Sketches and Songs on Sesame Street videos

[minor muppetz]

Okay, didn't realize this. I kinda gathered that it was in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks- though I thought that the Hurricane episodes were also meant for that. (Which have also been released- in a compacted format- on the "Friends to the Rescue" video- which I have a copy of and do want to review some time.)

The hurricane episodes were broadcast in march 2001 (during my spring break), several months before september 11, 2001. I don't know if there were many hurricanes around the time the episode was planned/ in production, but I think the DVD was released in response to hurricane katrina.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here is a different kind of review. It is the Sesame Street resource video You Can Ask, which can be purchased for free at the iTunes Store along with other Sesame Street resource video (for those with iPods, just go to the iTunes Store, then browse the TV Shows section,then go to kids, then go to Learn Along with Sesame).

The video begins with Maria and Elmo telling the viewers that there are all sorts of topics that children can ask about. One thing is fear, and they introduce the street story from the season 33 premier (which is the main plot from Elmo Visits the Firehouse, which was previously reviewed). Afterwards, several word balloons are shown, and Maria tells the viewers that children can ask any questions they might have about what was shown (this is done after all street scenes are shown, with voice overs by whichever human introduces the clip).

Then, Gina and Big Bird talk about how kids can deal with loss of a person or thing. Big Bird mentions that he could lose Radar, but then Gina talks about how kids can also deal with the loss of a person. When I watched this introduction, I thought, "are they going to show the clip where Big Bird leanrs of Mr. Hooper's death? Or at leas tmention it?" But instead, the clip shown is the street story where Big Bird adopts a pet turtle named Seymour. The beginning scene from the episode is shown, where Big Bird mentions that a turtle came to his nest, and he now has a pet, which he calls Seymour. The Count shows up and counts the spots on it's shell. The scnee then fades to the stree tstory (for those who forget or didn't see season 33 epsidoes, in season 33, each scene had an opening introduction sequence with Big Bird, and the street story appeared in the middle of the show). Big Bird plays with Seymour, but then notices that he's tired, so he builds Seymour a nest. He then sees Seymour chewing on his blanket, and decides to figure out what turtles like to eat. He goes to Gina's office to ask her, and despite being busy with customers, she tells Big Bird what turtles eat, not knowing about the turtle. Big Bird gives Seymour his food, but finds that Seymour has left. Rosita and a human kid help find Seymour, and encoutner Gina. They tell Gina that Big Bird has a pet turtle who is lost, and tell her about how Big Bird got him. She finds Big Bird, and explaisn that Seymour was a wild turtle, not a pet.

Gordon introduces the next street scene, though I can't remember what he talks about. Anyway, the next story invvles Telly awaiting a visit from his cousin (I forget his cousins name). He brings out his triangle collection, but then worries that his cousin won't like triangles (as he hadn't seen his cousin in a long time). Anyway, his cousin arrives, and not only likes triangles, but wants all of the triangles, and won't give them back to Telly. He talks to Gordon about what he should do. Gordon suggests that he nicely tell his cousin that they are his, and he should give them back. Howeve,r his cousin refuses, so Gordon asks Telly's cousin if he can look at his hat, and then he asks how he would feel if he kept his hat. Telly's cousin starts panicking, and then Gordon tells him that that's how Telly feels about not getting his triangles back. So Telly gets them back.

Next, Big Bird and Luis talk about how there are people who are different from each other. The following story invovles Big Bird expecting a visit from his pen pal, Gulliver. Gulliver is a seagal, and when he arrives, Big Bird gets a phone call from Snuffy, who plans on visiting. Gullvier is excited about meeting Big Bird's best friend. Big Bird decides to sow Gulliver around Sesame Street to pass the time, and they hear Miles and Gabbi playing basketball. Gulliver likes basketball, but when he sees that Miles and Gabbi are humans, he decides that he doens't want to play basketball, and says that he just want sto meet Snuffy. So he and Big Bird look for Snuffy (I wonder if they ever barely missed Snuffy ), and he acts very nervous when he sees people who aren't birds. Gulliver says that he is hungry, and Big Bird mentions thta Alan makes great irdseed mlkshakes. However, Gulliver sees Alan and decides that he's not very hungry. Gulliver asks what kind of a bird Snuffy is (just like the Dodo's from Follow That Bird did), and then Snuffy apepars. Big Bird says that Snuffy's not a bird, and Gulliver is very frightened, saying that he only plays with other birds. Big Bird then informs him that making friends with people is just like making friendsa with birds. The entire cast then show up and sing How Do You Do, and Gulliver gets over the fact that Sesame Street is filled with more than just birds.

