Sundance 2011 Review: BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER'S JOURNEY
If you grew up watching Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, or anything involving Jim Henson, then Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is a must-see. Actually, it's a must-see for anyone with a beating heart. Constance Marks' documentary is the feel-good story of Sundance 2011, and it's a phenomenal celebration of dedication and dreams achieved.
The film's subject is Kevin Clash, the man (and voice) behind Elmo. We follow Kevin's story from his early days, hearing about his childhood in Baltimore and his fascination with puppets, going so far as to create homemade creatures of his own. Inspired by the likes of Captain Kangaroo and Jim Henson, Kevin battled ridicule and financial obstacles in order to make his hobby a profession, and his passion comes through in every frame of this movie.
Content-wise, Being Elmo is the diametric opposite of a film like Hobo With A Shotgun (my previous favorite film of the festival, now an unknown number near the top of the list); but in execution, the two movies are not all that different. Both exploit the audience and play on our expectations, pandering in all the right ways and giving us exactly what we want (and sometimes more). Sure, one does it with insane and over-the-top violence and the other does it with a charming story about seemingly one of the nicest guys in the world, but the manipulation is the same. Do I fault Elmo for this manipulation? Not in the slightest, and that's because I'm complicit in the act; I'm willing to go along with it for the sake of a feel-good story, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. There's no darkness in this movie, no look at the objective "other side"; this film is as one-sided as any movie I've ever seen, but as long as we're aware of what the director is trying to do, then we can move forward and form our opinions from there.
I sincerely hope this gets picked up so everyone has access to this movie. It's not only a great story of perseverance, it's also a really cool behind-the-scenes peek into the work of Jim Henson and how the Muppets are made and operated. It pulls back the curtain on an art which most of us have never given a second thought, but one to which some wildly talented people have devoted their lives. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is a superb documentary, but above all it's a heartwarming account of the love of performance and the special people that pass down their talent to the next generation.