| Review:
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Follow That Bird is directed by Ken Kwapis. The film
stars Caroll Spiney, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and Jerry Nelson.
Cameos include John Candy, Waylon Jennings, Sally Kellerman,
and Chevy Chase.***
Follow that Bird, first released in 1985, was the first
movie spun off from the popular educational childrens’ program
Sesame Street. The story follows Big Bird being taken away
from Sesame Street by a social worker, and sent to live
with a family of birds – the social worker believing he
belongs with his own species. Missing his friends, Big Bird
runs away, in an effort to return to the place he really
feels the most at home. ***
This is a movie that shows its age, but it’s still
fun to watch. Children are going to love watching it, and
adults will likely enjoy it for the nostalgia value. This
isn’t a masterpiece, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just
good old-fashioned G-rated Sesame Street entertainment,
and perhaps more importantly, puppet geniuses Jim Henson
and Frank Oz doing what they do best. Strongly recommended
if you’re seeking some acceptable family entertainment.
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Image and Sound:
This transfer is, in all ways, a step up from earlier
home video issues. First and foremost, the film has finally
been restored to its proper anamorphic widescreen aspect
ratio (all previous releases were cropped.) Additionally,
the image quality has been, at least somewhat, remastered.
The movie looks considerably better than the old inconsistent
transfers we’ve gotten on home video before. Audio fares
nice, this of course being a film that doesn’t really call
for big-time surround sound. All in all, a good transfer,
probably as good as you can get for this sort of thing.
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| Special
Features: |
Not much here, but a t least it’s not a bare-bones disc.
A new interview with star Caroll Spiney is included, as
well as a “Jump to a Song” featurette that lets you explore
those portions of the movie in a more effective and immediate
manner. Also included is DVD-ROM content that allows you
to download coloring sheets. Not much here, but I can’t
really complain either.
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