[This is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival]

After watching the first several minutes of Constance Marks’ documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, I realized I could watch an entire movie of just Elmo giving people hugs. But the heartwarming story of Elmo’s puppeteer Kevin Clash is also good. The movie doesn’t have much in the way of conflict, but it provides a great narrative of a man who pursued his life-long dream as well as a fascinating look inside the world of puppetry. While younger viewers may be a bit disappointed that Elmo isn’t the dominate figure in the movie, all audiences will be won over by Clash and how he made his dream come true.