I Am Big Bird

I was not expecting much from a documentary about a member of Sesame Street, but I was happily proved wrong when I Am Big Bird sent me through a roller coaster of emotions. Carroll Spinney is the actual Big Bird, and a seemingly wonderful human being, at that; you could relate to his childish nature, the pain he felt through life struggles, the anxiety and passion of doing what he loved to do, etc. There were too many touching moments within the film to count, but the most touching to me was Spinney singing "It's Not Easy Being Green" at Jim Henson's funeral memorial service; if you didn't cry at that scene, I am impressed by your resolve or lack of emotion. What's really sweet about this documentary is that not only does it look at the world through Spinney's, it also take the perspective of the world looking back at Spinney through the decades. It shows how he and Big Bird (and let's not forget Oscar!) affected the world around them, from simple things--like bringing happiness to children around the world--to much bigger things--like warming China up to American culture and saving PBS from an attack on its funding. Big Bird is a massive cultural staple in the United States that people tend to forget about once their childhood innocence begins to fade; this film, I think, reminded us just why we all loved him in the first place, and why he'll always be around.