Sesame Street - Put Down the Duckie
by Jon Stone
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DVD details
Actor: Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Jim HensonDirector: Jon Stone
Brand: GENIUS PRODUCTS INC
Guest: Gladys Knight And The Pips
Guest: Phil Donahue
Guest: Robert Macneil
Guest: Madeline Kahn
Guest: Paul Simon
Guest: Danny Devito
Guest: Wynton Marsalis
Guest: Jeremy Irons
Producer: Lisa Simon
Producer: Dulcy Singer
Writer: Norman Stiles
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 45 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-08-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sesame Street
Product features:
- The stars come out on Sesame Street in this fun-filled video featuring some of the show's most memorable moments. Phil Donahue offers a shocking expose about life on "The Street." Surprise celebrity guests stop by as "People In Your Neighborhood." Newsman Robert MacNeil investigates "Cookie gate." And when Ernie wants to play the blues, an all-star cast, including Madeline Kahn, Paul Simon, Danny
DVD Reviews of Sesame Street - Put Down the Duckie
DVD Review: Classic SS, but a little dated
Summary: 4 Stars
Put Down The Duckie was originally created as a PBS Pledge Drive special in 1988, and this DVD release of that special, although full of fun fare, seems a bit more dated than many of the other Sesame Street DVDs - not surprising, since the original purpose was to make a special that would encourage adult PBS viewers to pledge, rather than as a special for kids.
Guests you will remember (but your child will have no clue about) include: Phil Donahue, tennis great Martina Navratilova, Barbara Walters, a pre-presidental run Ralph Nader, and PBS broadcaster Robert MacNeil. The title song also features cameos by John Candy and Andrea Martin (as their SCTV characters Yosh Schmenge and Edith Prickley - FYI, Martin is still heavily involved with Sesame Street as Wanda the Word Fairy as well as the voice of the "Lecture Lady" featured on the TV bits during Elmo's World, but she is not recognizable as either of those characters here), Jane Curtain, Pee Wee Herman, a very young Jeremy Irons (possibly in costume as his character from Brideshead Revisited - a nod to the pledge drive audience), Jean Marsh and Gordon Jackson (as Rose and Hudson from Upstairs, Downstairs - another Masterpiece Theatre nod), Madeline Kahn, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, Wynton Marsalis, Itzhak Perlman, folk singer Pete Seeger, Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jazz Great Joe Williams, Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, then NY Mets Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson, and a group of players from the NY Giants.
The special opens with a great version of the Sesame Street theme song performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips, followed quickly by a long-ish bit where Phil Donahue interviews the people on the street in his trademark style. This segment, in particular, while amusing for adults of a certain age, is very confusing for my young son, because it basically consists of a big group of people all talking loudly and all at once - a bit a chaos you don't often see on actual Sesame Street episodes of any vintage. Next up is Monsterpiece Theater - The 39 Stairs (a sendup in black and white of the Hitchcock Classic The 39 Steps) in which Grover climbs a long flight of steps. This is another bit that grownups will appreciate but that doesn't have much kid appeal.
MT is followed by Bob singing the classic People in your Neighborhood, the pledge-drive twist being that, here, the three people he meets are Navratilova, Walters, and Nader. Next up is the great Put Down The Duckie, then another song - How I Miss My X wonderfully sung by Patti LaBelle. (How I Miss My X reminds me in spirit and performance of the the performance of Don't Know Y by Norah Jones that is in current Sesame Street rotation.) LaBelle's song is followed by a Grover-as-waiter sketch (originally from SS Episode 2122) where Charlie's has been transformed into a Spanish restaurant (and, as usual, Mr Johnson isn't going to get a decent meal from this waiter).
The song Sing Your Synonyms is next. This is a highlight of the video, featuring Luis and Maria as a couple in an art gallery, with Susan, Gordon, Telly, Elmo, and Bob (as a sculpture of Atlas!) appearing inside the art. This is followed by a news segment (with Robert MacNeil) about "Cookiegate", where Kermit appears as Cookie Monster's attorney - another bit that has far more appeal for adults than for kids.
Finally, James Taylor performs Jellyman Kelly (another highlight), and Placido Flamingo appears with an all animal symphony in Pretty Great Performances.
Overall, as a fan of The Muppets, this is a great video for adults. However, I think it does the material and the kids a disservice to market it as a video for kids alongside the other Sesame Street video offerings. Because it was originally created as a pledge drive special, it has a much more adult tone than most of the other current Sesame Street compilation DVDs currently in the marketplace. Testing it with my own 18 month old son, he was quickly bored with it, while his father and I were giggling at many of the bits.
In short, Mom and Dad - buy this for yourself. Watch it after the kids go to bed, and have a bit of nostalgia for yourself
Description of Sesame Street - Put Down the Duckie
The stars come out on Sesame Street in this fun-filled video featuring some of the show?s most memorable moments. Phil Donahue offers a shocking expose about life on "the Street." Surprise celebrity guests stop by as "People In Your Neighborhood." Newsman Robert MacNeil investigates "Cookiegate." And when Ernie wants to play the blues, an all-star cast, including Madeline Kahn, Paul Simon, Danny Devito, Wynton Marsalis, Jeremy Irons and many more, have a few words of musical aLVice: "Put Down The Duckie." Join in the rousing sing-along and all the hilarious fun in this star-studded celebration!Children's Music Music CDs
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