Sick Product of a Sick System

Good concept, poorly executed.

Beautiful, moving film.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This is such an awe-inspiring, life-affirming documentary! How can one not admire and love the creators of Sesame Street? I still remember watching this show almost daily with my children as they were growing up.This documentary recounts how at a young age, Kevin Clash, was obsessed with puppets – and strived to be a puppeteer. He started with a local show in Baltimore, moved to Captain Kangaroo – and finally reached his dream with Jim Henson's Muppets and Sesame Street. We feel his motivation and self-starting ability – and also his humbleness as he approaches his life's dream. What is of great significance is how he was mentored, by both his parents and fellow puppeteers – and how this mentoring tradition is being kept on. That is why Sesame Street has endured; entertained and educated children – and their parents, since it's inception in 1969.A wonderful documentary – highly recommended. Life proof-positive!

There's an impulse within some people to create that becomes a single-minded passion. Kevin Clash remembers when the itch to create puppets first struck him. At a young age, he laid eyes on the perfect fabric and was propelled to start cutting, shaping and molding until he had created the image that was in his head. The problem, he remembered, was that the fabric came off of his father's coat. Awaiting a horrendous response, his father came home and told him. "Next time . . . ask".In a way this was a desire never left him. Brought up in a middle-class family in Baltimore, Clash had a shy personality and learned that creating puppets seemed like a means of expression. He designed puppets in his bedroom and put on shows for the kids in his mother's daycare. The creative impulse to design puppets was with him, he confesses, even before he knew what a Muppet was, although it didn't exactly make him a social prize. Kids around him accused him of playing with dolls. The teasing stopped when he was given a chance to work on a local television show while he was still in high school.Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is a proper title because it carries us along on Clash's journey from a shy kid in Baltimore to not only a successful career as a puppeteer, but also as the producer and director of "Sesame Street." His journey seems to have been divided into equal parts determination and luck that eventually put him in contact with Jim Henson, whom Clash seems to have regarded the same way most kids look as sports heroes or Superman. So great was his love for puppeteering and of the Muppets that he seemed to have regarded Henson, Frank Oz and Muppet designer Kermit Love as some sort of Holy Trinity. Clash describes the heartrending task of having to turn down Henson's offer to work on The Dark Crystal because he was working on two local kids shows back home. He would later accept a small part in Labyrinth.The encounter with Henson would lead him to "Sesame Street" and to his biggest success. One day, puppeteer Richard Hunt became frustrated while operating a small red monster whose deep caveman voice made it sound like a junior-league Cookie Monster. During the break he threw the puppet at Clash, who rethought the voice into a falsetto and ultimately brought Elmo to life. By taking away the caveman voice and giving him a gentler manner, Clash was able to endear Elmo to preschoolers in a way that few creations ever have. Elmo had the dimensions of a child that little kids could relate to. What Clash was able to bring out in Elmo would make him a global phenomenon, culminating in riots over the Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls in the mid-90s which had parents literally fighting one another in the aisles of toy stores.Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is focused almost exclusively on Kevin Clash's work. His personal life, outside of his upbringing, remains only in faint glimmers on the edges of the journey. He mentions his ex-wife but mainly talk about his daughter. Discussing his creative instincts, he is realistic on the point that he can create any kind of Muppet but nothing compares to creating a child. There is mention of his ex-wife and we are left only to surmise that the relationship ended because of Clash's total dedication to his work. We see a guy who is loving, happy, good-hearted and hard-working, but we only see faint images of his life now. He is able to give his daughter a massive sweet-sixteen party with birthday wishes from Jack Black and L.L. Cool J, but little of his current life is actually covered.The movie culminates with the death of Jim Henson, and this – based on the film - seems to be his only dark chapter. Realizing his dream of working with his hero, he remembers going on The Arsenio Hall Show and afterwards, noticing that Jim was coughing. The next phone call he got delivered the bad news.What is special about Kevin Clash is not only his skill at creating Muppets but his skill at bringing them to life. We see him in action as he explains that even when the Muppets aren't talking, you have to keep them moving so they won't seem immobile. Most Muppets don't have eyes that move independently, and their clam-like mouths don't do anything more than just open and close, but Clash is able to work around that. One moment in particular explains that clenching his fist while operating Elmo will give the character a bashful look. A twist of the fingers and Elmo looks confused. It is those details that make the Muppets so enduring.

"Being Elmo" sets out to shed some light on the voice and hands behind arguably the most well-known character on Sesame Street. Hard-hitting documentary, this is not, but it does a fine job illustrating the gift and purity of soul that Kevin Clash possesses in his characterization of the sweet red monster.The film traces Clash's puppeteer beginnings as a kid growing up in Baltimore. Clash saw a worthwhile pursuit in puppeteering when "Sesame Street" premiered in 1969, and a chance encounter landed him a gig on local television. From there, he pursued his dream, finding guidance under the man that designed and built Jim Henson's Muppets, which eventually led to employment with Henson, himself. He found his home on "Sesame Street", breathing new life into one of the most endearing characters ever created by a human being.What's amazing about Clash's story is that he started out a fan of Jim Henson and the Muppets, went for it, and now he's passing down the inspiration and the tutelage to younger hopefuls. And everything that makes Elmo such a likable Muppet (and so magnetic with children) comes directly from Clash. Elmo is pure love; pure innocence. And watching Elmo on screen is like peering into the soul of this man.There's a scene with Clash training the crew of the French version of "Sesame Street". In trying to nail down a dance number, Clash simply holds up his hand (puppetless), and with seemingly breathless ease, mimes a perfectly fluid movement. That someone is able to breathe such life and personality into a mere hand gesture just goes to show the level of craft and talent that Clash and the other puppeteers have. And he makes it look so easy."Being Elmo" is full of awe-inspiring moments, as well as heartbreaking ones. But it's also one of the most heartwarming films I have ever seen. I dare say, it is humanly impossible to watch this film and not choke up at least once.8/10

I knew Kevin in High School (Dundalk Sr High) back in Baltimore County Maryland, although he probably doesn't remember me. We were in music class together and he was I think, 2 years ahead of me. Nobody in our school could say anything negative about Kevin. From day one, he was hard working and driven, but also the sweetest, kindest and funniest boy in class.I remember a school concert once, the chorus was on stage sitting on the risers and Kevin was in front of us; but behind the piano with some of his own puppet creations. Kevin was putting on a short show for the audience when he accidentally hit his head (fairly hard) on the back of the piano. Teenagers, being what they are, started laughing and giggling behind Kevin, but the audience had no idea what had happened. We could tell Kevin was hurting, the gestures his body was making behind that piano emphasized his discomfort in a very comical way. Kevin continued on with his show without missing a beat, a puppet change or a line of dialogue. Even at that age, he was a professional.Kevin played one of the leads in our schools production of "Guys and Dolls", he was Skye Masterson. I think every girl in the High School fell at least a little in love with Kevin during that show. You may know Kevin as the voice of Elmo and other puppet characters, but when he sings, EVERYONE stops to listen! I'm proud to have known Kevin, even if it was just in passing. I enjoy telling people, "I went to High School with Elmo" and watching their reactions as I proudly tell them about Kevin. Kevin Clash's life story is truly an inspiration. Though there might have been a few rough spots here and there, Kevin is proof that anyone, no matter what their circumstances, can make their dreams come true.