So this one is kind of a cheat in that it's not a movie I just finished watching, as are the cases for most of the movies I cover here. I actually watched this a month ago on a whim. Mostly because it kind of fascinates me. Granted, being 38 and watching a Sesame Street movie seems weird, but I think given the era of this movie, especially with me not even being a whole year old when it came out, I think it's more than fair to cover this movie. And my real consensus is: I really love this movie. A movie based around Sesame Street. A movie based on Big Bird. In what could be considered the best era for Sesame Street.
Last year saw the passing of Emilio Delgado (Luis) and more recently Bob McGrath, two of the key human actors from Sesame Street. And with both deaths came an outpouring of nostalgia for the series. In a morose way, the most anyone really talks about Sesame Street is when a key actor passes away. Save for that time everyone got obsessed by how Zoe's pet rock Rocko completely broke Elmo's brain. And in looking back, it's hard not to say the show's best era was in that 70s-80s era. When it was Big Bird who ruled the roost and not Elmo. I swear I'm not trying to knock Elmo by the way, in fact I want to cover Elmo in Grouchland for a comparison. But if I had to pick the two main Muppets of Sesame Street, I'm always going to be on team Big Bird. The lovably aloof giant six year old bird and his (still thought to be imaginary) best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus. And for how Sesame Street felt like a real place. A tangible neighborhood where everyone, human, monster or otherwise can live in harmony and love.
So, with that in mind, how can one make a movie about Sesame Street? How can you make a movie about Big Bird? Well, do what it seemed like everyone was doing in 80s kids movies, have a big, America-trotting adventure. When a social worker named Miss Finch discovers that Big Bird lives in a nest alone on Sesame Street, she sends him away to live with the eccentric Dodo family. At first Big Bird is fine with this before realizing that the Dodos are not his family. Sesame Street is. Big Bird runs away and heads home to Sesame Street, all while Miss Finch and a pair of sleazy carnival workers chase after him. Meanwhile, the Sesame Street gang hit the road to try to save him first. 89 minutes of kid friendly fun and thrills.
So it's the nostalgic sod in me that maybe loves this movie more than I should. I have to admit that seeing Cookie Monster, Oscar, Bert and Ernie, The Count, Super Grover, Gordon, Maria, Bob and the rest of the gang really makes me feel like a kid again. So much so that the very nature of watching a Sesame Street movie kind of doesn't become an issue. And the cast are all given fun bits throughout their journey. Be it Oscar taking Maria to a diner for grouches, Bert and Ernie's adventure on an airplane that ends with Ernie straight up gaslighting Bert, or Gordon and Olivia having to deal with Cookie Monster eating their car. All fun stuff that makes the movie fly by well. As do many of the guest stars and cameos. Waylon Jennings, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Sandra Bernhard. All have memorable bits in the movie.
And speaking of John Candy, that brings us to the other SCTV alums in the film, Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty as the Sleaze brothers. A pair of cheap carnival owners who rip their customers off, including one kid who gets his comeuppance by the end of the film. They make for great extra foils for Big Bird, keeping the movie from just having Miss Finch be the central antagonist. Which, heck, you could excuse Miss Finch's actions as just poor judgment on her part. These two kidnap Big Bird, paint him blue and present him as the "bluebird of happiness", which ironically leads to the saddest song of the movie. And there are plenty of songs in this. From "The Grouch Anthem to "Ain't no Road Too Long" to the aforementioned "I'm so Blue." I will say that some of the songs blend in and don't feel as memorable, but none serve as a determent to the movie itself.
I also just miss this kind of adventure movie. Where you never know what's around the corner and where the hero will wind up next. Interestingly, this movie was released one week before another Warner movie of the same vein, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. And if you gave me the two to pick, I'd probably go with Pee-wee as that movie just presents so many memorable moments (for both good and Large Marge-related reasons). I don't want to fall victim to the "good old days" rhetoric, but I just really get nostalgic for this era in particular.
Also there's this quick animated segment when Big Bird imagines his ideal new family and I'll just say that I wish there was more of that. Heck, even an animated movie of this. Just a lot of charm that I feel could have had more potential.
Also I liked the Dodos for as long as we got them in the movie. Not so much antagonists as they are just weird. Unable to understand Big Bird's concepts like imagination and pretend, or just doing things so strangely that Big Bird just gets confused.
What don't I like? I will say the movie, despite being 90 minutes, does slow a bit in places, notably the part with Big Bird at the farm, but it's thankfully not too long and the movie returns to the chase soon after. Also, I wish Miss Finch was a bit more interesting an antagonist. I know, it's a movie for children, but her sudden turn when realizing that Big Bird is home on Sesame Street does feel a bit quick. Again, I'm trying to find logic holes in the movie with the giant bird in it. This is my life now. So, it becomes tricky to really gauge this movie in my eyes. Is it all blind nostalgia? Am I simply overhyping an otherwise just decent movie? Is the appeal of a Muppet movie of any kind just always going to win out in my sensibilities?Honestly, I think for as much as nostalgia plays a big part in me loving this movie, I think that it still holds up regardless. A fun Muppet movie in an era of great Muppet movies. And yes, there's something about listening to the likes of Jim Henson and Jerry Nelson again that makes me a bit teary eyed because I'm also more sensitive than I think I am at times. Again going to my statement as to why I feel that era of the franchise is Sesame Street at its best. A wonderful timestamp from a wonderful era of television with wonderful characters and a place you wish someone could really tell you how to get to. Unfortunately, it flopped at the Box Office. Though I really feel that's not entirely its fault. First of all, summer 1985 belonged to Back to the Future and many other big movies. Second, I just really don't think these sorts of movies have ever really succeeded at the box office to begin with. Why go to the theater and pay to watch Sesame Street when you could watch it for free on PBS? Or at least back when that was mostly true.
The same thing would befall them again with Elmo in Grouchland. The same thing befell Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Barney's Great Adventure. No wonder the Oogieloves was a colossal dud, and that had the dumb idea to make the movie the first piece of media for the brand. I'll see what state of mind I'm in before I cover that one. Simply put, these movies work better as movies you can watch at home, where they have the better chance of both finding an audience and earning that oh-so-coveted cult status. Well... maybe not Oogieloves. It hasn't found its sudden cult surge yet. But it is a shame that Follow That Bird didn't do better. Maybe don't put the movie out in an already intense summer window and a week before another big movie from the studio with a slightly similar premise? Maybe it would have done better in the holiday window? Either way, it is a pity.
In the end, I really liked Follow That Bird. Really really liked it. It feels like the perfect culmination of what Sesame Street was in that era. This seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of a franchise that was also still staying true to the vision of being an educational show for its preschool demographic. And while you won't learn too many new letters or numbers in this movie, you at least get The Count counting most of the credits. That's educational enough, I guess. Is it perfect? No. Will it be for everyone? Also no. But for me, it still holds up as not just a fun 80s movie but also one of the better TV-to-Film adaptations ever.
RATING: ****
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