I knew about these resource videos, and was surprised that one of them featured content from the show (I expected them all to be completely new footage). I looked at a few Muppet Wiki pages that had this video redlinked, which intrigued me a bit (it's not redlinekd anymore, thanks to me).

 

[GonzoLeaper]

A quick overview of "Friends to the Rescue"

Regarding the last review, that's pretty interesting. I didn't realize these were up on iTunes. Sounds like a good idea to have that on there- Sesame Street is always keeping up with the times.

I just got through watching one of my Sesame Street videos, so I'm gonna give a quick overview of it for right now. I may go back and do a more indepth review later.
But for now- here's a quick look at "Friends to the Rescue" (a 2005 video release running about 53 minutes)

Plot- The whole video is really an amalgamation of the "Hurricane" episodes from 2001 all culled into one cohesive story. Basically, the Street scenes from all the episodes have been joined together to make the video, with little interstitial scenes utilizing artwork to represent the passage of time (i.e. moon and stars, floods coming down, bright sun)
There really aren't any sketches or other inserts thrown in here at all. However, there are two pretty nice songs in here.
Most folks familiar with the "Hurricane" episodes will pretty much know the plot here.
A big hurricane comes to Sesame Street and probably one of the coolest things about this video is that we finally get another appearance from Kermit the Frog! The gang gathers at Hooper's Store to watch him on the news (which is a news desk with a big Sesame Street News logo behind him.) Kermit and Al Roker work together to deliver the weather report. And Kermit does an on the scene report, talking about the preparations everyone's making. It's so cool to see him interacting with Luis, Maria, Gabi, Alan, Baby Bear, Elmo and Zoe again. (And some of these may even be the first time he's talked to them!)
From there, the main plot is showing how the Sesame Street gang prepares for the hurricane, by getting flashlights and water and taping windows, etc. Various Muppets stay with the humans- Maria, Luis and Gabi have 2 penguins with them, Bob gets charge of Oscar and Slimey and some honkers and dingers and various monsters. Gina and Zoe stay together and watch TV and eat popcorn. And Big Bird stays with Gordon, Susan and Miles, who entertain him with shadow puppets when they lose power.
The next day, Big Bird discovers his nest is destroyed and we have probably one of the most powerful scenes on Sesame Street- right up there with Susan telling Big Bird- "Mr. Hooper's not coming back."
And it's cool that it's Gordon- which makes sense. They live next to Big Bird and have always been his protectors (well, just as much as any of the other humans on there of course)- but I guess I especially think of Gordon and Susan as they were the ones to take Big Bird in out of the cold in "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street". (Of course, Maria was out looking for him- and they definitely have a special bond too.)
Anyway- Big Bird is shocked and dismayed to see his nest destroyed and Gordon tries to comfort him and tell him, "It's all right Big Bird." And with a sob and slight stammer, Big Bird says, "N-no, it's not." And Gordon then tells him, "You're right Big Bird. It's not all right. But it will be all right."
(I love this scene. When I first saw this and indeed when it first aired, it was right around the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon- and I always look at that as a veiled reference to that event. Well, it's as close as Sesame Street's going to get anyway- and I think is admirable for helping kids deal with traumatic events like that. Mr. Rogers also made a special PSA during this time to help children deal with this tragedy)
And true to his word, Gordon and the rest of the gang helps Big Bird rebuild. It takes 2 days or so, and Big Bird spends some time drawing a picture of his nest before the hurricane, after Baby Bear shows him his picture that he drew during the hurricane, which helped him. (They were all at Hooper's Store at this point- Baby Bear, Big Bird, Elmo and Alan- and all but Alan wound up falling asleep while singing a lullaby to Big Bird for his nap.)
Big Bird stayed the night with Maria and Luis and Gabi as he waited for his nest to be finished. And they remembered good times in Big Bird's nest, like the time Luis sat on a Honker egg for Big Bird and it in fact hatched while he was doing so. (I'm not sure if that was an actual scene from an earlier episode or not. I'm almost wanting to say it seems vaguely familiar- but I'm really not sure.)
Finally, Big Bird's house is put back together- but he still has to make a new nest. He finally figures out to call Granny Bird to ask for help on how to make a nest. (After 3 pigs come by and offer him their architect's models of straw, sticks and bricks nests- none of the 3 are working for Big Bird!) (By the way, we do get to see Granny Bird on the other end of the phone directing Big Bird.)
And so he directs the gang on how to build the nest. (And Linda even makes an appearance at this point- along with Alan, Luis, Maria, Gordon and Gabi and some kids.) And his nest is finally finished- as they sing a song about building his nest together, twig by twig.
The big bad wolf, who is apparently also a nest inspector, comes by to check out the nest and tells them they'll have to wait for the mud to dry. (Which they can thank Oscar for the mud- who had a brief scene when they were getting it.) Telly and Elmo and Snuffy are there on the scene too and they figure that Snuffy can blow and dry the mud with his Snuffle. (Telly even mentions that Snuffy blew Slimey's rocket to the moon! Wow- what a snuffle!) And so Snuffy does it and Big Bird calls the wolf back to oversee it- and he declares it safe to use. And then Big Bird sings a song with the whole gang there, thanking them for helping him and being his friends- and then, after a quick, frantic search for Radar the teddy bear, Big Bird sits in his new nest!
And later, Big Bird tells Radar a bed time story as they drift to sleep in his new nest!

