Know Your Mushrooms

Release Date: 2008
Production Company: Sphinx Company
Director: Ron Mann
Run time: 73 minutes
Seen on: Sundance Channel
Recommended: Ok, I watched it while making the previous posting
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%

This doc follows wild mushroom gatherers.  It combines exploration to find mushrooms and some amusing animations.  It also includes music by Flaming Lips and The Sadies. 

This doc is an example of one I watched simply to pass the time.  It gave me insight on gathering wild mushrooms.  However, since I do not like any type of mushrooms, this won't be a factor for me.  Sometimes I just watch documentaries to pass the time.  They don't always have to be illuminating or amazing.

The Kid Stays in the Picture

The Kid Stays in the Picture
Release Date: 2002
Production Company: USA Films
Directors: Brett Morgen & Nanette Burstein
Run time: 94 minutes
Seen on: Current TV, one of the 50 Documentaries to Seee Before You Die, Available on Netflix DVD
Recommended: Yes.  It was ok,interesting insight behind the scenes of Hollywood
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%

"The Kid Stays in the Picture" is based on the autobiography of Hollywood producer, Robert Evans.  I first learned about this through Current TV's "50 Docs to See Before You Die" countdown.  This is not one that I would seek out to watch specifically.  However it gives an interesting insight to the workings of Hollywod.  It follows Evans' career from his lackluster acting career to being head of Paramount Studios.

It is narrated by the only person to tell the story, Evans himself.  The story is told through clips of his acting roles, clips the movies he produced, and photographs.  The technique using the photographs is the most interesting.  They are able to split the photo into the elements of the subjects, foreground, and background.  The elements are then given the 3-Dimensional effects.  It really brings the photos to life.    The doc follows the up and downs of his long career.

I have had this on my DVR since September and just got around to watching it.  Overall it was an interesting watch.  Not highly recommended, it was more of a good way to pass the time.  I also wrote this posting while watching the next doc, "Know Your Mushrooms."

Hey Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill A Mockingbird

Release Date: 2010
Director: Mary Murphy

Run time: 82 minutes

Seen on: Netflix DVD, Netflix Instantly, PBS' "American Masters"
Recommended: Yes, this makes me want to read the book all over again and buy the documentary
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 77%
Website: http://www.marymurphy.net/

This documentary was recommended to me by my Facebook feed. Since I 'Liked' "To Kill A Mockingbird," I get updates and information periodically on my feed. I added it to my list immediately after. This was required reading in high school and has been one of my favorite books ever since.

This documentary explores Harper Lee and the origins of the book. Harper Lee has not granted any interviews since 1964, so the documentary relies on archival interviews and interviews with her friends and family. It also interviews influential celebrities and authors such as Tom Brokaw, Oprah Winfrey, James McBride, and James Patterson.

I had always loved "Mockingbird" since I read it in high school. It became my go-to travel book. I know the story so well that I can read passages from it and be satisfied. It is so well written that one chapter is sufficient to be satisfied and stop. However, I had not fully realized the extent of the book's impact on generations of readers. The doc becomes a fly on the wall and enters classroom discussions. One teacher asks students to talk about the passages that will stick with them. As one student speaks about Tom Robinson's trial, imprisonment, and violent death he says what all of us think, "I keep thinking about it. I think it will stay with me for a long time." Over ten years later, this book has stayed with me "for a long time" too.

The documentary also focuses on the basis for main characters. Atticus was the original focus of the book. The original title of "Mockingbird" was "Atticus." After many years of writing and editing, the book came to be the creation that we know and love today. Nelle Harper Lee's father was a lawyer in Alabama. He was described as being the only person they had ever know that had absolutely no ego. Although Atticus is his own person, shadows of her father are seen in his description. One cannot believe that there is a real person as just and good as Atticus, but as one writer describes, it does not mean that we should not strive to be like him.

This documentary also gives us a greater understanding of the depth of the characters. It shows how Harper Lee's life in Alabama gave a richness and depth of characters. Besides Atticus, one learns the reality of Maycomb, the inspiration for Dill, and the Lee's personal similarities to both Scout and Boo. The doc reminded me of some of my favorite female characters: Scout Finch, Anne Shirley, and Jo March.

Most importantly, the doc shows the impact of the book on celebrities, authors, and school students. It shows how both the book and the movie changed how people thought about racism, their upbringing, and Southern life. One of the most powerful elements of the doc include the reading of select passages. Even these short excerpts remind me of why I love this book.

To prevent myself from rambling about my favorite book, I will leave you with the opening paragraph. If you have not read it, I hope this inspires you to read it for the first time. If you have read it, I hope you will take the time to read it again.

