Your Thoughts: What's the Name of that Song? DVD

[Phillip Chapman]

Today a very special commemorative Sesame Street DVD ("What's the Name of that Song?) is being released highlighting many of the best celebrity appearances on the program. The disc also includes several classic clips from the history of the show.

Featured celebrities include: Maya Angelou, Wayne Brady, Katie Couric, The Dixie Chicks, Gloria Estefan, Diana Krall, Patti LaBelle, Nathan Lane, Conan O'Brian, Queen Latifah, REM, Ben Stiller, and Vanessa Williams among others.

DVD extras include a book insert with photos of the Muppets and song lyrics, interviews with the Muppets, a trivia game, four classic "Sasame Street" shorts and a parenting section, "Music Works Wonders."

Post and let us know what you think about this new DVD. You can also submit a DVD review of this title here...

http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/submit.shtml

[Dantecat]

Hey Phillip, do you know what 4 classic skits will be on there?

[Daffyfan2003]

I sort of wonder if that's the reason the anniversary special wasn't so great. Maybe they put more of their effort into making this. Just a thought.

[Drtooth]

That's what I was thinking.

Besides the real reason why people thought negative of the special was A) they worked it as an episode and B) people just don't like Elmo and cannot accept the fact that he's the driving force behind SS nowadays!

I saw it at Best buy for 10 bucks... And it's not just a DVD, it's a DVD with a singalong book (their words, not mine). The box is not the conventional DVD box, but rather... err... remember the Sesame board books of the old days? It's sort of a DVD container shaped like one of those. I wonder hopw the DVD is secured...

I cannot remember much, but it has Queen Latifah's "That's the Letter O" with Prairie Dawn and the litle yellow female monster (not Zoe) that was on the series briefly in the 90's.

If I didn't blow my last chunka change on Board and Clay for my 3-D animation class, I would have picked one up right away!

[blackurth]

Here's the rundown of the DVD...

Extras: 4 classic shorts-featuring-"abc-def-ghi" (big bird), "but I like you" (bert and ernie), captain vegetable and "pinball number count"

Sesame Street trivia with some guy reading the trivia for you

Cast interviews: featuring grover, bert and elmo, no REAL cast members

For parents: a section that has elmo, hoots, telly and others learning to play songs. There's some hiddin "marijuana" joke if you listen real closely, at least that's what I picked up. Hoots says "he's fried" and "I can sing high."

The show itself consists of these songs...

1.Eennsy Weensy Spider
2.Sing
3.Between
4.From Your Head
5.Gospel Alphabet
6.Eight Balls of Fur
7.Letter Song
8.That's the Letter O
9.Number Song
10.Counting Vacation
11.Get Along
12.Do De Duck
13.Doin' the Pigeon
14.Operetic Lullaby
15.You Made Me Love You
16.Everybodys Song
17.What's the Name of that Song

All in all it wasn't bad, but most of the footage was from the 80's and '90s and there wasn't much Henson in it although a little with one song by Kermit.

[Dantecat]

Dr. Tooth, the yellow monster is Merry Monster.

Blackurth, are all 17 songs you listed Muppet skits? Yes or No?

[jrod]

Who are the celebrities/Muppets on each song? I wish they had "Share" or "What is a Friend?" on there.

[Drtooth]

Hmmmm.... I like Captain Vegitable and Big Bird's Abcdefgi, but I wish in liu of Pinball Number Count they'd use something like "Let's Sing a Song of 10" like in the special. "I like You" is on a bit, but it's great to have it on demand.

I will get this DVD as soon as I get the money. It sounds great, especially since Hoots is on it! I wish they'd bring him back completely.

[Daffyfan2003]

That sounds cool. Which version of "ABC-DEF-GHI" is it? The one where Big Bird is talking to Susan and the original Gordon about it, the one where he cleans his nest and pulls out the alphabet thing, or do they just show him singing the song?

