Customer Reviews

Sesame Street - Put Down the Duckie

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is possibly the only Sesame Street video not made for kids. This one takes the best of the adult-humor material from Sesame Street and puts it all on one video. The ubsurd, the sublime, and the really cool.

Put Down the Duckie is Sesame Street poking fun at itsef. It's Phil Donahue digging up the dirt, Sesame Street style. And Barbara Walters *trying* to interview the ever-innocent Bob.

Don't buy this one for the kids. Some may like it, but I guarantee Mom and Dad will like it better!

This is how I remember SS! Humorous sketches that included humans interacting with muppets, kids having fun on the street, and memorable muppet sketches, such as Grover the waiter and "Monsterpiece Theater". This along with "Follow that Bird" are the closest dvds that classic SS fans would enjoy. Only problem is that the dvd is way too short(45 minutes). It would have been nice also to see some of the old cartoons and short films too.

This is probably one of the best Sesame Street specials on video. Great songs which range from Bob doing a round of "People in Your neighborhood" and Patty LaBelle's "How I Miss My Ex" to "Sing Your Synonyms" (a Sesame Street remake of sorts of the classic song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off") and the title song. Great clips include "Monsterpiece Theatre" and a segment with Grover as the bumbling waiter.

Even though kids of today might like it, I think probably those who watched the show when Jim Henson was alive (R.I.P.) would enjoy it more. Shoot, even my MOM likes it. The reasons I think younger kids wouldn't be as interested in it is because, since this video is from the 80's, Zoe and Baby Bear aren't on there, and Elmo only shows up during "Sing Your Synonyms". Also, it's fun for the adults to watch because of how the celebrities who on it like Barbara Walters, Rhea Perlman, Danny DeVito, and Jeremy Irons (to name a few) have changed over the years.

This is the only DVD with the entire Put Down the Duckie song. Other Sesame Street DVDS have parts of the song, but this is the only one with the whole thing. My two year old son loves dancing and singing to the duckie, and many of the other songs.

This video was made with the usual good quality of the Childrens' Workshop folks, but they have intertwined classic Sesame with humor that is definately directed toward adults. It was probably an attempt to keep everybody happy while watching the same video, but my 2 year old enjoys other Sesame DVDs, most of which contain the same songs, more. He tends to get bored with the "guest star" skits - and "Put Down the Duckie" is available on DVDs that hold his interest better.

Only the best stuff really! This again is a classic Sesame Street DVD. One that you will enjoy but not necessarily your kid...

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

I love this video and show it to my 13 month old, who gets a pretty good kick out of it too. The reasons that other folks have listed are the same reasons I love it. But "Put Down the Duckie" is one of the best songs I've seen in a long time!

My 16-month old loves rubber duckies and I bought this in an effort to find the Ernie classic, "rubber duckie you're the one". It's not on here, but it didn't matter because my son loves "Put Down the Duckie". Loves it. It's all he wants to watch. He's relentless, but I'm limiting him to just once a day, and then only a few of the segments. He will watch the entire thing, which is amazing for the short attention span of a 16-month old (it's almost an hour long). I don't even mind watching it since it's got so much music. I think the lack of Elmo and Zoe can only be a plus.

Just an update: my son is now 27 months old and this is STILL his favorite video! I can't believe it. He sings and dances along with the skits now, and Ernie is his favorite Sesame Street character.

This is a wonderful video that can be taken at both a child's and adult's level. Excellent service from Amazon, as always...mb