Big Bird in China (1983)

Big Bird and his Sesame Street companion, Barkley, the big, fluffy dog, travel across China in search of the legendary Feng Huang, the Phoenix Bird. Along the way they visit with Chinese ... See full summary »

Director:

Jon Stone

Writers:

Jon Stone, Joseph A. Bailey,

Stars:

Caroll Spinney, Brian Muehl, Frank Oz

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Caroll Spinney	...	Big Bird / Oscar the Grouch (voice)
Brian Muehl	...	Barkley / Telly (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Bert / Cookie Monster / Grover (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Two-Headed Monster (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Two-Headed Monster (voice)
Cheryl Blaylock	...	Additional Muppet Performer (voice)
Martin P. Robinson	...	Telly (DVD Version) / Additional Muppet Performer (voice)
Jim Henson	...	Ernie (voice)
Arabella Hong	...	The Shopkeeper
Quan She-Zhen	...	Monkey King
Liu Xio-Shen	...	Monkey King
Xu Tien-Ed	...	Monkey King
Lu Fu-Hai	...	Monkey King
Wu Chi-Lian	...	Monkey King
Li Jiang	...	Monkey King

Storyline

Big Bird and his Sesame Street companion, Barkley, the big, fluffy dog, travel across China in search of the legendary Feng Huang, the Phoenix Bird. Along the way they visit with Chinese schoolchildren, watch a Tai Ji demonstration, learn some Chinese words and songs, and meet the mischievous Monkey King.

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Plot Keywords:

bird | sesame street | china | dog | travel | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Music

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Details

Country:

China USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 May 1983 (USA)

Filming Locations:

China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Children's Television Workshop (CTW), China Central Television (CCTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When this was released on DVD, about one minute of footage was cut which involved Big Bird looking for someone who spoke "American" (meaning, of course, English, but he didn't know it was called that).

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Goofs

When Barkley sniffs the hand-cart, he has the sand-glass around his neck a full 19 minutes before Xiao Foo places it around his neck.

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Connections

Followed by Big Bird in Japan (1988)

User Reviews

Good introduction for young children

This movie does a fairly good job of introducing the Chinese to the very young viewers of America. It demonstrates that China is a beautiful place with wonderful people and a fascinating history. It shows only the beginnings of the cultural differences, which is is good in that it doesn't overwhelm the young viewers.

Children will enjoy the show again and again. There are typical Sesame Street moments throughout the show that will be familiar to American Children who watch the Sesame Street regularly. However, where Sesame Street is an hour long collection of skits and vignettes, this is an hour long story with a single plot (and less counting).

Parents will enjoy the show the first time, but then will quickly yearn for more substantial information about China, her culture, history, and her people.