All Aboard America

Mark Twain once said that “a patriot is the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.” Case in point: All Aboard America, an animated sightseeing travelogue/history lesson that includes 10 patriotic and/or popular songs (i.e. “Home on the Range," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "I've Been Working on the Railroad," etc.) and features dog Stars and cat Stripes being whisked about the country by Rudy the eagle. At the Grand Canyon, for instance, they sing “You're a Grand Old Flag,” and talk about Betsy Ross, followed by a discussion of Lewis and Clark, who are shown riding on a covered wagon through the desert Southwest with Sacagawea griping about not asking for directions. Ho ho, what knee-slapping, historically WRONG cuteness! There's not enough space to point out all the glaring historical errors, but a few should suffice: Lewis and Clark were NOT on a mission to settle territory, the Transcontinental Railroad was NOT completed in California (try Utah), and the Liberty Bell is NOT in Washington but rather Philadelphia. Unbelievably, this won an award from the International Family Film Festival in 2004 for best educational short. One can only assume (and hope) that there were no actual teachers on the committee. Not recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Reagan)