Your Thoughts: "Being Elmo" Kevin Clash documentary on DVD and PBS

[Muppet fan 123]

I haven't bought the DVD yet, but I'm wondering, does this documentary include any of Kevin Clash's other Henson work besides Sesame Street?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it does, but it's mostly Elmo of course. I think it even talks about Kevin getting the opportunity of working with Jim in other Henson productions, including the Dark Crystal (which he turned down!)

 

[Muppet fan 123]

It's not showing tonight by me it's showing all next week every night and day.
Hopefully I'll catch one of them next week.

 

[Cindy]

I haven't bought the DVD yet, but I'm wondering, does this documentary include any of Kevin Clash's other Henson work besides Sesame Street?

I'd have to watch it again to be sure, but Labyrinth is talked about briefly and there are a couple of scenes. A brief mention that he worked on Muppets at Disney World and then a clip of Clifford on Arsenio. No mention of Dinosaurs, Dog City, etc.

 

[D'Snowth]

I cannot even begin to put into words just how incredible, spectacular, inspirational, heartwarming, touching, poignant, and superb this documentary was! It was absolutely amazing, I was nearly in tears as I was watching it, to think what I've been missing... and then as it was going off, I was almost in tears again because I didn't want it to end... I loved this so much, I was surprised that I was able to take in a few little tips on puppetry that I hadn't even thought of before from watching Kevin teach the puppeteers of the French co-production of SST (felt a little sorry for that one lady who couldn't quite get the hang of it, but it is a lot more difficult than it looks), even down to the end of the special where we get to see Kevin give Tau Bennett a look around the workshop and everything.

I hope this DVD isn't going to be hard to find... I have a feeling it will be, but I would love to own it so badly, lol.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I really enjoyed this documentary, I loved how much footage and photos they were able to find, especially featuring Richard Hunt. Kevin's story is very inspirational to anyone trying to make it in a tough business. And I really loved the part where Elmo narrates Kevin's daughter's birth, that was priceless.

While this documentary did not change my cynical opinion of Elmo's World, lol, I'm still very glad it was made.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

While this documentary did not change my cynical opinion of Elmo's World, lol, I'm still very glad it was made.

Actually, it was with great relief that my wife and I watched this on PBS and found that this wasn't the Elmo-centric piece we feared it might be. No offense to Elmo (who can occasionally be a very funny and versatile character) or Kevin Clash himself, but a little of that fuzzy fellow goes a lo-o-o-o-ong way.

Instead, Being Elmo was more of what the subtitle promised - A Puppeteer's Journey - and we loved seeing the footage of a younger Kevin and his early puppet performances. We learned a lot (I had NO IDEA he was involved in Captain Kangaroo or turned down The Dark Crystal!) and it was a kick to see so much video and photography tracing not only his own career growth, but the legacy of Jim Henson and his merry band of Muppet-makers and performers.

In fact, the most touching parts of the documentary had to be the scenes with Kermit Love acting as a mentor to Kevin. One of the reasons the Muppets have always appealed to me as an entertainment franchise is that everyone involved just seems so human and warm and welcoming - Kevin Clash included. Still business professionals, of course, but it seemed that Jim Henson imprinted a sense of people treating each other well that many other workplaces would do well to emulate.

Very cool to see the Arsenio Hall Show clip of Clash, Henson, Kermit and Clifford. It's too bad that the piece didn't showcase more of Kevin's non-Elmo work of the past two decades (I would have loved to hear his thoughts on Clifford's starring role on Muppets Tonight) but this was a terrific, well-rounded documentary, all-told.

Question: While watching this, did anybody else harken back to the segment on Kevin and Elmo from A&E Biography's Sesame Street special from early 2001? I always thought that was a beautifully-done piece (from an exceptional overall production) and I never forgot the wonderful sound bite from Kevin about people being surprised to learn that "Elmo was black": "I tell them, 'Well, he's not - he's RED!'"

 

[D'Snowth]

While watching this, did anybody else harken back to the segment on Kevin and Elmo from A&E Biography's Sesame Street special from early 2001?

THAT was the special that made me want to be a puppeteer.

 

[meepmuppaphones]

I watched this just yesterday on PBS. The Jim Henson Memorial part made me want to cry. (Hahaha...) This is a GREAT DOCUMENTARY!

 

[Kelso]

Yeah, I watched this recently with my fiance and we absolutely loved it. Fantastic documentary and a genuinely inspirational story.

 

[JustinHoskie]

I loved it! And, being the out-take/blooper/out-of-character that I am, I loved the bit at the beginning when Elmo bit the cheese and threw it across the room. The phrase "You wanna a piece of Elmo!" needs to be the battle-cry for all Elmo supporters.