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'Sesame Street' scrambles for kids' attention
November 20, 1996
Web posted at: 5:45 a.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Jill Brooke
NEW YORK (CNN) -- What kind of film festival is this? No De Niro, no Madonna. Just a talking yellow bird obsessed with education and doing the right thing.
At 'Sesame Street's' First Film Festival, the stars are fruits, vegetables and even animals, from singing oranges to dancing chickens.
"They're short films for short attention spans," chirped 'Sesame Street' star Big Bird.
The film festival showcases 47 short animated films from the artists, animators and performers who work on the long-time Children's Television Workshop program, making it both educational and entertaining.
"We wanted to give a venue to the filmmakers who have contributed so greatly over the years. 'Sesame Street' is the largest employer of independent filmmakers, and they have made enormous contributions," said 'Sesame Street' Producer Arlene Sherman.
The festival coincides with the launching of 'Sesame Street's' 28th season and the producers are hoping for heaps of attention.
Competing for kids
Although the public television show is considered a pioneer and a classic, 'Sesame Street's' producers are concerned about getting lost in an increasingly crowded market of electronic entertainment.
A special worry is the wave of new children's television programming sure to arrive now that TV stations are required to air three hours of educational programming for children each week.
A programming niche once virtually the sole territory of 'Sesame Street' and 'Captain Kangaroo' is now fertile ground for competition.
'Sesame Street' is preparing for this onslaught with a million-dollar advertising campaign and the attention-grabbing film festival.
"There are some people that don't realize we are doing new shows, and we want them to be aware," said Executive Producer Michael Loman. "It's a whole new audience and we want to make sure that they know all the special things that we do."
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