Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The World According to Sesame Street

Play trailer The World According to Sesame Street Released Oct 24, 2006 1h 44m Documentary War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
Tomatometer 3 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
The creation and co-production of "Sesame Street" in three developing countries.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Rob Humanick Slant Magazine Anyone who doubts the socially and culturally shaping powers of television, film or any other medium of expression need only look to Sesame Street in order to dispel their skepticism. Rated: 3/4 May 21, 2015 Full Review Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com Rated: C Apr 4, 2011 Full Review Teresa Talerico Common Sense Media Serious adult docu about Muppets in the 3rd world. Rated: 4/5 Jan 1, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (18) audience reviews
Audience Member A view of Sesame Street that we don't see...the creation of adaptations for world markets. This isn't a case of American corporate domination but rather the attempt to ensure that certain values about child education are prized world wide. Very interesting. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Fascinating, touching, and eye-opening! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw The World According to Sesame Street a few years ago on PBS. It is a really fascinating documentary about how Sesame Street gets exported around the world. Each time out, the creators don't simply do a language translation, they instead build a new show with mostly new characters that is customized to the local culture and local educational issues. The creators' philosophy behind this is that Sesame Street was not intended to be an explicitly American product, or rather, did not need to be. Also, just as importantly, they feel that kids are basically taught and conditioned to hate, which then perpetuates all the crap that goes on in the world. And since all kids love TV and colorful characters, Sesame Street can be an experiment to teach young kids a more open positive attitude before they ever get exposed to hate and bigotry. Trying to get the show done can involve a lot of politics. In the case of the Kosovo Sesame Street, ethnic divisions and conflict were still very raw at the time the show was being put together. The show was put together in two different language versions to address the different ethnicities. Although people of different ethnicities worked together on the show, the external situation made things very difficult, and so it was decided to essentially bring in a large portion of the US version, since it would help produce a more neutral format relative to the severe political issues going on in Kosovo. In the case of the Bangladeshi version, production went full speed ahead with new muppets and large beautiful sets, but the main issue was trying to secure the approval of the government, which runs the main TV station. In order to really, really localize the show, a segment was included that has traditional Bangladeshi puppets and music. Also talked about was Takalani Sesame, the recent successful South African version. It was agreed upon that since the kids grew up with HIV/AIDS all around them, getting them educated about the disease as early as possible could only be a benefit. An HIV-positive muppet called Kami was created. It went over well in South Africa, but here in the US, some political commentators and religious types were initially appalled and even accused PBS of being immoral. It's a classic case of taboo, bigotry, and jumping the gun all rolled together that happens all too often here in the US. The documentary is very worth checking out. It shows how education and entertainment can come together in a very positive way. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie gave me a greater appreciation of one of my favorite childhood shows. It makes me want to work for them. I think everyone should see it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member I want to work for Sesame Street when I grow up. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member OK, so this film is made by Sesame and they do acknowledge their position as "colonizers." That being said, fascinating film, powerful stories , wonderful children and tons of colorful otherworldly Muppets that alone make the film worth a watch. Viva la Sesame! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The World According to Sesame Street

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis The creation and co-production of "Sesame Street" in three developing countries.
Director
Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Linda Hawkins
Producer
Mohiuddin Ahmed, Avni Ahmetaj, Sophie Barry
Screenwriter
Eric Martin, Charlie Pearson, Lois Vossen
Genre
Documentary, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 24, 2006, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Runtime
1h 44m