Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird

Synopsis of Movie

After three successful Muppet movies, the gang from Sesame Street finally got a film of their own. The long-running children’s educational program, filled with Jim Henson’s Muppet creations, taught youngsters letters and numbers in a fun and funny way that parents could appreciate almost as much as their children. Follow That Bird carried that wacky spirit into a feature setting, with songs from Van Dyke Parks and Lennie Niehaus.

In an interesting choice of villains, Sally Kellerman plays Miss Finch, a misguided social worker who thinks Big Bird would be happier among his own feathered kind. The eight-foot yellow guy is taken to Oceanview, Illinois (get it?), to live with the Dodo family. When the Dodos turn out to be aptly-named lame-brains, the Bird hits the road to find his way back to Sesame Street.

Meanwhile, Bird’s old chums have mounted a search of their own, fanning out in a variety of vehicles to find their feathered friend. The happy reunion is delayed when Big Bird falls in with a pair of no-good con men named Sid and Sam Sleaze (SCTV’s Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas).

Like the TV series, Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird benefited from a bevy of celebrity cameos, including Sandra Bernhard as a Grouch Waitress, Chevy Chase as a newscaster (teamed up with Kermit the Frog), John Candy as a cop and Waylon Jennings as a country singing truck driver. A hit with Sesame Street’s core fan club of pre-schoolers, the movie paved the way for superstar Elmo’s first feature fourteen years later, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Movie Release History

1985 - Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
comedy

Movie Studio

Warner Bros., Children's Television Workshop

Cast

Big Bird Carroll Spinney
Oscar the Grouch Carroll Spinney
Luis Emilio Delgado
Kermit the Frog Jim Henson
Ernie Jim Henson
Cookie Monster Frank Oz
Bert Frank Oz
Grover Frank Oz
Grouch Cook Paul Bartel
Grouch Waitress Sandra Bernhard
State Trooper John Candy
Newscaster Chevy Chase
Sid Sleaze Joe Flaherty
Truck Driver Waylon Jennings
Sam Sleaze Dave Thomas
Mommy Dodo Laraine Newman
Daddy Dodo Brian Hohlfeld
Marie Dodo Cathy Silvers
Donnie Dodo Eddie Deezen

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