Customer Reviews

Sesame Street - Put Down The Duckie [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I personally enjoyed this video very much - but I can't say the same for my toddler. It's a collection of celebrity clips and most of the humor is directed at adults, rather than kids. Celebrities include Phil Donahue, Ralph Nader, Martina Navritalova, Barbara Walters, Paul Simon, and Jane Curtin, to name a few.

Unfortunately, these were all cameos - the celebrity songs you get on Sesame Street where a celebrity sings a song all the way through just doesn't happen. There is one clip of Grover as a waiter that used to be a running gag on Sesame Street - but since it stands alone, my toddler didn't think it was funny. There's some cute stuff here, but, really, it's not that much fun for kids.

It's worth getting for yourself, though. Funny to see how much Barbara Walters and Ralph Nader have changed!

Okay, I was an adult when this first came out in 1987, so can fully appreciate "Cookiegate" with Kermit the lawyer whispering to his client (this was Iran Contra and Oliver North era). The extensive star watching will make you realize how we've all aged but not changed much (ie, Ralph Nader probably still can't sing).
I like and dislike the same sketches all these years later-- the Donahue interviews are too long, "39 Stairs" is tedious, and "Same and Different" is insipid. "I love my X" by Patti LaBelle is heartfelt, Grover's "Numero Uno" is classic, James Taylor and the screaming singing kids are delightful, and "Put Down the Duckie" is just great, especially in the reprise when Barbara Walters sings "you've got to weave the duck a-wone!".
But BEST of all is Seiji Ozawa seriously directing the honking, clucking, bleating, meowing, and snorting All-Animal Orchestra with the infamous (and NOT creepy) Placido Flamigo. My friends used to watch ME watch this sketch because I laughed so hard. When I finally found this video, I had tears running down my face before the music even started. It's simply the funniest thing I've ever seen and I LOVE IT!
Watch for the many stars, re-live the past, and let your kids enjoy.
~ a 47 year old child

After repeatly being subjected to one of the all Elmo all the time videos, I thought might barf if I had to watch another muppet video. Whaddaya know? This one has a mixture of old classic bits as well as a few celebrity singers (James Taylor performs a great little tune). My son enjoys this video very much(otherwise it wouldn't make the cut).

This one's a great addition to any Sesame Street collection!

Wonderful music and comedy. My daughter, now five, has loved it since she was one. We're buying a new copy for her uncle (age 34) for his birthday because he likes it so much he covets her copy.

My daughter has several Sesame Street videos and this is by far the worst. It does not capture her attention and really has nothing to do with Ernie or the duckie. It shows many adults running around singing. The only one who like this video was my husband, it brought back some memories of older episodes!!

Intro to principle of prying away old habits/behaviors to try new, better things. Applies to all ages. Set to utter fantastic (but admittedly somewhat dated) cast. I'm 46 and LOVE this video.

Absolutely captivating! Any child from one to 100 will thoroughly enjoy every single foot stomping minute of this video.

My one year old son loves the song "Put Down the Duckie" so much that we sing it in the tub. (I sing; he holds up the duckie.) There were other very entertaining musical performances on the video as well.
The skits on the other hand were absolutely pointless. (Sorry, Phil.) I disliked that Grover Waiter skit even when I was a kid, and the Thirty-Nine Stairs is almost painful to watch even in fastfoward.

Sure, I loved these sketches when I first saw them in '87/'88 when I was (gulp!) 5 years old, but I saw them yesterday for the first time in 15 years. Of course, there were still some people who I didn't know who they were until my Mom told me, like Joe Williams, as well as Jean Marsh and Gordon Jackson from "Upstairs Downstairs".

I think my Mom wanted this more than I did. I told her she should have bought two copies: one for me and one for her.

:-)

This is an excellent video for children of all ages. In fact I even caught myself humming a few songs at work! END