Theme Song: Keyboard-oriented, synthy music plays throughout, but not the kind that some asshole would reissue on over-priced vinyl.
Interesting Dated References: Very much entrenched in 70s/80s gender stereotypes, What’s Happening To Me? spends a disproportionate amount of time focused on boobs (“They come in different sizes!”) and making excuses for women’s behaviour (“They’re shedding their menstrual lining!”).
Best Line: Said by female narrator — “Breasts are very popular. Boys and men like them a lot, and so should you.”
Social Context: Prior to writing “A Year in Provence,” author Peter Mayle primarily produced illustrated books for children and young adults about tough subjects, such as (Where Did I Come From?, Will I Go To Heaven?, and of course Will I Like It?) Most of these books were moderately popular at the time, and as teachers clamoured for educational resources, What’s Happening To Me? was made into an animated special.
Summary: Broken down into easily digestible and clearly narrated sections, What’s Happening To Me? is relatively painless to watch. Many of the lessons fall into somewhat dated tropes, but there are a few surprisingly progressive sections.
For example, they spend a lot of time talking about masturbation (for boys and girls) and even go so far as to specify if a girl is going to masturbate, she should focus in on the clitoris for easiest release.
But the heavy focus on breasts and telling boys to be obsessed with them seems a little odd.
There’s lots of talk of pubes, pimples, hormones, erections, public erections, and menstruation. Then for whatever reason they decided to illustrate the sperm and egg coming together to form a baby by using a big splash of white liquid.
Worth Mentioning:
– I believe this came with a companion workbook, but I’ve never been able to track one down. I also haven’t tried. But I see it referenced on the back of the box.
– There’s a lot of time spent clarifying that everyone develops on different timelines, which is a lot different than how my school handled it, which was by basically facilitating pube-shaming of the non-pubed in gym class. I’ve had a lot of time to get over it, but clearly I have not.
– Mayle also helped write a series of books about a character named “Wicked Willie” (with illustrator Gary Jolliffe), which chronicles the adventures of an illustrated penis.
Poster and Box Art: The box features illustrations by Arthur Robins, who worked with Mayle on several of his educational books.
Availability: The book, which shares the same title, remains in print. This animated special seems to have been forgotten, although you can still probably search it out on YouTube.