Review of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011) by Andrew A — 08 Apr 2012

Being Elmo is a warm and (pardon the pun) fuzzy documentary about the legendary puppeteer Kevin Clash. It shows the interesting road that he traveled down from being a child obsessed with puppets all the way to him becoming this generation's Jim Henson. Along the way, you get to see plenty of interviews from Clash himself, his parents, family and plenty of celebrities as they paint a picture of this charming children's entertainer.

If you are or ever were a fan of the Muppets or Sesame Street, you will definitely get a kick out of seeing all the behind the scenes footage from those sets and the performers that made this magical puppets come to life. Also interesting for me was the behind the scenes look at a memorable scene from the Henson classic Labyrinth. Kevin Clash, apparently, had his literal hand in many more projects than I knew.

Of course, the doc finally gets around to introducing Clash's most famous character Elmo. Showing the impact that Elmo has had on children all across the world was very touching. Elmo is a celebrity unto himself. So Being Elmo was a nice look behind the puppet and seeing what truly makes a tender, creative man like Clash tick. I recommend this movie to anyone who has a heart and likes documentaries. Only Oscar the Grouch wouldn't smile while watching.