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Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird More at IMDbPro »

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42 reviews in total

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
What a great childrens film that is fun for parents too!, 4 October 2002

Author: Michael1958 from Fairfax, Va

This is a wonderful film for children ages 8 and under. Parents of children that age will be very grateful for a childrens film which has zero bathroom humor or any other crudity. Now I am no prude, but in a day and age when young children are treated to scenes of wart hogs with gas (Lion King) or the sight of a dog hiking it's leg to relieve itself with a commentary(Homeward Bound), it is just nice to have something completely harmless for the little ones. I had to comment because this film deserved more than just to have a listing of: In Memory of Waylon Jennings. This film is a credit to the wonderful creativity of people like Jim Henson, who put quality children programs ahead of the easier, poorly made childrens fare.

Michael

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
My first movie!, 22 March 2000
Author: Monika-5 from United States

This was the very first movie I ever saw at a theater. I was six years old and my grandma took me to see it. We both loved it. My memories are kind of fuzzy, as I haven't seen Follow That Bird since. But I remember being really sad because Big Bird was separated from his loved ones at Sesame Street. And I remember the gang trying to find him. And I remember, when the movie was over, how happy I was and how much fun I had.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Jim's overlooked classic!, 16 October 2005

Author: Tommy Nelson from Long Beach, California

stars: Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty. cameos: Waylon Jennings, Chevy Chase, Sandra Bernhard, John Candy and others.

Muppeteers: Carol Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar.

Frank Oz as Bert, Grover and Cookie Monster.

Jim Henson as Ernie and Kermit the frog.

Martin P. Robinson as Telly and Snuffolupogous.

Jerry Nelson as the Count.

Richard Hunt as Gladys, Sully, Elmo and others.

Great movie! It's about a group of birds deciding that Big Bird is lonely and relocating him with an adopted Bird family. Because he doesn't like the family, he runs away. Kermit the frog comes on the news telling everyone and Maria, Gordon, Oscar, The Count, Telly, Grover, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert and many others go searching for him by car, by helicopter and by flying(Super Grover). Great family fun for everyone. Even though it is based on an educational TV show, there isn't any numbers or learning here. It's got some really fun and funny moments and will has a sentimental value in my heart! rated G. 84 mins. my rating-A minus.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
The cutest movie ever made?, 11 August 2007

Author: heelsgirl from Lowell, MA USA

I've had this movie ever since I was a little girl and I remember someone asking me, "Why do you still have a Sesame Street movie in your video collection?" I tell them one, because it has a wonderful storyline attached to it; two, because it features the world-famous Jim Henson's Muppets and three, I don't mind my children watching it with me. Come to think of it, I wouldn't even be embarrassed if my children saw me watching it all by myself. It's that kind of movie, I loved it then and I still love it today.

You have to give Sesame Street credit, it's the longest running children's show on television, it's audience has grown to more than 1 million viewers, many were children when the show began in 1969 and are now introducing it to their children. You can take Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine, Teletubbies or even the Wiggles but give me Big Bird and Kermit the Frog any day.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A family movie that doesn't exclude or preach, 16 November 1998
Author: Bobby20 from Tullahoma, TN

"Follow That Bird" attempts to take a show written for pre-schoolers and present it to a larger audience. Not only that, they attempt to create a film that is both entertaining and enlightening. For this reviewer, they succeed magnificently. There are many "in-jokes," so to speak, in this movie -- anyone who has ever watched the show will laugh whenever one of the characters asks, "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?" and the normal audience of Sesame Street will still be amused by their favorite characters, while learning something about friendship and the meaning of family. Sesame Street, the TV show, was rather daring in that it showed black, white, green, purple, furry, and ... other ... living in perfect harmony. Except for Oscar the Grouch!

