The World According to Sesame Street (NR, 2006)

This fascinating documentary follows Sesame Street producers as they adapt the children's' series for broadcast in Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa. The team must carefully adapt the show for kids who struggle with problems like hunger, violence, and illness on a daily basis. Along the way, they encounter challenges that range from political red tape to rioting and civil unrest. Their brainstorming sessions with local educators convince them that the program can make a difference in children's lives. Producers and their local teams work to make the show as culturally relevant as possible to each audience. In poverty-stricken Bangladesh many kids leave school as young as 5 to go to work. So the show is designed not only to educate kids, but also to address the class and gender equity issues prevalent in Bangladesh. In Kosovo, where Albanians and Serbs live in segregated communities, the Kosovo team wants to promote values of acceptance, tolerance, and peace. Locals also remind the producers that the program should include warnings about hand grenades, which kids often find while playing. In AIDS-ridden South Africa, the team develops an HIV-positive Muppet named Kami. Although Kami initially raises ire among some American conservatives, she's immediately embraced by South African children.

It's intriguing to watch producers and their local teams work to make Sesame Street relevant to kids across many different cultures and facing different, serious issues, like AIDS and the after-effects of war. Although it's a bit sluggish in the last half hour, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET is still a captivating look at a much-loved American phenomenon and its global outreach.

The DVD extras include a history of the show, which first aired in the United States in 1969 and is now seen in more than 120 countries. The show's originator, Joan Ganz Cooney, is interviewed and likens her producers to missionaries spreading a message of learning and tolerance with these international co-productions.

Studio: Sony Wonder
Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Linda Hawkins Costigan
Cast: Edward G. Christie, Terrence Howard
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release: October 24, 2006
DVD release: October 24, 2006
MPAA Rating: NR