Product Details

• Actors: Carlo Alban, Alan Arkin, Paul Benedict, Larry Block, Lexine Bondoc
• Directors: Jim Henson, Jim Martin, Randall Balsmeyer, Victor DiNapoli, Ken Diego
• Format: Color, Live, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sesame Street
• VHS Release Date: February 6, 1996
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302798744
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,467 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #4 in	Video > Kids & Family > Television > Sesame Street > Music & Dance
  #28 in	Video > Kids & Family > Puppets
  #34 in	Video > Kids & Family > Birth-2 Years

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Yes, Virginia, there was a Sesame Street before the Age of Elmo. This 1993 collection highlights the role of music in the long-running series from Children's Television Workshop, and reminds us that such Jim Henson creations as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and Ernie and Bert were once part of a true ensemble of Muppet superstars. Nothing against Elmo, of course: kids adore him and he makes enough appearances in this anthology (including the show-stopping "Happy Tappin' with Elmo") to keep today's tykes happy. Also included is Ernie's classic "Rubber Duckie" (really, who doesn't know the words to that?), Oscar's anthemic "I Love Trash," you-know-who's "C Is for Cookie," and Big Bird's Big Finale, a rendition of "Sing" that includes the entire cast. There are 27 tunes in all, and they don't all involve singing puppets: Ladysmith Black Mambazo turns up for one track, and the "Sesame Street Jam Session" includes some actual playing of instruments. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As close to watching the actual show as a video gets!, May 17, 2002

By	Michele S. Hays (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Both my toddler and I loved this video. For my toddler, it has several advantages: one, it's an hour long and can replace Sesame Street itself if you missed it that day (just get an Elmo's World tape to follow up). Two, it has a full cast that includes the newer characters who weren't around in my day: Elmo, Telly, Prairie Dawn and many others make an appearance. Third, the celebrity cameos are few and serve the storyline well.

As a former puppeteer and avid Sesame Street fan, I really enjoyed watching it myself. It has old clips that have almost disappeared: the original "Rubber Ducky" with the floating bubbles, "C is for Cookie," "I'm an Aardvark, and I'm proud," and some of the letter and number clips you might remember as a kid. I also liked that the storyline was filmed outdoors, making the production values somewhat better than other Sesame Street videos. Having a store of all the "important" songs is really useful, too.

Enjoy this video with your kids - and tell them about the "olden days" when Snuffy was an imaginary friend of Big Bird's and Ernie grew critters - what were those things called? - in his window box.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly clips from 25 great years of Sesame Street, June 20, 2001

By	Amy Z, Afterschooler (Northern Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

Watching this video is very similar to watching an episode of Sesame Street on PBS...only not exactly the same Sesame Street that's on the airwaves today. It has musical clips from various episodes throughout the lifespan of Sesame Street and contains more clips of Bert & Ernie and Grover than you will see in a typical episode in 2001.

It's not just a series of old clips, however. The clips and new material are woven into a story of Big Bird looking for LaLa-ers for the show that the Sesame Street characters are planning. Not everything fits just right, but it is fun to watch and sing and dance to.

The most important reason for my high recommendation of this video is the fact that my 22-month-old son is FACINATED by it. It may not be teaching him his numbers or his alphabet, but he is starting to try to sing along.

Not the absolute Best Video out there, but thoroughly enjoyable and worth the price.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great songs, great characters., July 13, 1999

By A Customer

The plot is simple and silly: Big Bird, Prairie Dawn, and Telly decide to put on a show, and look for singers, dancers, and "la-la"-ers. Big Bird runs into some trouble finding the "la-la"-ers, but everything works out, and it's really just an excuse to show musical clips from the first 25 years of "Sesame Street", bringing back great memories for anyone born in the mid-1960s and after who grew up with "Sesame Street", and entertaining our children who are about to grow up with "Sesame Street". This tape is better than "Elmopalooza" because the song clips are the originals, not new versions done by celebrities (with one exception: "Sing" performed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the "Sesame Street" cast with lots of children), and this tape is lighter than "Elmopalooza", in which everything goes wrong and the characters freak out. My son is 14 months old, and has watched this tape more times than the Count can count.