And, speaking of Oscar, one of the many funny bits (this movie is packed with them, and all of the humor is safe for family viewing) is the Grouch diner. Look for Sandra Bernhard as a Grouch waitress. The cameos in this film are something else; Chevy Chase, John Candy, Sandra Bernhard, even Waylon Jennings, all devoted some of their time and talent to making this roundly enjoyable movie. And listen for the voice of Sally Kellerman as Miss Finch, the social worker from the Feathered Friends Society.

Not that all of this movie is funny and light-hearted. There's a few sad moments with Big Bird -- I always get choked up during the "One Shining Star" song, which features a three-part counterpoint with Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Olivia all singing about Big Bird being safe back at home. And the Sleaze Brothers' scenes are thinly disguised cartoon villainry. I don't know if any of the Sesame Street characters have SEEN villains before -- Oscar is the closest they have, but he's just Grouchy. He doesn't actually hurt anyone, and the Sleaze Brothers start out nice and friendly to Big Bird.

We learn quite a bit during this movie -- we learn that we should never order tossed salad in a Grouch restaurant, for example. We learn that it's never ok to jump from a moving vehicle -- unless we have Gordon's permission. And we learn our real home is where the people love and care about us. But, perhaps the most important lesson is that there are 258 fabulous credits! Hahahahahaha! (thunder and lightning sound here) And, from the filmmakers we learn that you CAN make a family film that includes the entire family (how many times have "family films" been suitable only for those family members still in diapers?) and refuses to preach? One of the many strengths of the Sesame Street characters is their ability to teach a lesson without shoving it down our throats. We never feel threatened or annoyed by these characters; we're always safe and welcome on Sesame Street.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Big Bird's Road Movie, 29 February 2008

Author: Charles_Hardy from Outside Hollywood

In the spirit and tradition of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Sesame Street makes a road trip movie for kids to watch. At a time when things were good in America and Sesame Street was a top rated children's show, Jim Henson took his characters from the television screen to theater screens. A time when Big Bird is not sure that Sesame Street is the right place for him, a six and a half foot yellow bird. Who would have thought?

Ken Kwapis directs this beautifully done film with great landscapes and cinematography to boost. Back when this film was made, Henson was still alive and performing with the muppeteers, along with old friend Frank Oz. All the main Sesame Street characters on the show at the time were cast into this film, which enriches its wonderlust for children of all ages. After all these years, "Follow That Bird" is still loads of fun to watch.

Considering that this is a children's movie (we're all children at heart), I give this film an 8.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
great music and movie for the whole family even the kids, 28 June 2007

Author: samcracc from United States florida

Follow That Bird is a five star event that has spectacular music. In my opinion Follow That Bird is a movie the whole family will enjoy. My favorite part is when the Muppet patrons order tossed salad and the Muppet Grouch cook gives them what they ordered via slingshot. Big Bird of Sesame Street is much smarter than the DoDo family of Canary Road. Like their name the Dodos behave extremely ridiculous and Big Bird would rather return to his familiar surroundings Sesame Street. Sandra Berhnard played a Grouch waitress and John Candy played the state trooper both were excellent. The movie was filmed in Canada. The scenery was peaceful rural farmland with fields of corn. Other notable characters, Sally Kellerman sweet voice suited Miss finch. Buy the movie you will love it!

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A real fun movie that kids will love and adults will enjoy, 3 January 2004
Author: bob the moo

The bird adoption agency comes across the case of Big Bird - who lives alone with no other birds around him. Working for the agency, Miss Finch convinces Bird to leave Sesame Street and move across America to live with the Dodo Family. When Bird misses his friends he leaves his new home to walk back home - not aware of how far it is. On his journey he meets many people, but several groups are out looking for him too - including all his friends from Sesame Street, a pair of circus owners and none other than Miss Finch herself.

Sesame Street is the benchmark for children's television forever as far as I'm concerned - educational and entertaining, it did such a good job that it took me years of school before I stopped pronouncing Z `zee' and did it properly as `zed'. This film version turns off the straight educational part of the service but ups the entertainment. The plot is a good excuse for a freewheeling adventure that has plenty of laughs. Big Bird's sections are a little slower, truth be told, but the supporting searches are very light and funny - Bird has to carry the message so it's fair it should be less funny.

