Sesame Street - Big Bird in Japan (DVD, 2004)

Big Bird in Japan not unlike Big Bird in China, takes Sesame Street's lovable character to Japan.

While there he meets a homesick girl who decides to help him now that he has missed his tour bus.

While with her, he gets to see some of the Japanese country side and visits with a Japanese family.

If like the other reviewer states you are getting this to teach your child(ren) about another culture --- don't! This is not the vehicle for that.
If you are getting it for s story and so that your children can understand being lost in a place that no-one speaks your language and how scared that would make you, then this DVD is a good idea.

It has the great songs you have come to expect from the CTW. ANd the story is not too bad.

I did not like it because it was a bit maudlin for a kid and while I could see how scared and alone Big Bird could be -- he was waaaaaay too whiny.

But get it for the story and better if you can get it for a good price. Now that Sesame Street has undergone a change, these may not be around for much longer.

Happy Watching;
MOTFPD

In this movie, Big bird plays a bumbling idiot walking the streets of a foreign land. He goes to Japan on a very strict and guided tour and ends up getting lost. He is clueless as to their customs, their way of life...he even thinks that everyone there is from Ohio as they all greet him with " ohayo". The film's redeeming qualities begin to surface as he meets a friendly and mysterious girl, Kaguyahime, who takes big bird into her care and assists him through the rest of the film. Big bird begins to meet Japanese people and even goes to a Japanese school where he sees the children put on a play about "The Bamboo Princess", a story that Big bird becomes more personally aware of later in the movie. He learns to take off his shoes before entering a home, bow to show respect to others and say "one two three", "hello and goodbye" in Japanese, but that is about the extent of his immersion into the Japanese language and culture.

When I purchased this movie, I was hoping that it would be a great step to teaching my children about the Japanese culture and language and that Big bird and friends would be knowledgeably and help facilitate that introduction to the language. But instead I found Big bird bumbling, getting frustrated a lot and even whiny at times.

Both of my children became very bored of the movie very quickly. And all they really have taken from the movie is being able to say "arigato" and "Ichi, ni, san". Oh, and the moral: don't ever accompany big bird across the American border.

I first saw this movie when I was a child myself, I loved every minute of it. When I saw that it was released on DVD, I decided to purchase it to share with my children. While this story isn't as lighthearted as Bird Bird in China, it is wonderful story that shows both the land and people of Japan. I'm so happy that I was able to share something I was so fond of as a child with my children.

I love it, my son was a big bird fan when he was small. He is 17 now and he was watching it the other afternoon, so I watched it with him. It brought back some good memories.