Review of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011) by Martin D — 05 Mar 2012

Early in "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey," a young man named Kevin Clash is seen trying to find a voice for a puppet he has made. He has the puppet say "Hi" over and over with different accents and inflections.

Mr. Clash, at this point in his career, is a nobody, but already he realizes that puppetry is not just about moving the mouth; it's also about identifying the puppet's personality. Later in the film, another vignette drives this home dramatically.

A familiar, furry red puppet appears, but the voice coming out of it isn't the one we know; it's a low, male voice, delivered by the veteran puppeteer Richard Hunt. It wasn't working, and Mr.

Hunt, we're told, grew frustrated and tossed the puppet at Mr. Clash, a relative newcomer to "Sesame Street." We're not told how many voices Mr. Clash tried on it, but eventually he found the right one, and Elmo was born.

"Being Elmo" is a likable documentary that tells the story of Mr. Clash's single-minded pursuit of puppet excellence, which began when he was a teenager in Maryland.