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100His a wonderful, touching story, one that made me want to scoop up every kid I know who has a scrap of creative talent, and have them watch the film. Because Elmo's story is sweet -- but Clash's is nothing short of inspiring.
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100A marvelous movie.
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Oct 16, 201190Being Elmo is a rare documentary that will connect across generations and cultures to delight viewers worldwide for years to come.
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88Though one gets a sense there is part of the story Marks isn't telling, we do pay attention to the man behind the curtain.
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83It might have poked a bit more into Clash's personal story, but as a story of man and puppet it's grand.
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83The greater the illusion the greater the manipulator, and few are as good as Kevin Clash, the subject of Constance Marks's sprightly six-years-in-the-making documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey.
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83The moral to Clash's story? It's surprisingly easy being red.
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83Despite its predictably cheery vibe, Being Elmo implies a certain darkness lingering beneath the surface of Clash's life.
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802012 is the year of the Muppet, and we don't mean Ashton Kutcher. After Jason Segel's fur-filled revival, rejoice in a documentary to make you laugh and, yes, cry.
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78Despite its short running time, Being Elmo is an engrossingly layered documentary.
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75A breezy account of a man whose obsession began early.
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75The most mesmerizing parts of the movie make up a tutorial about how the Muppets are made and moved.
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75Backstage at the Muppet works, we see countless drawers filled with eyeballs, eyebrows, whiskers and wigs. It's the only world Kevin wanted to live in, and he made it.
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75The most interesting part of this lively, likable documentary is the journey.
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Oct 21, 201175This Muppet virtuoso is so visibly thrilled to work in Henson's weird and wonderful world, and so good at bringing joy to little kids, you'd have to be a true Grouch not to be moved.
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Nov 3, 201170A documentary as gentle as its subject: the story of a boy who realized his dream and, on the film's evidence, received a lot of encouragement and support along the way.
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70The film, by Constance Marks, is a little light on details of Mr. Clash's personal life once he broke through, but otherwise this is a winning tale of the persistence and creativity behind one of the most famous and fuzziest faces in the world.
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Oct 16, 201170All in all, the pace -- although buoyed by Joel Goodman score -- is rather plodding until Clash's life story intersects with that of the little red guy, at which point it lifts off. And even yanks a tear or two.
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Mar 16, 201263The film is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, who also shows up as an interviewee, and in a Sesame Street clip, which frankly feels odd. Worse: the script she has to work with is often lacklustre.
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60For any adult feeling overwhelmed by bad news and dark times, your antidote is right here.
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60But take the puppet off his arm and he seems somehow vague and incomplete, like the Wizard of Oz without his curtain.
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50And that's the moral of this story. Or one of them, anyway. Clash's success is shown as the result of a combination of talent, gumption, pluck, misadventure, supportive parents, following your dreams, luck and, yes, love.
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50Constance Marks's documentary on Kevin Clash, the kind, gentle man who created the Muppet beloved by every single child in the world, rushes through the intriguing points its interviewees bring up to devote more time to banalities.
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25Not everyone's life is compelling enough to warrant the documentary treatment, but whether this truism applies to master puppeteer and current Sesame Street producer Kevin Clash is a question that Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, Constance Marks's fawning portrait of the Muppet- master fails to answer.