Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

The name Elmo is recognizable worldwide. The furry, sweet, and cute red puppet is an icon, but do you know who the man is that gives Elmo his signature voice? Being Elmo: A Puppetteer's Journey introduces us to Kevin Clash, the first African-American to work as a Muppeteer and the heart and soul of Elmo. He came from Baltimore with a dream to work with Jim Henson and now is a pivotal piece in the Sesame Street puzzle. As a kid, Clash was inspired by television shows such as Captain Kangaroo and, of course, Sesame Street, and his passion became making puppets and letting them come to life. He watched and observed what he saw on these shows and spent a lot of his high school days perfecting his craft. He got his big break by performing his puppeteering on a local TV show and from there the sky was the limit. Or for his case it was working with the one and only Jim Henson. Not only does Clash get to meet and work for him, but they form a friendship before Henson passed away. Directors Constance Marks and Philip Shane put together a captivating and engaging documentary for all ages. It is a gentle, sweet, and inspiring story about a man who pursued his dreams and achieved it. Now this doesn't mean he hasn't made sacrifices or missed some valuable time with his daughter because he has. It hasn't been easy and making puppets in high school is certainly going to get you teased and made fun of, but Clash lets nothing or no one stand in his way, and has amazing support from his parents which some children are not lucky enough to get. Seeing how much Elmo means to Clash is heart touching, but what Elmo means to kids is just mind-blowing. And when a sick child's one wish is to meet Elmo, Clash still can't believe he gets to play a part in making it come true. This documentary is infectious and moving on so many levels. Clash is a genius when it comes to his puppeteering, but is also just a nice, genuine guy who loves what he does. He carries on the dedication, passion, and magic that Henson started. Being Elmo is uplifting and only proves that you really can do anything you want, but you must have the focus and hard work or you may just keep reaching for a dream and never actually grabbing it. You just can't go wrong with a feel-good film like this, and the fact that it is a true story makes it that much better.

The super-sweet story of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo and a variety of other characters, which doubles as a heartwarming look back at the atmosphere behind the scenes with Jim Henson's troupe in the glory days. Clash is a master at his craft, a by-product of spending every afternoon since childhood with an arm inside a furry marionette, and when he's not on the air with the cast of Sesame Street, he's contentedly passing that knowledge on to the next generation. It's an attitude he inherited from Henson and his close associate Kermit Love, who took Kevin under their wing and showed him the ropes without any pretense or hesitation. Too often we're too concerned with job security to share the intimate details of our craft with others, least of all the rising stars, but Love and Henson adopted Clash with selfless warmth and care, a lesson he hasn't forgotten and continues to roll forward to others today. They're a perfect embodiment of everything The Muppets have stood for, complete with a contagious smile that didn't leave my face for hours.