Concluding thoughts- Well, this overview wound up being fairly complete after all, so I guess I may just leave at that in any case. I was ecstatic to see Kermit on Sesame Street again and it was neat seeing him interact with newer characters, some of which may have been the first and only time they've talked- and it was really nice to see an episode that was focused on Big Bird again. Elmo was there as a friend to help him- and it seemed like one of the older classic episodes again- back when it didn't seem Elmo was monopolizing every episode.
And there's a funny scene where Big Bird and Elmo keep thanking each other for being a friend at the end ("No, no Big Bird- I thank you." "No, Elmo- I thank you.") And Maria finally says "Elmo"- and he abruptly stops and says "Okay". That was funny!
And it was really cool at one part where Maria asks Big Bird where this thing goes in his house- and turns out Big Bird says it isn't his. And a woman comes by to claim it and says it's the top part to her hat! (Wow! The puppet is obviously a newer rebuilt one- but it looks like the woman with the tall hat from the Bert and Ernie sketch at the movies, where Ernie- and later Bert- can't see past her hat! That is so cool- and pretty random too!)
And it was also neat to hear Snuffy say his full name as he tells the gang that "Helpful" is his middle name. "Aloysius "Helpful" Snuffupagus". Yeah, that was cool as it's the first time I've ever heard Snuffy say his actual first name.
And of course, the main message got through quite well- that friends will be there to help you through your hard times. And kids don't have to be scared of hurricanes- there are precautions we can take and when it's over we can clean things up again. And as I said before, I thought it was also a great veiled episode dealing with tragic events like 9/11/01.
This is a really fun video- and though it's curious that Bert and Ernie don't show up (but I suppose they don't show up in street scenes often anymore) and too bad that Grover and Herry didn't really show up- or Cookie Monster. (Though he is briefly seen eating cookies at Hooper's Store for a second.)
But it was still a great mix of characters- both old and new- and it was a lot of fun seeing a more classic style Sesame Street episode that seemed to be more balanced in character use. I don't mind seeing episodes that focus on one main character once in a while- but I don't think it should be Elmo all the time. Let Big Bird have some more episodes like this and others as well and I think Sesame Street would be a bit more fun in its current run.
But anyway- get the video because it's a great one to have- especially for the last-to-date appearance of Kermit on Sesame Street.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Well, there's already been a great review of the "Kids Favorite Country Songs" Sesame Street video, so like I said before, I direct you to this link for a full review.
http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/reviews/dvd/country_songs.shtml

