the year Disney debuted its two-hour syndicated cartoon block, Disney Afternoon, these individual series had morphed into bundles of shows that aired through agreements with local affiliate stations versus a single national broadcaster. This also marked the end of commercials disguised as highly-gendered kids media (think "G.I. Joe" and "Strawberry Shortcake"), which were most prominent during the 1970s and 1980s.Around this same time, concerned parents and their lobbying groups began to challenge the presence of toy advertising in children's programming - a move that came to a head in the 1990s. The decade saw two waves of FCC regulations on content standards and commercials in children's programming.Coupled with the additional profits of putting cartoons behind a paywall, studios now saw cable, with its fewer regulations and a rapidly growing viewership, as the next frontier."It was just about eyeballs. Eyeballs bring advertising dollars," "Disney Afternoon" author Jake Friedman told Insider. "Cable television had just taken over by 1996 - Cartoon Network, Disney, even Nickelodeon was growing its Nicktoons family." Advertisers and their dollars, in particular, have played an indirect role in curbing LGBTQ animated kids' content on free stations. Unlike cable and streaming, broadcast TV is largely funded by ads, which might disappear if a program's content is deemed controversial by an advertiser. Vito Viscomi, a writer-showrunner who has produced series across platforms, including Netflix's "The Hollow," told Insider that networks are "going to take a lot less chances and try to be more safe because of those advertisers." Historically, broadcasters have also prioritized broad demographics, though mostly the eyeballs of (unspokenly straight) <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/04/01/395777889/this-isnt-the-first-time-network-tv-discovered-black-people">white viewers</a>. But on cable, and now even more so with streaming, subscription dollars can level the playing field, and give marginalized viewers - and representation - equal power. "You're making a choice to actually take on this service and you're paying for it, and you can always vote with your dollar," Levine said. "So if you don't like something, you can turn off your subscription." <div type="image" title="A father and daughter watch TV on a laptop together" height="2652" width="3976" msid="83725887" hostid="261"></div><h2>The internet is an imperfect solution to making animated representation more accessible</h2>Over months of interviews, showrunners, writers, and TV executives frequently pointed to cheaper streaming services and the internet, particularly YouTube, as an answer to the dearth of inclusive and free kids programming. But according to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/15/nielsen-16m-u-s-homes-now-get-tv-over-the-air-a-48-increase-over-past-8-years/">TechCrunch</a>, Nielsen found that in 2019, of the more than 16 million homes that had cut their cable and satellite cords, about 6.6 million were relying solely on a digital antenna, with no streaming subscriptions. Moreover, while it's free to use, YouTube isn't free to access. YouTube's content - which is frequently "age-inappropriate" for children 8 and under, according to <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/as-online-videos-dominate-young-kids-screen-time-youtube-exposes-them">research from Common Sense Media</a> - is locked behind its own complicated paywall of one-time and recurring internet, equipment, and installment charges.This is on top of the nation's <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/internet-access-is-a-civil-rights-issue/2020/09">pre-existing broadband infrastructure issues,</a> which disproportionately affect low-income, rural, Black, Native American, and Latinx people. AnneMarie McClain, a children's media and education researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Insider that inclusive shows are essential to kids across income differences. "Children might not have representation in their communities. They might not have representation in their schools. And so media is a source of representation that can help children know that they're OK and that their identities are valid," McClain said. Yet, in 2018 as streamers and online content boomed, around 6% of children aged 3 to 18 with some form of the internet at home, could only access inclusive cartoons through a smartphone, according to the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cch.pdf">National Center for Educational Statistics</a>. Another 6% had no internet access at all. And the FCC determined 10 million school-aged children had no internet access, which means that even the presumably "free" option remains unavailable to them, according to a report by <a href="https://medium.com/swlh/internet-access-and-inequality-66505e1ab9fd">The Startup</a> in 2019.<h2><div type="image" title="A child sitting on the floor and holding a remote while watching TV" height="4180" width="6271" msid="83725892" hostid="261"></div>Creatives and viewers are using old and new tricks to get LGBTQ representation to young viewers and families </h2>Despite these challenges, the evolving industry has a few workarounds for making its LGBTQ-inclusive animated kids shows more accessible.Some studios and networks continue to use the first-run paywall, second-run free model - where a show airs on a paid TV channel platform before airing on a no-cost one to help get their content to more viewers. For example, iconic kids program "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-strikes-deal-for-sesame-street-2015-8">Sesame Street" has a deal that sees its program airing on HBO before debuting on PBS</a> nine months later.Disney Plus and Amazon Video have rolled out Group Watch features, which allow users with one account to stream from different locations through multiple profiles. Google Meet also introduced a new element to their "casting" tool that will mirror Disney Plus and Netflix streams to an entire meeting. Georgia mom Morgan McFarland, 41, told Insider that she and her 12-year-old Rosie are using online tools to watch inclusive content after their household ditched cable a few years ago."[Rosie] goes on Sundays to an online queer kids club, and they made their own Discord," McFarland said of the video and text communication service used by millions. "They're in different parts of the world so they stream media that you can't necessarily access outside a paywall depending on where you are."As the focus from studios on physical releases decreases, the DVD or Blu-Ray a parent could once loan from a library is increasingly offered up through streaming apps, which let you download and save episodes to watch later without the internet - a solution for parents who rely on Wi-Fi through a public space.PBS offers variations on most of this, alongside on-demand episodes and live-streamed TV viewing, through the PBS Kids video app. In the case of "Arthur," which featured a much-celebrated gay wedding in a 2019 episode, kids can access free companion material like games and video shorts. "It's the way we help kids grow," Greenwald said of "Arthur's" cross-platform availability. "It's critical to their social-emotional development for them to feel like they belong in our communities and other cultures, and that everyone else that they encounter belongs."Some creatives with fewer options told Insider that they've quietly cheered the pirating of their content. Others, such as "Craig of the Creek" head writer Jeff Trammell, try to reach young viewers through channels like the writer's room's Twitter handle, where they share curated clips."If you just see that clip, even if you never watched the show, you know that that's there," Trammell told Insider. "And if you are feeling like you need something to relate to, you know you can come find us and these characters."

You Searched For "Josie and the Pussycats" and got 7 results

'Josie and the Pussycats' directors had never written a single song before they teamed up with Babyface to create the cult film's soundtrack

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'Josie and the Pussycats' bombed at the box office 20 years ago, but the cast and creators say they wouldn't change a thing

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The creators of Cartoon Network Groovies break down the iconic music videos and explain why these songs have resonated for over 2 decades

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Rachael Leigh Cook says turning down a role in 'X-Men' was a 'huge misstep'

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Archie Comics on Spotify will include content for older audiences

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