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| STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
| Unmissable |
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| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
U | | Cast
Kevin Clash
Whoopi Goldberg
Frank Oz. | | Directors
Constance Marks. | | | Screenwriters | | Running Time
80 minutes |
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Being Elmo
Almost as much fun as being Dr. Teeth
Plot
A documentary following puppeteer Kevin Clash from his childhood in Baltimore to a career in Jim Henson's troupe of Muppet masters as the man behind the phenomenon this is Elmo. Review
Yes, there's another Muppet movie out this year. This is a sweet, affecting film portrait of Kevin Clash, a puppeteer best known for making the red-furred Elmo a breakout character on Sesame Street. A kid from a modest Baltimore home, Clash began puppeteering as a child, inspired, of course, by Jim Henson. He recounts his beginnings performing for neighbourhood children and on local TV and is now seen paying it forward by mentoring a young, aspirant puppeteer as he was welcomed by a cherubic Muppetmaker in his early days. It shies away from digging too deep, though one shot of a disapproving ex-wife suggests a personal price which comes with living through a puppet character, but has a lot of charm and a great deal of fascinating behind-the-scenes footage.
Verdict
A charming, if occasionally surface-deep look at the man behind the fur. Elmo like!
Reviewed by Kim Newman
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Average user rating for Being Elmo
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| One big, glowing, dopey, ear-to-ear grin. | | Feature-length documentaries are often characterised by their darkness, despair and grizzly, senseless death. But not this one.
This is the filmic equivalent of a two-armed hug from Elmo himself: the story of Kevin Clash is just one big, glowing, dopey ear-to-ear grin.
Kevin grew up watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show on TV, and it’s his bedazzlement with all things Big Bird, Kermit and Jim Henson that allows us to get swept up along with him – inspiring is the idea that... More | | | Posted by thebackseatdirector at 22:11, 02 May 2012 | Report This Post | |
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