Childlike Wonders

 

STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET (B+) - This documentary about the ground-breaking children's show "Sesame Street" is more for history buffs than fans of the show. The filmmakers dig deep into the origins of the show, the groundwork done in the 1960s to turn the vast wasteland of television into an education tool, one targeting in particular inner-city preschool children.

Many of the key players, their faces aged now 50 years or so, are on hand to recall this sensation that first aired in fall 1969. That includes the creator, Joan Ganz Cooney, and a lot of the actors who created some memorable characters. Of course Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, is long gone, but we hear from him in archival interviews. And we see him, in clips, on set with Frank Oz, a puppeteering team for the ages. Highlights include an archival interview with Joe Raposo -- the songwriter who created the show's ear candy, who recounts the story of the inspiration behind "Bein' Green," the wistful hit song for Kermit the Frog in 1979 -- and Holly Robinson Peete joining her father, Matt Robinson, who was the original Gordon and the voice of Roosevelt Franklin.

The veterans -- from both behind the scenes and in front of the camera -- reminisce reverentially. What we're missing here is a true sense of the impact of "Sesame Street" on the kids who grew up with the show. It would be interesting to get a sampling of at least a few people whose lives were truly affected by this multicultural teaching tool beamed into homes all over the country. It's a bit ironic that this documentary is more about the adults than it is about the kids. That's not a fatal flaw, but it's certainly a missed opportunity.

TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY (C+) - This documentary about the avant-garde singing sensation from the late '60s just never feels comprehensive or essential. Tiny Tim (born Herbert Butros Khaury), has been gone 25 years now, but during his heyday, he was a pop-culture phenomenon noted for his appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and for getting married to Miss Vicki on Johnny's Carson's "Tonight Show." He sang in an old-timey falsetto, most notably on "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," jarring dormant memories of 78-speed records spinning a few decades earliers.

The documentary stumbles out of the gate with excessive animated re-creations, in a graphic-novel style, giving the young Herbert Khaury his own sort-of gothic super-hero origin story. Director Johan von Sydow and writer Martin Daniel don't quite recover from that misstep, and the rest of the 78-minute endeavor feels a bit rushed and superficial. We hear from former friends, wives, and colleagues (Wavy Gravy was a big fan) -- plus cutting-edge filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Jonas Mekas -- and there certainly is an appreciation for Tiny Tim's talents beyond the fleeting freak he might come off as in the culture's collective memory.

Alas, the music clips are frustratingly brief -- as if the filmmakers were unable to score the rights to the songs and had to limit them to just a few seconds each. And while we get a sense of Khaury's unique personality and his groundbreaking gender fluidity, the sense of the man here feels incomplete.