Animated Hero Classics
Encyclopedia
Animated Hero Classics is an educational Animated television series of programs co-produced by Nest Family Entertainment and Warner Bros.
The series, geared toward elementary school aged children, includes twenty biographies of both female and male scientists, inventors, explorers, and social champions from around the world including George Washington
, Abraham Lincoln
, Florence Nightingale
, Harriet Tubman
, Joan of Arc
, Benjamin Franklin
, Helen Keller
, Marco Polo
, Marie Curie
and Louis Pasteur
.
The Children's Television Act
of 1990 required terrestrial television networks to devote time to Educational and Informative programming for children. Even though Warner Bros' cable networks were not directly affected by these requirements, these programs were debuted on their HBO network's Saturday morning children's block as a show of good faith that the network was committed to quality educational programming for children. The dramatic biographies were meticulously researched by the producers and written to engage both children and adults, providing an entertaining and accessible way to learn about the positive impact that these women and men have had on our world.
After the initial limited cable television debut, the programs were released on VHS and DVD. Over the years supplementary learning materials have been added to the series designed to help develop core curriculum knowledge and skills, while building positive character traits. They are used in over 60,000 public schools and libraries, and by countless home educators as they research the heroes of history covered by the series.
Individual programs within the series have earned multiple awards and endorsements including the family approved seal from the Dove Foundation
, The School Library Journal
, The Parent's Choice Foundation award and the National Educational Media Association award, the "Award of Excellence" from the Film Advisory Board
, the Director's Choice Award from Early Childhood News, KIDS FIRST!, and the highest rating from the Practical Homeschooling Magazine.
The series was directed by Richard Rich
, the ex-Disney director who also directed The Swan Princess
trilogy, and three faith-based animated educational series for the church, library and home educator market: Animated Stories from the Bible
, Animated Stories from the New Testament
and K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments
.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
The series, geared toward elementary school aged children, includes twenty biographies of both female and male scientists, inventors, explorers, and social champions from around the world including George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
, Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
, Marie Curie
Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
and Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
.
The Children's Television Act
Children's Television Act
The Children's Television Act was enacted in 1990 in the United States to enhance television's potential to teach the nation's children valuable information and skills. The Act requires each full-service television station that offers children's television programming in the U.S...
of 1990 required terrestrial television networks to devote time to Educational and Informative programming for children. Even though Warner Bros' cable networks were not directly affected by these requirements, these programs were debuted on their HBO network's Saturday morning children's block as a show of good faith that the network was committed to quality educational programming for children. The dramatic biographies were meticulously researched by the producers and written to engage both children and adults, providing an entertaining and accessible way to learn about the positive impact that these women and men have had on our world.
After the initial limited cable television debut, the programs were released on VHS and DVD. Over the years supplementary learning materials have been added to the series designed to help develop core curriculum knowledge and skills, while building positive character traits. They are used in over 60,000 public schools and libraries, and by countless home educators as they research the heroes of history covered by the series.
Individual programs within the series have earned multiple awards and endorsements including the family approved seal from the Dove Foundation
Dove Foundation
rightThe Dove Foundation is a registered United States tax deductible non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan known among other programs for its activities of rating, reviewing and endorsing films and for campaigning against the portrayal of sexual activity and violence in Hollywood...
, The School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
, The Parent's Choice Foundation award and the National Educational Media Association award, the "Award of Excellence" from the Film Advisory Board
Film Advisory Board
The Film Advisory Board, Inc. is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe . The FAB's "Award of Excellence" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and electronic media.The second division of FAB is the FAB Ratings System...
, the Director's Choice Award from Early Childhood News, KIDS FIRST!, and the highest rating from the Practical Homeschooling Magazine.
The series was directed by Richard Rich
Richard Rich (director)
Richard Rich is an American film director, producer and writer known for his work in animation. He is president of Crest Animation Productions. Unlike most animation directors Rich has never worked as animator on a film....
, the ex-Disney director who also directed The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess is a 1994 American animated film based on the ballet "Swan Lake". Starring the voice talents of Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, and Sandy Duncan, the film is directed by a former Disney animation director, Richard Rich, with a music score by Lex de Azevedo...
trilogy, and three faith-based animated educational series for the church, library and home educator market: Animated Stories from the Bible
Animated Stories from the Bible
Animated Stories from the Bible is a video series produced by Nest Family Entertainment in association with Rich Animation Studios.The series is non-sectarian and features twelve beloved stories from the Hebrew Bible...
, Animated Stories from the New Testament
Animated Stories from the New Testament
Animated Stories from the New Testament is a video series produced by Nest Family Entertainment in association with Rich Animation Studios. Unlike other animated series based on Bible stories, these programs are not based on modern characters interacting with Biblical figures, but rather provide...
and K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments
K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments
Kids' Ten Commandments was a direct-to-video, five part series designed to teach the principles of the Ten Commandments to children. The series shows the life of a fictitious 11-year old boy named Seth. He and his friends, including a group of animals, each with their own personality and...
.
Episodes
- 1. Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
(1991) - 2. William BradfordWilliam Bradford (1590-1657)William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
: The First ThanksgivingThanksgivingThanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
(1992) - 3. George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(1992) - 4. Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
(1993) - 5. Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
(1993) - 6. Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
(1993) - 7. Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
(1993) - 8. PocahontasPocahontasPocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
(1994) - 9. Louis PasteurLouis PasteurLouis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
(1995) - 10. Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
(1995) - 11. MaccabeesMaccabeesThe Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
: The Story of HanukkahHanukkahHanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
(1996) - 12. Harriet TubmanHarriet TubmanHarriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
(1996) - 13. The Wright BrothersWright brothersThe Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
(1996) - 14. Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
(1996) - 15. Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
(1996) - 16. Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
(1996) - 17. Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
(1997) - 18. GalileoGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
(1997) - 19. Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
(1997) - 20. BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(2005)