I AM BIG BIRD: THE CAROLL SPINNEY STORY [2014]

I Am Big Bird tells the loving life-story of a man whose work people of all ages have enjoyed over the past six decades but few know his name or would even recognize him on the street.
Caroll Spinney, the man who gave life to Sesame Street's Big Bird & Oscar the Grouch, as shown in this film, was quite clearly the most thoughtful and sensitive of the original core group of Muppeteers.  Through animations, archived footage and multiple interviews with Spinney and the many people that surrounded him, we're given a surprisingly deeply heartfelt look into the man's life.  With documentaries I come to expect that they almost always have a huge effect on me but this one took me for an emotional spin and more.  Like many others, The Muppets have had a profound effect on their lives, so hearing about Big Bird contemplating suicide was worse than discovering Santa wasn't real.  What's probably most endearing about the man and the film about him is it's will to smile and continue to do so as long as it generates the same reaction from it's audience.

4 tearful reunions out of 5