SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

hyped garbage

Excellent but underrated film

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Kevin Clash is the puppeteer of Sesame Street's Elmo. He's an African American who spent his childhood in "Chocolate City" Baltimore. He fell in love with puppets and the art of puppeteering. He made his own puppets doing his shows. With the help of his mother, he contacted Jim Henson and found a mentor in legendary puppet maker Kermit Love. He worked on Captain Kangaroo which ended in 1984. He worked for Henson on Labyrinth and Sesame Street. Soon, he began to perform as Elmo.This is an insightful look at the world of puppeteering. It is a world I never really thought about. It's interesting to see the puppets being made. It doesn't dig too deeply into his personal life and I noticed it even before the scandal. While this movie is an insightful in its area, there was a bigger human story that only got a passing mention. There are the race issue and the homosexual issue. The filmmakers simply dropped the ball. Sesame Street is very progressive and I wonder if the filmmakers failed to see the tree for the forest. He's a gay black man who was married but they thought it wouldn't matter on a kids show since it's the progressive Sesame Street. Maybe it's the lawsuits that broke the camel's back but the filmmakers should have realized that there is a story there before that.

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.

From the opening shot of Elmo's eyes and nose pressed up to the screen, it is clear to the audience that this film will be warm and fuzzy (pun intended). Kevin Clash's journey from a quiet kid with an unusual passion, to one of the most legendary and well-respected puppeteers in the world, is downright inspirational. Walking out of the movie theater, I nearly decided to quit my job and pursue my childhood dream of being the first singing ballet dancer in space (then I remembered my rent check dues in two days... alas...).Being Elmo is not just a screen adaptation of Mr.Clash's incredible book, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster." It is a cinematic adventure that takes you through Kevin's journey and introduces you to a world of puppeteers who live and breathe to create childhood magic. You see and hear stories about the legendary Jim Henson, who is not just the name sake of a major company, but a real person whom Kevin Clash admired tremendously. You observe clips of the television shows that filled Kevin's childhood, and gain a true sense of gratitude for the wonder and excitement muppets once brought, and for many people, continue to bring, into our lives. Not only is the arch of Kevin's career inspirationally depicted, but the film is a cinematic collection of amazing footage. The amount of work that went obtaining rare footage of Jim Henson interviews, old television shows, and Kevin Clash's audition tapes, as well as the way in which the creative team re-created memories where footage does not exist, makes every last moment as visually relevant and exciting as Kevin's story is touching and fascinating. That is not to say that you leave the film wanting to work on Sesame Street. To the contrary, you realize that Being Elmo, or any other muppet for that matter, means holding your arms up for long stretches of time, contorting your body into strange positions to stay out of frame, and not getting personal recognition by the public even when you are the heart and soul of a character who is loved by millions. It is a tough job, and the people who do it make huge sacrifices. But you do leave the theater with a true appreciation for the people who dedicate their lives to teaching and inspiring children through the hand-y-work (pun intended again) of their furry friends. For anyone who has a heart, dream, child, or was a child, do yourself a favor, and let this film restore some of your magical-wide eyed wonder. And never forget, Elmo loves you!!!