Synopsis

Joni Mitchell's environmental anthem is presented as a colorful animated fable. Adam and Eve enjoy a lush paradise until construction machinery arrives, uprooting the vegetation and covering the landscape with roads, tar, cement, and parking spaces. A big yellow taxi repeatedly intrudes on the changing world, while the imagery follows the lyrics with playful literalism. The short ends on a stranger, more surreal note, as a lanky green dragon appears and laughs along with Mitchell's closing giggle.

Factoids & Trivia

• The animated short first aired on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour on August 8, 1971, as part of the show's first season.

• Fine Arts Films produced the piece as one of a series of short animated music films made for television during the 1970s.

• The animation turns the song's environmental warning into a simple visual contrast between an untouched paradise and relentless urban development.

• The production received an Arts America World Tour Citation award.

• John Sparey handled the animation, Angele Wilson worked as the ink and paint artist, Carson van Osten designed the art department material, and Gene Borghi operated the camera.

• The full-length short later appeared on VHS in the anthology John Wilson's Mini Musicals, also released under the title The Fantastic All-Electric Music Movie.