[Drtooth]

The Wayne Brady "Between Song" (a remake of an older version... only this time a skit got better during the remake) was one of the highlights of last year for me.

[blackurth]

they are all songs....
the version of "abc-def-ghi" is the version where bigbird is showing the kids his toys then he flashes back not to the one you described but where he's standing in front of a banner that has the alphabet on it..

the stars are on "sing" (conan o brian,dixie chicks and more who I forgot their names)
"between" wayne brady
"gospel alphabet" patti labelle
"that's the letter o" queen latifah
"operetic lullaby" (don't know her name but she's an opera singer)
"everybodys song" (again don't know her name)
"from your head" (again I forgot)

"what's the
name of that song" is a brand new version like that of "sing" on the 25th anniversary disc,they do a medly of "sing/doin' thee pigeon/and "what's the name of that song" as the finale..

"letter song" and "number song" have floating cartoons singing the songs they are brand new songs and they are both the same songs with different lyrics....

now for the henson fans here's your surprise........"get along" is sung by hensons kermit,do de duck is complete (not cut up like the 25th) again henson doing the voice.."eight balls of fur" by chrissy and the alphabets,and all the 4 bonus skits are from the henson days..so even though there's not alot of henson stuff there's some mixed in it..

also I don't know if this is a first but this disc says "eric jacobson as super grover and bert" (he also does cookie monster which was off a little but not too much)

the parents section as I mentioned in the above thread was boring and had too much elmo in it I turned it off after 5 minutes.......

[jrod]

I wish there was a sesame dvd with a lot of old clips and sketches. Closest thing I have to it is the ss 25th anniversary dvd. If you already have the 25th anniv, is the new dvd worth purchasing?

[blackurth]

well the new one doesn't repeat the same songs as the 25th so if you want more songs this is a good one for you...here's more things I wanted to bring up abut the disc..

1.one thing I noticed is that the puppets look wierd...example,ernie has a big head with a head full of hair,bert's head is too small,big birds head is too big,and grovers is too big,cookie monster looks like he had a big hair cut (like harry the monster) elmo looks the same..

2.the human casts that we are used to don't show up until thee very end,gordon,maria,ect....

3.oscar trys to freak out bigbird by putting a song in his head,and it worked.

4.bigbird doesn't know the name of "what's the name of that song" so he goes up to people and asks them "what's the name of that song" and they start singing which upsets him (although he sang that song a long time ago)

5.elmo goes off chasing those floating letters and floating alphabets that i mentioned in the other thread...

6.grover wants to bring "peace" by having everyone in the world sing the same song only to find people arguing which song to sing which makes him feel like a failer..

7.you get a little bit of steve whitmires ernie........

[Cheebo]

Originally Posted by jrod

I wish there was a sesame dvd with a lot of old clips and sketches. Closest thing I have to it is the ss 25th anniversary dvd. If you already have the 25th anniv, is the new dvd worth purchasing?

Yes. All the classic songs are different(but do de rubber duck but 25th only showed part of that) and the "street" stuff in between the songs is better than the 25th.

[Drtooth]

Originally Posted by jrod

I wish there was a sesame dvd with a lot of old clips and sketches. Closest thing I have to it is the ss 25th anniversary dvd. If you already have the 25th anniv, is the new dvd worth purchasing?

As much as I liked the 25th anniversary one, I'd have to say (from what I hear) this one is better. Everything was cut up, and it wasn't the same as the broadcast version (they didn't use the Opera version of C is for Cookie, and Monster in the Mirror lacked the celebs and Simpsons).

Plus it's a different collection of songs, and surprise extras (the 4 clips, the appearacne of Hoots, etc). I have the 25th video, but it's probably the same as the DVD... I'd get both, to be a completist, but from what I'm hearing, I'd rather get this instead.

BTW, 8 balls of fur was used a few times on VVHS releases, especially Sing yourself sillier at the movies, but I'm guessing this doesn't have anyone talking during the skit. Oscar and Telly provided a little commentary on the movies VHS...