However, I just got through watching this today and so I thought I'd comment on a few things. The main storyline wasn't too bad. It was apparently all set in Elmo's room at his house- but definitely maintained an "Elmo's World" feel to it, though the video was not actually set in "Elmo's World". Elmo's country cousin Elmer comes to visit (who is apparently an identical twin) and he and Elmo have a fun time with a rooting, tooting, hooping, hollering, country song jamboree! Elmo meets country music instruments like the banjo, harmonica, and fiddle. And a lot of various country stars guest star to sing classic and well-known children's songs in general, all of which obviously also have a country leaning- like "Home on the Range", "The Farmer in the Dell", "Oh Susanna", etc. The Dixie Chickens (parody of the female country group Dixie Chicks) make an appearance and as I said, various country stars show up. I'm not familiar with all of them, so some may be newer appearances on Sesame Street or some may be specially recorded just for this video. It was fun seeing The Count in "Sesame Jamboree" with Allison Krause. And I know it's probably a long shot, but it would have been great to see Kermit used for "Froggy Went A'Courting"- I mean, come on- that's the most obvious choice, but I gather that Kermit only shows up on Sesame Street now for really, really special occasions (in new material, that is). (Though this song is performed with Kermit and Miss Mousey on "The Muppets Valentine Show", so I guess I can always watch that!) Obviously, one really nice classic song was Johnny Cash's song about tall tales. And it was great seeing Cookie Monster in the classic "Ballad of Casey McPhee" song! I used to love this one as a kid. And there was a great cowboy cartoon shown toward the end where he sings about feelings as he rides along on his horse. I also remember this well, though I haven't thought about it in years. The ending with the, what I assume is a bear or something, who comes up and says, "Surprise" abruptly always makes me laugh.
And I'm also glad for the bonus features! There's lots of great songs included here, like a newer song with Garth Brooks singing "We Make Music" with Herry Monster and other monsters. And there was a song with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw called "Take a Turn", that featured Elmo, Telly, Herry and Cookie Monster and an AM singing with them and that was neat. And lots of other classics I remember from childhood like "The Dirtiest Town in the West" and "I'm a Real Cowboy"- with Forgetful Jones, Clementine and Buster! I had not seen that one in many years- but I laughed at it again, just as it made me laugh as a kid. "It's Zydeco" is another favorite I remember well. Polly Darton there to sing "I Make Music" was great too- another one that I remember seeing before. I don't know that I recall the "It's Funny" song or "The Ballad of Slippery Slim", but those were a lot of fun to watch too. Also, a few rarely seen characters show up in the "It's Funny" song, like Betty Lou and Farley. (I also saw "Fat Blue" there, but he still shows up pretty regularly.)
Oh- and one other thing I enjoyed. During the end credits of the actual video itself, Elmo and two country stars that I'm not sure of their names sing "Songs"- the finale song from the "Elmopalooza" special- and that was really cool, as I particularly like that song. It's a fun, happy song in the vein of "Sing"- though of course, nothing can ever really replace that Joe Raposo masterpiece!

Anyway, I would definitely recommend this video if but for the bonus features alone! And there are some great classic songs included in the main story as well, particularly "The Ballad of Casey McPhee".
I would have loved to see more of Polly Darton, Forgetful Jones, and maybe even Rodeo Rosie, but for the stuff we did get, it's a pretty good deal!

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Get Ready for School with this new video and review!

I just recently got a chance to see this one, so here's a review of the "Sesame Street- Ready for School" video, which is a 2007 release with approximately 45 minutes for the run time.
Note- this also includes "Abby's First Day of School!" as a bonus feature, and that probably runs for another 30 minutes or so, but that's just my estimate.

The actual main video appears to be 3 of the newer main "Street" storylines combined into one cohesive story. The bonus feature, as far as I know, is also a "Street" storyline- with no skits or songs included.
(I don't get to watch Sesame Street all the time, so I may not be familiar with all the more current "Street" storylines as such, but I'm pretty sure that all of these are "Street" stories. And that's fine with me- though I'd still like to see more videos shot with original footage and interlinking classic sketches and songs.)

Anyway, here's an overview of the plot and a few comments on it.

When you start up the DVD, there's the standard stuff- previews, subtitles, chapters, etc.- and a bonus feature- "Abby's First Day of School!"

Main video plot-
Kids and Muppets run by on a chalkboard (as chalk figures) on the title screen ("Ready for School")