The message takes over the educational stuff and is a nicely put one about accepting differences and still being friends. It isn't heavily made until the end, where the `with your own kind' argument is hammered home. This is a little heavy handed but can be forgiven due to the level of enjoyment the film gives. While not aiming at adults per se, the film has plenty for them - the humour never aims low but should be enjoyed by adults and children alike. The funniest `adult' laugh is accidental and is where Maria turns to Sandra Bernhard and says `I'd like a tossed salad'! Unintentional laugh of course as the `other' meaning of that wasn't really known in the early 80's! Sorry - I'm just twisted! Outside of that the biggest laugh I had that kids won't get was the homage to North By Northwest's crop duster scene.

The cast is great. All the old Muppets from the street are here, although it may upset young fans to see Elmo sidelined to a silent appearance at a window but the rest are good stuff. Bird himself is a little dry but the rest are very funny in small amounts - Grover, Count, Cookie Monster and Oscar all had good lines, as did Ernie & Bert, but Telly is kind of the Muppet nobody really likes! The human cast of Sesame Street are cheerful and light - as you would expect, but it is the good cameos that spice it up. Chase has a great moment, Kermit reprises his reporter role but is clearly too big for this movie, Kellerman, Candy and Flaherty all have very small roles, although Flaherty has the best song.

Overall this is a very enjoyable movie that is perfectly pitched for adults and children - without doing what Pixar do and separating the material for each taste. The songs are not that great and there is at least one poor one in there, but the film has a fun energy to it that is wholesome but still entertaining and has great dialogue from start to finish. Love it!

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
An odd but enjoyable ride, 27 February 2001

Author: Hotoil

I must say, this movie has a strange feel to it. It says Sesame Street, we see all our favorite Muppets and humans from the show, but it's the most un-Sesame Street atmosphere we've ever seen them in. Even the scenes on Sesame Street are odd, because it's not the 'studio' Sesame Street, it's a much wider, more 3-dimensional area. Theres no counting, singing of the alphebet, any of the things we commonly associate with Sesame Street. It's just all the characters in a road flick that borders on 'action/adventure movie' with some catchy songs.

All in all, it feels more like a regular Muppet movie, just with the SS Muppets instead (of course that transcending legend, Kermit the Frog, has an appearence). It's cute, although I imagine some small children could be scared by some tense parts, it's long, but it's a pretty good movie. I actually think adults who grew up on Sesame Street got a bigger kick out of it then kids, who will probably want Big Bird to start playing word games with them again.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Timeless, 31 October 2000

Author: xvorgana from Wilkes-Barre, PA

Let me just preface this by saying that I'm a 16 year old male, so a lot of these comments may seem out of place for my demographic, but who cares?

This movie epitomized my childhood. I can't tell you how worn out my copy is from 14 years of hard work amusing me. In a way, I learned to talk through this movie (I'm told I used to scream "Easy Goin' Mommy!" during the Easy Going song). The Bluebird scene has to be one of the most depressing scenes in any film in the history of man. I'm actively pursuing sheet music so that I can perform "One Little Star" with my friends in my school's Cabaret. What does all this have to do with, you ask?

OK, fine. From my point of view, this is a perfect children's move, and a good movie for all ages. All of the adults I've shown it to (especially the ones without kids) have thooroughly enjoyed the in-jokes ("Now for the weather. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?") and appreciated the way the film was made overall. It has a way of getting to kids and making them appreciate the parents and family they have, and it also has a way of speaking to parents and making them fully realize how gifted they are to have their children. The way Maria, Olivia, Gordon and Linda went on a wild goose chase in the middle of nowheresville, USA to try and get back Big Bird, even breaking and entering the carnival tent, shows just how muchof a parental bond they'd formed with Big Bird.

I could go on, but they only give me so much space here. So, in summary: great movie. Watch it with your kids, watch it alone, but I promise you'll enjoy it.

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