Follow That Bird (1985)

Really Surprised!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Follow that Bird is a great children's movie. Unlike other Sesame Street productions it can be enjoyable for children well into elementary school, and even parents! All is well on Sesame Street, that is until it comes to the Bird Society's attention that Big Bird is not living with a proper bird family. They send out Ms. Finch, a social worker who is to place our favorite yellow muppet with a bird family. While nervous at first, Big Bird gets excited about the idea of a bird family and is sent to Illinois to live with the Dodos. The Dodos are rather dopey and strange, and Big Bird misses his friends on Sesame Street. Big Bird finally gives up on the Dodos and runs away when they say they do not want him to be friends with Snuffy, as he should have "bird friends". When the gang on Sesame Street hear Big Bird is running home they send out a search party to find him, including Maria, Linda, Gordon, Super Grover, Oscar, the Count, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie,and the honkers. We then follow Big Bird's journey home to Sesame Street in New York, while all his friends search high and low for him. On his trip he manages to find help from some farm kids and a friendly truck driver, but also gets kidnapped by the "Sleaze Brothers", two carnies who want him to be a sideshow attraction in their carnival. It is then up to the rest of the gang from Sesame Street to rescue their favorite yellow bird and take him home! I love this movie. It's something I loved when I was little and even if my daughter watches it over and over I don't get annoyed. It has a solid plot and is not just for preschoolers like many other Sesame Street productions. There is a clear positive message of the importance of diversity and even trans-racial adoption. There is also a good message of "don't talk to strangers" and shows the danger of trusting people too eager to get you into their car. While some have said this aspect of the movie is too scary, I disagree. It's far from traumatizing, and it is important that children have some level of fear of people who are clearly up to no good. Follow That Bird is both Jim Henson and Big Bird in their prime. It's definitely better than any Elmo movies, and a must for any Sesame Street fans, young and old.

This film was made in the pre-Elmo age, a better time for Sesame Street, and this was perhaps the zenith of the franchise, at least as far as entertainment. Despite being about a decade older than Sesame Street's target range, this is still one of my favorite movies. The entertainment provided by the classic characters, though simplistic, is clean, creative, and massive. Some may cry, "Nostalgia!" and "Bias!", but after many, many viewings of the movie, I can safely confide in my comments. If a British sitcom or other "high" humor is what tickles your funny bone, you may not appreciate it, but nearly everyone else will find at least enough fun to watch with their young relatives, if not on their own. It is, in my opinion, the greatest family film in existence.Now, some Spoiler-soaked highlights. Oscar's "Grouch National Anthem" Waylon Jennings and the gang singing "Ain't No Road" Ernie and Bert ALMOST reuniting with Big Bird Big Bird's rescue from his cage The tossed salad fight at the Don't Drop Inn.Do yourself a favor. Release the child in you, and see this movie again. I promise you'll love it.

It's great for a public television show to go on the big screen. Warner Brothers and the Children's Television Workshop to come up with a movie like this. In "Follow That Bird" Big Bird gets to go across country unknowingly that Miss Finch is so discriminative that Big Bird belongs with birds. How do you like that? When he goes to live with the DoDos', he not happy with them he missed Snuffy and the others, so he leaves the DoDos and goes the long way back to Sesame Street. The other gang decide to do the same thing, also that meddlesome Miss Finch, the culprit behind this mess. Big Bird meets a lot of new people, one kid mistook him for a chicken, He's an 8'2" 6 year-old canary. It took a lot of effort and determination to get Big Bird back to his true home, Sesame Street. When that Miss Finch came back Maria(Sonia Manzano) tells Miss Finch family is diverse, and not discriminant. The last words from Miss Finch was "Case Dismissed". No one will ever see that bird ever again. With all the characters there from Bert& Ernie, Super Grover, Cookie Monster, and who else The Count. This is one movie you won't find on public TV, but it's education is some ways. 5 Stars!

I only watched this film when I was very young, and some of it stuck with me all over all these years. I remember seeing it for the first time. (Gosh, I can't believe I actually 'forced' to watch this with my parents at night and thought they loved Sesame Street! I can imagine them being very bored while they watched this with me.) I am guessing this is the film I saw when I was about six-years-old, based on the plot. What I remember was that Big Bird was lost or far away from home, and he looks up at the stars or something and wishes he was back home, and it was all very emotional. I remember that he was also in China or some other country and he had befriended a little girl. It seems odd that I remember some of this after all these years, but it must have been well done because I enjoyed it and it was very emotional and I wanted to watch it again but I was never able to.