It’s been 25 years since I’ve watched Sesame Street

So imagine my surprise when my 2-year-old daughter got me  hooked on Elmo. I don’t know what it is about that fuzzy red little bastard, but he makes me laugh. What’s more, he makes my daughter laugh.. (to hear what that sounds like – click here). He’s never controversial – and he’s totally trustworthy. I could leave my kid with Elmo and know he’d take good care of her. That in and of itself is a testament to the success of the marketing machine behind Jim Henson or PBS.

I got my daughter a copy of Elmo In Grouchland a long time ago, but it got lost in the pile with ‘My Little Pony’ and the other kiddy dvds. When I got NetFlix, however, Elmo In Grouchland was the only Elmo movie available to stream to my Xbox. So I threw it up and watched in amazement as my daughter danced and tried to sing along to songs like “Elmo’s Best Friend”, about his blanket, a Vanessa Williams diddy called ‘I Believe’ (Videos below) and so many others. No.. I’m serious, these are really amazing songs.

There’s little morals to each part of the story, though the overall emphasis is on trying your best and never giving up – values I hold dear to my heart. There’s a little ‘Never let your friend’s down’ mixed in with a generous amount of ‘Not everything is as it seems’ and ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ for flavor. All done well.

There’s a lot of crap put out every week saturated with marketing, canned story lines and bad acting. You will see by watching the videos and listening to the words, that this is not another piece of crap. This movie was made 10 years ago, and remains the best kids movie out there for new parents to have in their library. Incidentally, the second best is ALSO Sesame Street, and even older – “Follow That Bird”, the tale of a runaway Big Bird.

Here’s the original movie trailer. Apparently this was his first movie! Go Elmo.

‘I Believe’ By Vanessa Williams

Here’s the best song on the whole DVD

Here’s a testimonial concerned parents may want to consult.

Show Me Some Love If I Deserve It!

Tags: elmo, elmo in grouchland, jim henson, Novalee, sesame street, vanessa williams, video