Found this film on Netflix and watched it last night, and I don’t think there has been any threads on it here.
This is fantastic documentary about the man who, more or less, created Elmo. Kevin Clash was a young puppeteer working on Sesame Street when another puppeteer grew frustrated with trying to work with this new puppet. Kevin took Elmo and watched how preschoolers interacted and created the character we know as Elmo.
My time as a Sesame Street watcher came before Elmo, and I always viewed him as a rather annoying character. But this really opened my eyes to what Elmo is about and what Kevin brings to life.
The film goes back to Kevin’s childhood and his first steps as a puppeteer. Even for a person with no experience in puppets, it is easy to see Kevin’s talent coming through from the very beginning.
If you can, I highly recommend this movie. But beware, there are a few minutes that are tear inducing.
Elmo as a character is really annoying, but that’s not exactly news.
Kevin Clash, on the other hand, knows how to keep Elmo a character. I’ve heard him on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and he’s definitely a grown up who knows how to make Elmo relate to grown-ups.
I really want to see this documentary. Maybe later today or tomorrow.
FYI — INDEPENDENT LENS: Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey airs nationally on PBS Thursday, April 5, 2012, and Monday, April 9, 2012, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET. Check local listings!
Kevin can make Elmo relate to adults, but the film really shows that he is a master at his craft. There are scenes where he is teaching, and you really get a sense of how much work he puts into it. Plus, you can see how much he respects and follows the paths of Henson, Oz, and others that created the Muppets.
I get it now that Elmo is not for me. He is the unconditional love that pre-school age kids have for everything. I see that, I understand why he annoys me and why little kids love him.
Great story of someone finding something they love from a young age and being able to realize that dream and do something “big”. I flipped it on originally just hoping it would have enough Elmo to keep my little guy amused early on Sunday morning but wound up watching the whole thing while he played with his toys and looked up whenever he actually heard/saw a Muppet.
As much as I may want to do the old man “Elmo ruined my Sesame Street!” bit, my kid loves that guy and I can’t hate when I see how excited and happy he gets to see Elmo on TV. Nice to learn the man behind Elmo has such a great story.
I can’t watch anything involving muppets since learning they raped Kurt Cobain. (Kermit denies it, Big Bird refused to comment, but Oscar said on record “Oh yeah, I totally tapped that” and The Count said he went back one-two-three-FOUR times.)
I’ve been too old to be an Elmo fan, but I’ve been a Kevin Clash fan for a long time. Labyrinth is still my favorite movie ever, and that he worked on it with Jim Henson makes it very special to me, indeed.
I still pop out with the phrase, “Where you goin’ with a Heaaaaad like that?” and am delighted when someone gets the reference. More do than you would think.
Oh - and just put “elmo outtakes” in the YouTube search bar and enjoy!
I ran across this documentary a few weeks ago. IIRC he’s also the director and producer of Sesame Street…plus he appears to travel all over the world doing promotional stuff for it.