AllMovie

Even after 30 years on the air, Sesame Street remains the most influential children's television program. Winner of 68 Emmy Awards (and counting), Sesame Street was the first truly multicultural children's program including cast members of all ages and races. Bilingual counting, the alphabet, and words are integrated into every program. Even the Muppets are a diverse group of monsters, animals, and people of all shapes, sizes, and colors and never in the traditional "red and yellow, black and white." Puppetry genius Jim Henson was the mastermind behind the creation of the Sesame Street Muppet characters. Sesame Street is a model urban community in which the world is presented to its preschool audience with lovable characters, song and dance, and simple "real life" situations they can understand. Sesame Street offers the perfect blend of humorous Muppet/person interaction with live-action and animated educational short films. Starting in the mid-'80s, Sesame Street became a showcase for celebrity guest stars such as Michael Jordan, Garth Brooks, Linda Ronstadt, and Rosie O'Donnell to teach Big Bird, Oscar, Grover, Elmo, and the rest of the gang songs or to help them with childhood dilemmas. Although in recent years the show has come under fire for commercialization, the integrity of Sesame Street remains intact as it continues to provide the highest quality children's educational programming.