Before the days of the FTC allowing toy companies to make cartoons a la Transformers, children’s television programming was chock full of shows geared toward learning.  Sure, they had regular old cartoons then, and they have educational programs now, but few were as 'edu-taining' as Drawing Power, the program that taught boys and girls how to draw out their ideas and fantasies in cartoon form.

Drawing on the same concepts as Schoolhouse Rock, the creators of which were behind Drawing Power, each episode blended animation and live-action, and featured three hosts who acted as cartoonist mentors for the audience.  First was Kari, the pretty, young girl. Then there the crazy, nutty Lenny, who kept the kids at home on their toes trying to figure out what he would do next.  Of course, there was the lovable, kindly Pop, the oldest of the animators who urged children to ‘draw with the conscience.’  The whole concept was an easy sell, too, since the audience was already into watching cartoons. 

Various character became well loved, and one of the most popular was Dewey Decimal, the library advocate, who urged children to go to their libraries as much as possible.  Many of the cartoons featured would espouse messages on good manners, positive study habits and being civically minded.  Though Drawing Power would never draw the numbers to become as popular as its predecessor, Schoolhouse Rock, it was truly a valiant effort in teaching kids that they could draw out their ideas, instead of relying upon the television for their creativity.