Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey is a delightful documentary that will bring out your inner child with incredible ease and charm. It doesn't take much for Being Elmo to win you over, and it's short enough to actually make you want more. Coupled with last year's release of The Muppets, it's part of a very welcome one-two punch of cheerfulness and felt and (are we allowed to use this word anymore?) nostalgia, only this one features a little less song and dance.
The film's focus is, in fact, Kevin Clash, the guy who transformed Elmo from a scarcely used character on Sesame Street to a genuine made man. Directors Constance Marks and Philip Shane are understandably unafraid to discuss Elmo's total lordship in the realm of modern Muppets, but Clash is humbler, and that comes from his modest upbringing. Born outside of Baltimore, Clash fell in love at a very early age with the magical worlds brought to life by Jim Henson. He started making his own puppets, even going so far as to destroy his father's coat in order to utilize its precious material. And early on, both of his parents realized he had a gift. They nurtured it and encouraged him, despite the taunts and teases such a childlike hobby brought on at school. And Kevin never lost sight of what he loved. He eventually turned his hobby into a TV gig in Baltimore, which blossomed into a job on the Captain Kangaroo show, and finally a career on Sesame Street. There, he had trouble finding his footing, but when a frustrated colleague threw a furry red creature in his lap, he created a personality, Elmo, that's familiar to just about every kid in America and beyond.
It's hard to make a film like this not feel overly saccharine, but Marks and Shane are successful at just that. Unlike, say, Buck, which I felt reveled in the bad things, this film celebrates a gift. It's about Clash's success, but it never becomes garish in the way it praises its subject. Clash is painted simply as a normal guy who is good at what he does—the right approach for something that could easily become a little silly.
I found the film's portrayal of Jim Henson more than a little intriguing. As an enormous Muppets fan (still rocking the Rowlf profile picture on Twitter), I hold their creator in very high esteem. Clash obviously does, as well, but the film doesn't do much to lionize the man. At one point, Clash details one of his first times working with the man. It's a commercial, and he's such a bundle of nerves around his idol that he's forced to write down his couple lines on cards because he can't remember them. Rather than boost his confidence in some way, Clash says Henson just asked him why he couldn't remember. The tone seemed snide, and Clash's subsequent embarrassment caused me to take pause. What are Clash and the filmmakers trying to say with this anecdote? Of course, the film also deals with Henson's tragic death, which is a real tearjerker of a scene. Keep some tissues handy.
I'm a big fan of documentaries, though I know it's not the most popular genre. Being Elmo, however, is something all moviegoers should be able to enjoy. Young and old, everyone knows Elmo, and this intimate behind-the-scenes look at how he and his friends were created is easily digestible and completely joyful.
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