Synopsis: Miss Finch, a meddling social worker, sends Big Bird off to Ocean View, Illinois, for the comforts of family life with his "own kind," the Dodos. But he is a disaster as a Dodo and, lonely and homesick, he soon sets off on foot for Sesame Street.
Reaction: The songs are catchy and it's a great show for kids. I remember it fondly myself.
The main set for [Sesame Street] (1969) was recreated in Toronto for this film.
The airline that Big Bird takes to Illinois is CTW - the abbreviation for Children's Television Workshop, the name at the time of the movie of Sesame Workshop, the production company behind [Sesame Street].
The Dodo children's names, Donnie and Marie, are a clear reference to the real-life brother and sister, Donny OsmondDonny Osmond and [?] Marie Osmond.
The newscaster, played by Chevy ChaseChevy Chase, opens his broadcast by quoting the theme song from [Mister Rogers' Neighborhood], another PBS kids' production which became popular during the same period as [Sesame Street].
When Big Bird is being welcomed home at the end of the movie; you get a quick glimpse of a character in a window that was definitively Elmo. The movie was made before he was even considered a character on the show.
The Sleaze Brothers, played by Joe FlahertyJoe Flaherty and Dave ThomasDave Thomas, are pulled over by a state trooper, played by the late John CandyJohn Candy. All three are veterans of [SCTV].
When the Count is counting the end credits he says "Hi, Mom" when [?] Joan Ganz Cooney's credit appears. Being the creator of the show and the founder of its production company, the Children's Television Workshop, she is sometimes referred to as the mother of [Sesame Street].
