| Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Steven Chorney | |
| Directed by | Ken Kwapis |
| Written by | Judy Freudberg Tony Geiss |
| Based on | Sesame Street by Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett Big Bird by Jim Henson |
| Produced by | Tony Garnett |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Curtis Clark |
| Edited by | Evan Landis |
| Music by | Van Dyke Parks Lennie Niehaus |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $13.9 million[1] |
 | This section may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. (July 2024) |
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (or simply Follow That Bird) is a 1985 American musical road comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Based on the children's television series Sesame Street created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, it was the first theatrical feature-length Sesame Street film. It stars Muppet performers Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson and Frank Oz alongside Sandra Bernhard, John Candy, Chevy Chase, Joe Flaherty, Waylon Jennings, and Dave Thomas with Sesame Street regulars Linda Bove, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, Alaina Reed, and Kermit Love in supporting roles and the voices of Laraine Newman, Brian Hohlfeld, Cathy Silvers, Eddie Deezen, and Sally Kellerman.
The plot of Follow That Bird concerns Big Bird (Spinney), who is assigned by a social worker to move away from Sesame Street in New York City, and to move in with a bird family in Illinois. Big Bird is discontent with his new family, and runs away with the intention of returning to Sesame Street, while the social worker, his friends, and two con artists attempt to find him.
Produced by Children's Television Workshop and Muppets, Inc. (one of the few Sesame Street productions they directly produced), and filmed at the Cinespace Film Studios and on location in the Greater Toronto Area, Follow That Bird was released in the United States on August 2, 1985, by Warner Bros. and received mostly positive reviews from critics. However, it was a box office disappointment, grossing $13.9 million.