Review of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011) by Ben D — 04 Feb 2012

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is the story of Kevin Clash, a young man from downtown impoverished Baltimore, who grew up adoring and studying puppetry on TV, building his own, and eventually working for Seaseme Street studios where he turned Elmo from caveman-esque figure into the character children (and adults) across the globe adore.

This documentary, directed by Constance Marks, is so reverential in its treatment of Clash that this film takes on the sheen of a hagiography - there is no critical assesment - and though Clash's journey to lead puppeteer was undoubtedly tough and full of lingering moments of doubt, the film provides the opposite impression: it is as warm and loving as Elmo is and as uncritical as he is.

That said, the true genius of Kevin Clash is apparent in every scene - he was a boy who believed in this world, and continues to keep that belief alive. The puppets are as human, to him, as his daughter (with whom he neglected spending time for so long so he could be with Elmo - how more interesting the film would have been if it was allowed to explore that avenue). It is an emotional film, if occassionally manipulative in its use of faux-emotionly scoring and in its used of disabled children to reveal how pure Clash's art is. It is, though, a fascinating, if somewhat limited, behind the scenes look at the most popular childrens programme the world has ever seen.