I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story

Seriously you will run through a gamut of emotions watching this. It's undeniable the amount of positivity that jim henson and his friends put forth into this world. Caroll spinney being one of the most important of them. You can see that this man puts out pure love into the world. Even if you aren't a sesame street fan or muppets fan, which i don't know who you are, you should watch this. It'll reach into all of your soul ans make you smile and cry and wish this man were still alive putting greatness out into the world. He is missed but luckily the impact that he made can only assure us that there is more good in the world thanks to him.

Open Sesame cause you Spinney me round round, baby round round in a BIG way. I am referring to Carroll Spinney, the master puppeteer who has longtime played the infamous Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. "I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story" is a masterful documentary that takes a look at Spinney's life; from his almost fifty years playing Big Bird & Oscar the Grouch, his rough childhood, his near losses of life, his friendship with his legendary late boss Jim Henson, to his beautiful longstanding relationship with his wife Debbie. But it's his love passion for the Big Bird that highlights this touching documentary. Directors Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker direct the movie with a layered auteur touch. My letter of the day for "I am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story" is a big "A". ***** Excellent

"He didn't fit in, and he knew it." Frank Oz

I Am Big Bird: the Caroll Spinney Story is a big, feel good doc about the man under the bird for over 40 years. While Big Bird is arguably the best known animal icon for kids in the world, relatively few know the soul of that puppet, much less the workings of its animated presence on Sesame Street.

Caroll Spinney's story, as told in this documentary for all ages, is an upbeat survey of a life well lived for children by him and other geniuses like Jim Henson, for whom puppets were an expression of the highest creativity even when the circumstances are not as perfect as the kids' perception of Big Bird.

Directors Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker do not sugar coat or dumb down Spinney's story: He was initially wracked with doubt about his abilities, his director did not like him for unknown reasons, and his role was alone amidst the very social other members and roles of the cast. Yet out of this isolation came a character that showed his humanity in ways different from everyone else, to such a successful extent that NASA invited him to fly with Challenger. That role's last minute cancellation spared Spinney's life and saved him for generations of youngsters.

The Challenger tragedy and his contemplation of suicide keep this doc from being too sweet, peppering it with the kind of reality Sesame Street never shied away from, and in the case of Henson's death, was able to turn the grief into a lesson for the kids.

The real winner of this film is the subject himself, Carrol Spinney. The film making itself is pretty straight-ahead, and the sound track is lousy (No percussion at all? Who's idea was that? This is a movie of men and muppets, for the love of puppetry give us an occasional rhythm or beat!).

That said, Carrol Spinney, the man behind the bird and the grouch, really carries the film just by being himself. Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch are iconic world-renowned characters that continue to enjoy a long legacy. And Mr. Spinney demonstrates himself to be a person full of creativity, love, joy, pain, and a genuine passion for his work and for his wife.

I would recommend this film as a solidly entertaining watch with lasting pathos. The subject is very strong and magnetic, despite the bland filmmaking and schmaltzy soundtrack.

This film is all about the life and work of Carroll Spinney, the puppeteer responsible for Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch from "Sesame Street". Unlike many of the other Muppet folks, Spinney generally did not do other characters (like on "The Muppet Show") and a major portion of the documentary is about the life and history of Big Bird. It's all very interesting and touching--especially if you grew up with these characters. It's also depressing, as the film also talks about the untimely death of Jim Henson--and I challenge any Muppet fan to watch this with dry eyes. Because of that, at times, the film is a bit depressing to watch...which isn't a problem unless you are already depressed.

By the way, this film is NOT captioned...which really sucks as my youngest wasn't able to enjoy the film unless I sat there translating it into sign language.