- Outside Hooper's Store, Alan and Gina come out to take pictures of Miles, Gabi, Susan, Gordon, Maria and Luis as they are all getting ready to go to Miles' and Gabi's graduation from high school. Bob jumps in for one of the pictures too. (Bob comments that he remembers when Gabi and Miles were side by side in baby carriages! Hey, Bob- so do I! )
Elmo comes out in the middle of this and wonders what's going on and Miles and Gabi explain to him what a graduation is. And then they reminisce about their first day of school. (And they must have really good memories to remember all these details from their very first day of school!)
(Flashback scene, but it's obviously new footage filmed. I can't remember if there ever were any scenes shown of Miles and Gabi in school back in the late 80s or 90s. Which brings up another question- Maria and Luis weren't even married until 1988 and I don't remember exactly, but I don't think Gabi was born until 1990 or so- and Miles was adopted in 1985 and he was already at least 1 or so at that point. So, unless Miles seriously got held behind or Gabi jumped up a few grades, they shouldn't be graduating high school at the same time. But oh well- I don't guess that really matters. Though I also wonder if Miles and Gabi will continue on the show and become the new "young adults" of the show- much like Gina when she first showed up around 1987 or so... though I still think of Gina as being pretty young! But hey- I still think of Maria as being pretty young! And it's amazing to think Bob is in his 70s! He doesn't look it a bit!)
Anyway- back to the review.
(Flashback scene- which occasionally jumps back to Gabi, Miles and Elmo on the Street throughout)
Kids at school sing the Alphabet song. Gabi tells Elmo how Miles was shy on his first day of school. And we see the kids drawing pictures- Gabi draws a picture of where she lives- on Sesame Street, with her sitting on the 123 steps, with Oscar sticking his head out of his trash can. Miles draws a picture of a basketball in space and though reticent at first, the teacher gets him to explain it more.
Then Gabi and Miles tell Elmo about their big fight over a fire truck toy. Then the teacher sings a song about learning to share and the kids learn to share the toy. (In between these stories, Gordon and then later Luis pop in to remind the kids they have to get going.)
Then Susan and Maria come up to them at the end of this story to tell them they have to leave. And they tell Elmo goodbye at this point and leave for graduation. (Hmm- apparently Alan had to work at Hooper's, so he couldn't make it to the graduation, though I assume Gina and Bob would have attended. I'm surprised some of the Muppets wouldn't have been going- though maybe some of the older ones that would appreciate it more and sit through it better did go- of course, that would probably be Ernie and Bert, Kermit, Herbert Birdsfoot and maybe Grover... Hmm- I wonder if they will ever show Gabi and Miles in college- doesn't seem like they've mentioned this much on Sesame Street, but then I don't guess it would be much point to on a show aimed at preschoolers!
anyway, sorry- more speculating on my part...)
Elmo walks off thinking about his graduation and humming "Pomp and Circumstance". He runs into Baby Bear, who's working on his drawing of his first day at Storybook Community School. He's trying to figure which of his classmates he left out of the picture. Baby Bear then tells about his first day of school.
(Flashback scene)
Papa Bear drops Baby Bear off at school, where he meets Red Riding Hood, Jack and Jill and Mary and her lamb. The teacher introduces herself (Mrs. Goose- aka Mother Goose, of course!) Kids introduce themselves (Peter Piper, who picked a peck of pickled peppers, Jack- from "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Jack Be Nimble", "Little Jack Horner", Jill (who reminds Jack that he and she are also from "Jack and Jill"!)- and then Baby Bear takes his turn and then there's Hansel and Gretel.)
Baby Bear gets a bit carried away during his introduction as he starts thinking of Curly and misses her, as he wonders what she's doing now. (In fact, he wonders this for his mom and dad as well and we see them all popping up in his thought bubbles from time to time.)
(And I have to mention this too- Hansel and Gretel speak with a German accent and every now and then they clap their hands when saying something. I just had to laugh there at what seems to me to be a subtle reference to Saturday Night Live characters Hans and Franz in their "Pumping Up" sketch- "I want to pump (hand clap) you up"- LOL - I love how Sesame Street works in stuff like this for the parents to enjoy)
Baby Bear correctly identifes the letter "A". And then they do the number one and Red gets this one.
They get to make a "1" as their art project- and Baby Bear's excited about that. And then he puts together his Humpty Dumpty puzzle first.
And finally the school day comes to an end and Baby Bear doesn't want to come back at first, but Papa Bear and Mother Goose tell him homesickness is a normal- and his whole family will look forward to hearing about his day when he gets home. This makes him feel better.
Back on the Street- Elmo finally tells Baby Bear he forgot to draw himself in his picture (which would be easier to do if Elmo didn't talk in 3rd. person!) Elmo then sings a song imagining his first day of school! (with animaed chalk drawings)
Elmo then decides to play "school" and enlists Alan to be his teacher. Alan gets Elmo drawing for "school" and then goes to deal with a testy AM customer. (He leaves him to deliberate between a tuna salad or egg salad sandwich. - Alan is constantly kept running back and forth between the customer(s) and Elmo's "school") Old MacDonald shows up and signs his kid up for Alan's "school". (The "kid" is a goat!) Alan reads the book the goat brought called "Tickle the Goat". (I was wondering if they were going for some sort of "Tickle Me Elmo" joke here) Another customer (a lady AM) comes in and orders a tuna salad sandwich- but then both customers wind up trying to decide between the egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches and Alan leaves them to decide as he goes back to check on Elmo (and a human boy and girl who have joined the class.) And Elmo suggests they should do the alphabet and so they sing the song.
Alan answers the customers' bugle call (they're celebrating because they've decided on something)- Alan deduces they want him to cut the sandwiches in half so they can each have some (but their idea actually involved a tractor!) Then they start deliberating between milk and juice. Alan goes back to his class, where an elephant (in a pink tutu) has come from Staten Island to join his class, especially for rhyming. So, Alan says a word and lets the class rhyme with it (and the elephant finally catches on after a few misfires.) Another bugle call brings Alan running back to the customers who have now decided to join Alan's class (and they'll eat the food during lunch period.) After this, Elmo gives Alan his drawing to keep (and it's a drawing of Elmo's favorite teacher- Mr. Alan! (as Elmo was calling him in his role as "Teacher")
Ending credits roll on a piece of notebook paper with animated kids' drawings rolling in the top of the screen with kids rapping about school (which I think is actually an older song done on Sesame Street before, but I'm not sure)

