Which San Francisco company originally produced Pinball Number Count?

Imagination, Inc. originally produced Pinball Number Count for Sesame Street.

The colorful sequence was created in 1976 by the San Francisco animation studio for the Children’s Television Workshop. Its animated pinball travels through imaginative scenes while teaching children to count, making the segment memorable for both its psychedelic visuals and its energetic music.

The concept and design came from animator Jeff Hale, while Walt Kraemer composed and produced the music and Ed Bogas arranged it. The Pointer Sisters supplied the vocals, including the emphatic counting that became the segment’s signature sound.

The eleven segments debuted during Sesame Street’s eighth season in 1977 and were shown regularly for decades. A common mix-up is crediting the music, animation, and Sesame Street production to the same organization: Imagination, Inc. made the animation, while the Children’s Television Workshop commissioned it. The original run counted from two through twelve; a number-one segment was not produced.