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I wish to Christ I could make up a really great lie. Sometimes, after an interview, I say to myself, 'Man, you were so honest - can't you have some fun? Can't you do some really down and dirty lying?' But the puritan in me thinks that if I tell a lie, I'll be punished.

—Willem Dafoe
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Follow that Bird [1985] (1 disc)

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Director:Ken Kwapis
Writer:Judy Freudberg
Tony Geiss
Composer:Lennie Niehaus
Van Dyke Parks
Songs:Jeff Harrington
Jeff Moss
Jeff Pennig
Stevan Pippin
Length:88 minutes
(1 hour 28 minutes)
MPAA Rating:G
Sorting Category:Kids
IMDB Rating:6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating:91%
Amazon Rating:4.5/5 stars
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are subject to change
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Classifications:
  • Comedy
  • Kids
  • Puppets
  • Fantasy
  • Family
  • Drama
Available Formats:
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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.


Personal Rating: 7/10

Select Cast and Crew
Ken Kwapis => Director
Judy Freudberg => Writer
Tony Geiss => Writer
Lennie Niehaus => Composer
Van Dyke Parks => Composer
Jeff Harrington => Songs
Jeff Moss => Songs
Jeff Pennig => Songs
Stevan Pippin => Songs
Alaina Reed-Hall => Olivia (as Alaina Reed)
Bob McGrath => Bob
Brian Hohlfeld => Daddy Dodo (voice)
Brian Moffatt => Additional Muppet Performer (voice)
Bryant Young => Mr. Snuffleupagus (assistant)
Caroll Spinney => Oscar the Grouch / Bruno the Trashman (voice) / Big Bird
Cathy Silvers => Marie Dodo (voice)
Chevy Chase => Newscaster
Dave Thomas => Sam Sleaze
Eddie Deezen => Donnie Dodo (voice)
Emilio Delgado => Luis
Frank Oz => Bert / Grover (voice) / Cookie Monster
Fred Garver => Barkley (as Fred Garbo Garver) (voice)
George Lucas => Extra (uncredited)
Gordon Robertson => Daddy Dodo (performer)
Jeff Weiser => Donnie Dodo (performer)
Jerry Nelson => Count von Count / Herry Monster (voice)
Jim Henson => Ernie (voice) / Kermit the Frog
Joe Flaherty => Sid Sleaze
John Candy => State Trooper
Kathryn Mullen => Feathered Friend's Magistrate / Grouch Diner Patron (voice)
Kevin Clash => Additional Muppet Performer (voice) / Board of Birds
Laraine Newman => Mommy Dodo (voice)
Linda Bove => Linda
Loretta Long => Susan
Martin P. Robinson => Grouch Diner Patron (voice) / Mr. Snuffleupagus / Telly Monster / Board of Birds
Pam Arciero => Additional Muppet Performer (voice) / Grundgetta
Patricia Leeper => Mommy Dodo (performer) / Board of Birds (voice)
Paul Bartel => Grouch Cook
Richard Hunt => Gladys the Cow / Feathered Friends Owl (voice)
Roscoe Orman => Gordon
Sally Kellerman => Miss Finch (voice)
Sandra Bernhard => Grouch Waitress
Shari Weiser => Marie Dodo (performer)
Sonia Manzano => Maria
Waylon Jennings => Truck Driver

Random Trivia For This Title:

  • 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].
  • The Sleaze Brothers, played by Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas, are pulled over by a state trooper, played by the late John Candy. All three are veterans of [SCTV].
  • 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 newscaster, played by Chevy 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].
  • The Dodo children's names, Donnie and Marie, are a clear reference to the real-life brother and sister, Donny Osmond and [?] Marie Osmond.
  • 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].