A Mean Teacher Poses a Great Challenge in Eloise Goes to School

When I was in elementary school, I was a definite oddball, and I used to wish I could just do my learning at home instead where I didn’t have to worry about getting picked on by other kids. In the 45-minute-long cartoon Eloise Goes to School, the title character is approaching school from a different perspective. This free-spirited child is used to running wild through the Plaza Hotel to her heart’s content, with only her stuffy tutor cramping her style. When he gets fed up with her antics and quits, she decides – with a little goading from the other kids who live in the hotel – that it might be time for her to try a traditional school environment.

I have never read any of the Eloise books, but I’ve really enjoyed the movies and specials inspired by them. The cartoons imitate the style of Hilary Knight’s illustrations and prickle with a fun, slightly messy energy reflective of the main character. Mary Mouser voices Eloise, a gregarious six-year-old who is always bouncing off the walls. Lynn Redgrave is her good-natured but weary British nanny, as frumpy and easy-going as Mary Poppins is prim and no-nonsense. Under Nanny’s permissive gaze, Eloise is used to getting her own way and is undeterred even by the stern warnings issued by hotel manager Mr. Salamone (Tim Curry). How will such a squirrely girl thrive in a structured school environment?

This is a fun story that demonstrates just how unusual Eloise’s upbringing has been. The contrast between her typical life and the stifling private school environment in which she finds herself is striking. While Eloise comes to appreciate just how good she had it, it’s sweet to see various household staff and residents, from the jovial doorman to the mopey elevator operator, confess to finding the hotel a bit bland without her. While we see less of the hotel in this special than is typical for this series, it remains very much a part of the story.

The regular voice cast is terrific as always, but Doris Roberts is the standout here as the intimidating teacher at the school Eloise attends. Anyone who has seen Everybody Loves Raymond can attest to Roberts’ ability to make people cower. Here, she doesn’t bother to mask her antagonism with sugary words. This teacher is flat-out harsh, and while Eloise’s inability to sit still makes her an easy target for her wrath, other students fall victim to her meanness as well. Is there anything Eloise can do to make the classroom a more pleasant environment, or will she be forced to admit that traditional school is just not for her?

Raising the stakes in this little experiment is the fact that Eloise has reluctantly accepted a wager from a mean-spirited boy who also lives at the hotel. If she gets kicked out, she will have to surrender her pet turtle to him. She certainly doesn’t want that to happen, but how can she stand by and watch her teacher bully her new friends? The story raises interesting questions about when it is appropriate for a child to question the methods of an authority figure and what the best way is to do that.

While some of Eloise’s behavior in this special is not exactly exemplary, Eloise Goes to School is an engaging tale showing how doing things in a drastically different way can provide a valuable learning experience for all involved.