It has taken me 20 years to come to terms with the death of my childhood hero: Jim Henson. The foundations of my imagination were created in large part by Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, Muppet Movies, Labyrinth, etc. The first book I ever learned to "read" was The Monster at the End of this Book: Starring Lovable, Furry, Old Grover! In 1990 all of this came to a crashing halt. When I was 10 and he passed, I was convinced no one would ever be able to affect the world the way he had. There's a quote of his, "My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been there," and I will defend to the death that that is exactly what he did.
So by the mid 90s I was disgusted at the replacement of Kermit the Frog's stardom on Sesame Street with Elmo. Part of the anger stemmed from the Disney purchase of the Muppets and then not really doing anything big with them (like they have with the Princess line). It turns out a majority of my frustration, I now realize, was built on the fact that I couldn't understand how all these children could possibly move on and embrace a Jim Henson-less world when I couldn't. Their Sesame Street would never have a Muppet Newsflash. They wouldn't get to stay up late during the summer to watch The Storyteller. They would never understand the appeal of David Bowie as a super cool antagonist. I was very hurt and very angry. Who was the perfect target for my animosity? Elmo of course (if you don't believe me just read my post where I dub him as probably the worst thing to happen to Sesame Street).
Why the change of heart now? Simple- Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. This was one of the films during the Dallas International Film Festival a few weeks ago. Even though I wasn't the world's largest Elmo fan, it would talk about Jim Henson in some aspect, so my husband and I bought tickets and went. Talk about a life changing movie! I am aware that many people collaborate and cooperate to keep shows like Sesame Street on air for 40+ years, but the person who mended my heart was Kevin Clash. Through his story I realized that a person can truly leave a legacy behind. Kevin Clash grabbed the Muppet/Sesame torch and has run full speed with it. Everything about him is admirable. Everyone should see this movie. One would have to be soulless not to be moved by it. I felt ashamed at my scathing attacks on Elmo. What Clash achieves through his red, furry friend changes lives just like the Muppets did for me. Later that week I finished a 3 page, hand written letter to Mr. Clash thanking him for reminding me of the goodness in the world. I even read his biography My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud As expected, I loved it.
Does this mean I'll be donning Elmo gear from here on out? Probably not:). What it does mean is that I have a new respect for both the Muppet I called "obnoxiously red" and for the man behind him.
