I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story (2014)

Caroll Spinney has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969; at 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.

Directors:

Dave LaMattina, Chad N. Walker (as Chad Walker)

Writer:

Dave LaMattina

Stars:

Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson, Frank Oz

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Frank Oz	...	Himself
Jim Henson	...	Additional Muppets / Himself (archive footage)
Roscoe Orman	...	Himself
Caroll Spinney	...	Himself
Steve Whitmire	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sonia Manzano	...	Herself
Jerry Nelson	...	Himself
Alison Bartlett	...	Herself
Emilio Delgado	...	Himself
Dave Goelz	...	Himself
Eric Jacobson	...	Himself
Bob McGrath	...	Himself
Fran Brill	...	Herself
Loretta Long	...	Herself
Matt Vogel	...	Himself

Storyline

Think you know everything there is to know about Sesame Street? You don't. You might know that Frank Oz turned down an offer to play Big Bird, but you probably don't know that until a last minute change of heart by NASA, Big Bird was supposed to go to space aboard the Challenger. Or you may know that Oscar the Grouch got his voice from a cantankerous cabbie, but you'd be surprised to learn that a fire in his trash can almost led to Caroll's untimely demise. Caroll's stories are the stuff of legend. He has been a constant presence in our lives for over 40 years, his path weaving through American history like that of Forrest Gump. His time inside the Bird has taught him about the world and about himself. I AM BIG BIRD will peel away the instances in Caroll's life that inspired his creation of characters that influenced generations of children. And, as the yellow feathers give way to gray hair, it is the man, not the puppet, who will steal your heart.

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Plot Keywords:

sesame street | puppeteer | the muppets | puppetry | 

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Taglines:

Big Bird guided you through childhood. Let Caroll take you the rest of the way.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Am Big Bird

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,000, 10 May 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$13,000, 10 May 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Copper Pot Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was partially funded by fan donations. More than $120,000 was raised for the film after people donated amounts between $1 and $10,000.

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Quotes

Sonia Manzano: I have always loved Big Bird because he's... complicated. So he has a lot of emotional qualities that a lot of the Muppets don't have.

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Alternate Versions

A segment about an incident where a caretaker of the Spinney property hit a jogger with his car and hid the body in a shed without the Spinney's knowledge was removed from the film when it was released on VOD and iTunes.

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Connections

Features The Daily Show (1996)

User Reviews

Deeply touching and heartfelt.

I never binge watched Sesame Street as a child, but I always loved the Muppets and Jim Henson's creations.

The Carol Spinney story is particularly moving, as it showcases that despite having a rough family life, Spinney chose to be nice to people, and make children happy by becoming Big Bird.

Big Bird deals with situations the way an innocent little child would do. And Carol is additionally able to deal with all the hurt and pain that happened in his life by hiding behind the bird and carrying on entertaining millions of people around the world.

Definitely worth a watch!