AND NOW-

BONUS FEATURE!

"Abby's First Day of School"

We start at The Fix-It Shop (okay, maybe nowadays it's The Mail-It Shop, but I still call it The Fix-It Shop!)- as it happens, Elmo has a broken windmill in Dorothy's bowl and Luis is going to fix it for him there at the shop. (So it seems no matter what business Maria and Luis are in- Sesame Street's residents still come to ask them for help with fixing things. Also, it was interesting to see Dorothy in her bowl out on the Street and not in "Elmo's World") Baby Bear then comes looking for Abby Cadabby (who they point out is a fairy goddaughter. Baby Bear mentions he loves saying her name- which I have to admit does have a fun ring to it.) Both are going to Storybook Community School (it's Abby's first day) and Baby Bear walks Abby to school. (Abby tried to go via magic at first, but came back because she didn't know how to get there). (And at school, we find out that Abby's mom is Cinderella's fairy godmother- thus, the reason Abby's at the Storybook school. -well, this was news to me, in any case.)
Mother Goose introduces Abby Cadabby to her classmates, as they sing the "Welcome" song for her. Abby vanishes at the end to go tell Elmo about it. Then she comes back just in time for "Show and Tell". (Mary shows her little lamb who does impressions of other animals, which the children guess.) Abby goes via magic to ask Elmo what she can show at "Show and Tell". Elmo and Luis suggest (as Baby Bear did before Abby left school) that she can show off her wand. Elmo uses Abby's wand by mistake and he then shows up at school. And Abby soon follows after him. And she shows Elmo off for "Show and Tell" because he's her friend. And then Mother Goose says Elmo can be their guest for the day and they sing him the "Welcome" song!

....................
Okay- and that's it. I love how earlier on Baby Bear comments about Red Riding Hood to Abby- "She thinks everyone's her grandma"! (as Red keeps addressing everyone with her "My, what big ______ you have, Grandma" phrase)
And Abby and Elmo keep reappearing at school and landing on top of Jack, who naturally breaks his crown. Jill keeps telling him it's okay and taking him aside to help him with his wounds- at one point she tells him- "Walk it off, Jack". I laughed at that.

This one I'm pretty positive is in fact a "Street" storyline- and it was fun for me to see Abby Cadabby, as this was the first time I've finally seen her on Sesame Street. And I think Abby makes for a nice addition- I wonder how Oscar will take having another cutesy person on the Street- just when he'd gotten sorta used to Elmo...

Anyway- it's a fun video with some current "Street" storylines that are all about getting ready for school, so the video certainly accomplishes its purpose. However, I still would have liked to have seen some more classic clips included in the video, or at least included as bonus features, like we had on the "Kids' Favorite Country Songs" video.
Oh well- at least there's "Sesame Street- Old School Volume 2" to look forward to!

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Oh yeah- here's something to whet your appetite. I've recently tracked down a copy of "Zoe's Dance Moves", one of the few older Sesame Street video releases I still haven't seen and have been wanting to comment on. So look for a review of that one coming pretty soon!

 

[minor muppetz]

The Mail-It Shop was turned back into the Fix-It Shop again last season (with no episodes explaining or showing the change), so it was the Fix-It Shop. And the bonus feature is probably 15 minutes long. I've heard that the DVD is 60 minutes long, so if the main program is 45 minutes long, then it was probably counting the bonus feature when listing the run time.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Okay, come to think of it- 15 minutes does sound about right.

