Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: a musical celebration!
Children's TV
1993 / 57 minutes
Rating: 7/10
This begins with a bang, with a huge crowd having all sorts of fun on a brilliantly bright sunny day on Sesame Street. Inspired by all this activity, Big Bird and his friends Telly and Prairie Dawn, want to put on their own show. But they'll need some help. So Big Bird hands out the assignments: Telly and Prairie Dawn will head off to go find the dancers, singers, and musicians. Big Bird will find the "lah lah-ers."
Prairie Dawn is, understandably, a little put out by this division of labor, but it turns out Big Bird really does have a tough assignment. He finds moo moo-ers, baa, baa-ers, tweet tweeters, and bawk bawkers, but can't find what he's looking for.
Meanwhile, we're treated to a series of loosely connected musical interludes, with old favorites like "C is for cookie" and "Rubber Ducky: You're the One," and some new ones too.
It's not giving away much to say that when the friends re-unite, they've all found what they were looking for. The show ends with everyone gathered for a group rendition of "Sing a Song" backed by a group of African "lah lahers."
Cautions
The cautions aren't for this video, but for Sesame Street overall.
The most edgy thing here – the only edgy bit at all – is the Count. And he's edgy only because of who he is based on: Count Dracula. But whereas Count Dracula was a vampire that sucked blood, this Count simply counts... though he does have fangs for some reason.
These sorts of parodies – that grown-ups will get, but the kids won't – have long been a part of Sesame Street. Older episodes referenced classic films like Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps , or James Bond's Dr. No. More recent parodies have been done for Desperate Housewives, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. It was always odd to riff off of very adult material, but it's gotten more problematic with the advent of the Internet, where kids who liked Sesame Street's Law and Order spoof might be inspired to go searching for more.
Along the same lines, when the show features guest stars like Richard Pryor, Will Arnott, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, R.E.M., and Tim Gunn, you gotta wonder, where could that take kids?
More troublesome is how Sesame Street is now unabashedly promoting the LGBT lifestyle to children. They've featured male actor Billy Porter crossdressing in a huge black gown. And a couple of years ago they introduced their preschool viewers to a child who had two dads who are now making infrequent, but repeated appearances. And while their social media is more radical than the show itself, it indicates where they are heading: the last couple of years they've tweeted out endorsements of Pride Month.
Conclusion
I reviewed this not only to recommend a good show, but also so I could give parents a heads up as to where Sesame Street has been heading.
So, what of the kid who really likes this and wants more of the same? Well, that's a very good question. If we're going to enjoy something like this, it has to be with the understanding that sometimes one is enough. This is a skill that we – kids and parents – have got to sharpen. We need to be able to enjoy a fun film like Toy Story, without feeling pulled to watch the latest sequel, Buzz Lightyear, that took a homosexual turn. We have to watch Frozen with the ability to not watch any further if, as the rumors have it, Disney decides to make Elsa gay. Take the good, and just say no to the bad if that's what follows.
So enjoy some bouncy, energetic, musical performances in this Sesame Street celebration. And then, instead of finding more of the same, have the kids go make some music of their own.
Watch the trailer below, and rent it all over.
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