Should 'Being Elmo' Be In MVFF34's Children's FilmFest?

A few select films are being shown this year at the as part of the in an attempt to bring kids of elementery school age to the festival. But one of the films, which I attended, didn't really fit.

, a documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who in a sense created the Sesame Street character Elmo, was one of the few films considered for very young kids. So when I attended the screening, which had garnered much acclaim from other festivals, the theater was full of young kids who were completely disinterested in the film and were only engaged when a clip from Sesame Street was shown.

The film itself was very good, a heartwarming and inspiring story about Clash's life, growing up dreaming of working on Sesame Street and eventually creating one of its most popular characters. But for children, it really isn't suitable. It's not that it's inappropriate or anything of the sort, but children of such a young age won't enjoy a film like this. During the film I heard one of the kids loudly ask his mother if they could "go home and watch Ice Age." Most of the kids were bored, and although the adults were very engaged and enjoyed it, this film simply shouldn't have been in the Children's FilmFest