And I didn't realize that about The Fix-It Shop, though I'm glad for the change. It's nice to have a place like that that actually repairs televisions and toasters and such. And I just like that better than The Mail-It Shop. Perhaps after hiring Grover as an employee, Maria and Luis had second thoughts- and they decided to reopen The Fix-It Shop- and Grover went back to drive Fat Blue crazy at Charlie's Restaurant!

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Do You Wanna Dance?

Okay, here's a review for the Sesame Street video- "Zoe's Dance Moves"
(2003 video, approximately 40 minutes run time.)
(Special guest star- Paula Abdul)

On the DVD, besides the usual stuff- play story, chapters, and previews... there's also a bonus feature- a brief interview with Paula Abdul, talking about her history with dance and inspirations (she mentions loving "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly as one of her all time favorite dancers- that's cool- he's one of my favs. too- and "Singing in the Rain" is a great movie! And of course, Gene Kelly was also a guest star on The Muppet Show! Just thought I'd point that out. ) And you can hear Paula's thoughts on Zoe and Elmo.

Anyway- on to the plot.

Plot- "Zoe's Dance Moves" title screen comes up on a theater stage with a purple curtain (which, of course, reminded me of The Muppet Show stage!)

-The video opens with Zoe and Elmo about to start their first dance class. Zoe has her pink tutu on and Elmo claims to have his dancing shoes on, but then realizes he's not wearing any and he has to go back and get them. Zoe goes on toward the room for the dance lesson as a bunch of kids come out and go by her. The dance instructor (Paula Abdul) comes and tells her that the class is over. But she's about to work on a new dance and so she asks Zoe to help her with the dance.
Zoe and Paula warm up their bodies first with ballet.
- Jumps to animated drawings of ballet dancers (We can hear Paula and Zoe commenting thoughout all these clips).
-Then some live action ballet dancers dance- and Big Bird and Snuffy join them- as well as a girl in a wheelchair (but I don't think it's the same kid that was on the Street for a while as I had first thought.)
-Then we jump to a live girl in a dance leotard in a studio dancing.
-Then we see a live girl in a dress dancing outside.
-Jump to a clip of a live girl dressed in native African wear dancing African style with 2 green, blue and yellow monsters. (These are the same ones that show up briefly in the Sesame Street 25th. Anniversary special)
Back in the dance studio, Paula and Zoe work on African dancing. Zoe momentarily gets frustrated because she can't get it- and Paula reminds her that's why they keep practicing. And they move on.
- Jump to clip of live kids in African tribal wear dancing in a park. (Zoe and Paula are still commenting throughout)
- Cartoon of purple and pink birds dancing to a drum beat that alligator is playing.
In the studio, Paula and Zoe now try some Asian dance. (Looks like they've got some "Karate Kid" moves going on!)
-Clip of live Asian girl dressed in red, dancing with sticks with those same monsters from before. (Zoe and Paula comment throughout again)
-live girls in Asian traditional wear do a dance in a park.
-live boy dressed in red dances with a big Asian banner that has a Muppet monster head. (You know, one of those things a bunch of people walk under in those Chinese New Year's parades)
Paula and Zoe now try some Silly Willy Nilly dancing. (Zoe's creation)
-Jump to clip of live girl and animated purple octopus doing a dance.
-live girls and boys and adults do some silly dancing to a song about body part and how they move (and how you can use them to dance)
-cartoon of yellow man dancing with purple cat (Man has to keep correcting cat on how to do his dance- and cat keeps throwing in his own version)- (Paula and Zoe resume commenting here)
Back in the studio, Zoe and Paula do a bit of tap dancing.
-Savion does his rhyming game in a park- doing a bit of rapping and tapping (tap dancing, that is!)
-CGI style man and woman dressed in tuxedos do a bit of tap dancing (Paula and Zoe comment again)
-live clip of 3 business men doing different dance styles to a hip hop song on a radio one of them has. (In the end, they learn to dance together and wave on the bus when it comes by, choosing to dance to work instead!- I remember seeing this one as a kid- classic! )
Paula and Zoe practice some hip hop dancing as some kids come up and ask to join in.
-Jump to live clip of lots of girls and a few men and boys from different cultures and heritages doing different dances.
At the studio, Elmo shows backs up with his dance shoes and the kids, Paula, Zoe and Elmo all do their "Everything" dance (this is the dance that Paula and Zoe have finished choreographing)
Paula explains how to do all the dance steps- ballet, African, Asian, Silly Willy Nilly Dance (at this point, one of the boys decides to flash us- LOL), tap dancing and hip hop.
And they take some time to keep practicing as Paula goes to give individual instruction- and Zoe helps Elmo with the hip hop moves.
- Jump to live clip of various male and female dancers who, one at a time, start dancing while others remain perfectly still. (And then they dance together)- (Paula and Zoe are also commenting again during this one)
In the studio, everyone is ready to dance! And we get to see the whole thing set to music! (Twice!- On the first time, the camera's on everyone- but on the second time, there's more individual shots.)
- End credits roll with the "Dancing Shoes" song playing, featuring Christian Gospel singers BeBe and CeCe Winans. (Look for them, Elmo, Bert, Ernie and the Count all in the video- there's also a kid wearing a shirt pretty similar to Ernie's trademark shirt!)
And Zoe pops up one last time at the end of this to remind you that if you want to dance with them again, just go back to the beginning!

