Mother Goose: Rock 'n' Rhyme (also known as Shelley Duvall's Mother Goose: Rock 'n' Rhyme or Shelley Duvall's Rock in Rhymeland) is a 1990 American musical television film that aired on the Disney Channel. Starring Shelley Duvall as Little Bo Peep and Dan Gilroy as Gordon Goose, the son of Mother Goose along with a star-studded supporting cast of various other actors and musicians portraying a wide range of characters, mostly of Mother Goose nursery rhyme fame. It was released for the first time on VHS in May 19, 1998 with the help of Lyrick Studios.
The film deals with the events surrounding Gordon Goose and Little Bo Peep, who, while still trying to find her sheep, goes to Mother Goose's house for help, only to discover her sudden absence. Bo Peep and Gordon search Rhymeland to flush out what has happened to Mother Goose, all the while watching as many Mother Goose characters begin to mysteriously disappear.
The film features an all-star cast including:
Shelley Duvall as Little Bo PeepJean Stapleton as Mother GooseDan Gilroy as Gordon GooseCyndi Lauper as Mary (of Mary Had a Little Lamb)Debbie Harry as The Old Woman Who Lived in a ShoeBobby Brown as Three Blind MiceLittle Richard as Old King ColeWoody Harrelson as Lou the Lamb (of Mary Had a Little Lamb)Paul Simon as Simple SimonArt Garfunkel as Georgie PorgieGarry Shandling as Jack (of Jack and Jill)Teri Garr as Jill (of Jack and Jill)Harry Anderson as Peter PiperDavid Leisure as The Newscaster/The Game Show HostStephen Kearney and Neill Gladwin as The Crooked Man & His Dog/Happy 1 & 2Howie Mandel as Humpty DumptyJohn Santucci as All the King's Men (of Humpty Dumpty)Cheech Marin as The Carnival BarkerVan Dyke Parks as The Minister of MerrimentBrian Bonsall as MichaelKatey Sagal as Mary, Mary, Quite ContraryElayne Boosler as Old Mother HubbardStray Cats (Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker, & Slim Jim Phantom) as Georgie Porgie's House BandBen Vereen as Itsy Bitsy SpiderZZ Top (Billy Gibbons, Joe Hill, & Frank Beard) as Three Men in a TubPia Zadora as Little Miss MuffetSpecial guest appearances
Vance Colvig, Jr.Paul DanielsEdith, Elena, and Milly Del RubioWarren DeMartini, Randy Jackson, Dweezil Zappa & Stephen Bray as Metal Band Musicians in the DungeonJennifer EvansSeymour HellerChanges for Rock 'N' Rhymeland (TV Version)
Several edits and changes were made to the audio, musical score, and video for the TV edit. A non-comprehensive list of some of these variations appears below:
Parts of the film play in a different order:"Mary Had a Little Lamb""Little Miss Muffet""Jack & Jill"Several scenes were completely cut:Mary Quite Contrary complaining about her gardenOld Mother Hubbard and her dinerGordon rearranging his wardrobeGordon's remark about summer vacationMary and her lamb disappearing after Little Bo Peep and Gordon leaveThe Old Woman in the shoe telling her many children "Wait till your fathers get home," implying she has had many husbandsIntroductory speech for Old King ColeOnscreen lyrics during the "Gordon, Won't You Come Out and Play?" dungeon metal band scene are featured with a "bouncing ball" format to follow along.Different musical score during the Crooked Man Chase, the Itsy Bitsy Spider scenes, the Little Miss Muffet scene, and the Cow Jumped Over the Moon scenesAlternative music mix for the Del Rubio Triplets opening "Hop to It"Alternative intro to Bobby Brown's "Three Blind Mice"More present and different musical score, with background music playing through most of the film as opposed to various non-musical moments in the uncut version.The end credits: The uncut version features an original song while the TV version features a longer version of Little Richard's "Party with the King."