Documentary

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

- The story of the street that changed history.

Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most influential children's show in television history. From the iconic furry characters to the classic songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed the world.

Release Date : 2021-04-23

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Citizen Skull ProductionsMacrocosm EntertainmentHBO Documentary FilmsScreen Media FilmsJustFilms / Ford Foundation

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Joan Ganz Cooney

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Jim Henson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Jon Stone

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Frank Oz

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Caroll Spinney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Bob McGrath

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Sonia Manzano

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Emilio Delgado

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Lloyd Morrisett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Sharon Lerner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Christopher Cerf

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Roscoe Orman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Brian Henson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Lisa Henson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Loretta Long

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Fran Brill

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Norman Stiles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Holly Robinson Peete

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : James Earl Jones

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Stevie Wonder

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Muhammad Ali

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Matt Robinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Odetta

Gender : Female

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Jesse Jackson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Joe Raposo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Nick Raposo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Johnny Cash

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Dizzy Gillespie

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Johnny Carson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Frank Biondo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage)

Original Name : Will Lee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Original Name : Orson Welles

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Rogers

Gender : Male

Reviews

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots

@screenzealots

2021-06-23

The terrific documentary “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” features awesome archival footage that takes viewers behind the scenes of the hit children’s television show. Based on the best selling book by Michael Davis, director Marilyn Agrelo‘s film explores the origins of the show and dives deep with intimate video clips from the past, classic scenes from the PBS series, and extensive interviews with the creative visionaries that changed the world of kid’s t.v. forever. Even if you aren’t a fan of “Sesame Street,” there is so much to love about this film. There’s an extensive history about how the show came to be, including the earliest ideas of using advertising techniques to educated instead of sell to children. There’s Joan Ganz Cooney, who had the brilliant idea of using the medium as a tool to make a quality program that could teach young children through entertainment. One by one, talented innovators were added to the roster, including legendary puppeteer Jim Henson and director Jon Stone, two men who had a huge amount of influence and impact on the show’s success. The documentary is fast paced and packs in a ton of information in a neat and orderly way. It’s assembled well and is so compelling that I wish the film had been longer. There are countless nuggets of information revealed here, like the fact that the show’s target audience was inner city black children, and that this multicultural representation that was years ahead of its time was actually once banned by broadcast stations in Mississippi. It’s a treasure trove of trivia that will delight anyone familiar with Big Bird, Maria, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Kermit, Gordon, and the crew. “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” is a time capsule celebration of the revolutionary cultural phenomenon.