Concluding thoughts-
Well, this was a pretty fun little video. It certainly should encourage little kids (I'm thinking mostly girls, but boys are included in the video) to get up and dance. And we get to hear Zoe say her trademark "Don't joke me" line a few times. And aside from a few cameos in songs from Big Bird, Snuffy, Bert, Ernie, and The Count- the main stars of this video are Zoe and Elmo. And actually, it's really Zoe who is on here the most. And it's nice to see Zoe hold her own on a video. I can't say that there's an overwhelming amount of classic clips or anything- but there are a few classics I remember that are pretty cool- mainly the hip hop song with the 3 businessmen and the "Dancing Shoes" song at the end.
It's worth a view- and would probably be one of those videos kids want to see over and over again in order to practice and perfect the dance moves! Splish Splash-Get your dancing shoes on!

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Do you need to go potty? Elmo can help you!

Okay, well, I finally had a valid excuse to watch "Elmo's Potty Time" (nephew in potty-training)

So I have in fact viewed this video and I may try to have more of a full review on here at some point.
This is a 2006 home video release with a run time of about 45 minutes.
I don't know that there's any really classic clips of any sort included on the video, but there are a few cute new ones.
The main plot involves Elmo discussing using the potty with his father and after he ventures out onto the Street, Elmo continues this conversation with the young viewers. He encounters Gordon and Baby Bear at the 123 stoop, where they talk about various words people use for urination and excretion and the associated by-products.
(There's even a segment shown where live kids name all the various things they call their poop and peepee- LOL!)
And later on, Elmo runs into Grover who is frantically trying to make it to Hooper's Store to get to the bathroom. After Grover relieves himself (wow- that is SO weird to say about a puppet-LOL) he and Elmo discuss the importance of going to the bathroom as soon as you feel the urge to go.
And they sing a song about it!
And Elmo also helps Baby Bear coax his sister, Curly Bear, to go to the bathroom when she needs to go. (She's gone in hiding under a table in the courtyard area). Gina shows up and takes Curly to the bathroom to help her.
By the end of the video, we find out that Curly has successfully used the potty! Oh, and there's also a scene with Elmo and Prairie Dawn where they discuss going from diapers to underwear and both wax nostalgic upon the day they got their first pair of underpants. (wow- there are so many points in this video that I just have to crack up laughing about-LOL)
And Elmo and Prairie Dawn also argue a bit about the 3 (or is it 4?) things you need to do after using the bathroom. Make sure to flush. Wipe yourself with toilet paper. And wash your hands. (I believe the discrepancy comes with whether or not washing and drying your hands is 1 or 2 steps.)
Anyway, I can't recall there being very many (if any) segments on Sesame Street really devoted to using the bathroom (at least not when I was watching it as a kid), so I can't imagine there would be many classic segments to draw from. Though I do believe the "Water Wasteroon" song is played on the video. And by the way, Grover is actually voiced by the original master here- Frank Oz! Yeah! So I suppose it's worth watching to see Frank Oz return as Grover- and hear him and Elmo sing a song about what to do when you have to poop and pee- which is way too funny just to hear Grover and Elmo saying those words. LOL)
As always, it certainly accomplishes its purpose and helps allay kids' fears and concerns about using the potty. This certainly makes a great tool for parents to use with their kids.

(If I got a chance later on, I may try to have a more in-depth review, as I said. But that's what I can recall from memory there.)

I do believe most of the individual Sesame Street home video releases have been reviewed on here by this point.
However, whenever some new ones come along, those can always be added.
And I suppose it would be good to get the reviews for the Play With Me Sesame home video releases on here too. (Though in that case, I'd mainly be interested in the sketches and songs included- because the format of the show is its own thing altogether.)