"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem's fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh. He couldn't have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt. "

This excerpt doesn't even mention the overall theme of racism in the South, yet it has everything to do with the story. A masterpiece of the innocence of youth with the wisdom of justice.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

Release Date: 2011
Distribution Company: Submarine Entertainment
Directors: Constance Marks and Philip Shane
Run time: 80 minutes
Website: http://beingelmo.com/
Seen: Charles Theater, Baltimore, MD, Now showing on PBS "Independent Lens", Available on Neflix Watch Instantly
Recommended: YES! YES! YES!
Rotten Tomato Rating: 93%

I was so compelled to see this documentary that I went to the theater and watched it when it came out. I had never done that before. I went to the Charles Theater around Thanksgiving here in Baltimore and I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were there to see it. Parents took their children to see it as well, due to the Sesame Street topic.


I had read positive reviews about it, and the documentary did not fail. It tells the story of Kevin Clash (who grew up in Dundalk) and his journey to becoming one of the best loved children's characters.


The amazing part of his story is his parents' support of his love of puppeteering from a young age. Young Kevin was inspired by the brown fleece lining of his father's winter coat. To him, it looked like a monkey. After he had created his first puppet from scratch, he then realized that he had destroyed his father's coat. His father's response? "Next time just ask first." His parents' love and support directly influence the his journey to create the beloved character of Elmo.


This documentary blends interviews with fantastic behind the scenes footage of Clash in his modern life and of archival footage of Jim Henson and company. It follows Clash's work in Baltimore, meeting Kermit Love (puppet designer and builder), and ultimate goal of working for Jim Henson. Clash is the only performer for Elmo. There are no back-ups and Clash is the character and persona for Elmo.


The documentary was a fast and fun story. Clash's story is inspiring because of his life-long dedication to the craft and his enthusiasm for the character. His parents supported his desire to become a puppeteer. How does someone you would never recognize become something so iconic?

Garbage Warrior

Release Date: 2007

Production Company: Open Eye Media UK, iTV2 International, and Sundance Channel

Director: Oliver Hodge

Run time: 84 minutes

Seen on: Sundance channel, also available on Netflix DVD
Recommended: Enjoyable, but you would not be missing anything by not watching it
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%

This documentary focuses on the work of New Mexico based "maverick architect" Michael Reynolds. He was a professionally trained architect who came to view traditional architecture as wasteful and hurting the planet. He developed "Earthships" made out of garbage and natural materials to create self-sustaining homes.

He believed that cities were dying and there should be a movement to self-sustaining homes outside of cities. While I applaud his efforts, there is an intrinsic problem with that theory. Everyone cannot afford to move out of cities and become self-sustaining. People in poverty in cities cannot afford their own "earthships." Even if they could, eventually we would run out of space. I was also skeptical of the homes being able to withstand the extreme cold of northern states. However, New Mexico gets surprisingly cold in winter. One can forget that deserts can be cold as well.

The house he was working on at the time of filming was named "Phoenix." It had no water or power lines going in, and no sewage lines going out. It was completely off the grid. It had its own greenhouse growing fruits and veggies. There would also be goats and chickens for the family.

The techniques to build the structures is interesting. He used garbage to create well insulated experimental homes. Glass bottles were used as bricks within concrete walls. The varying colors created a stained glass effect. Two plastic bottles were cut and placed together to create "bricks" placed within concrete walls. Used tires were packed with earth to create a insulated wall.

Because Reynolds' work was experimental, it often had problems. Roofs leaked. South facing window walls overheated homes to dangerous levels. Reynolds had numerous lawsuits against him.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. It was an interesting study in sustainability and made me think about how I can change my everyday life to be more ecological.

After forgetting to blog after a busy fall, I hope to have more posts soon. My recent viewings have included several episodes of Vanguard and The Tillman Story.

Disney Docs: Part 2

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Release Date: 2009

Studio: Stone Circle Pictures
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Director: Don Hahn
Run time: 86 minutes
Seen on: Netflix
Recommended: Highly, especially interesting special features on the DVD

This doc was also distributed by an arm of the Disney corporation. It chronicles the Disney Feature Animation Department when it was moved off the main lot after disappointing movies in the early 1980s. The movie does not use new interviews. Rather, it relys on new audio only interviews, vintage interviews, press-kit footage, in-progress and finished animation, and personal films. The personal films taken (often against company policy) are often the most telling footage. Shortly after the Animation Department was moved, the animators were convinced their days were numbered. They chose to spend their time in a full re-creation of the film Apocalypse Now. This "end of days" feeling was evident through the change of location and management. Fortunately, Roy E. Disney was the champion of the department and saved it from destruction.

It shows the effect and discord of the new corporation team of Michael Eisner, Frank G. Wells, and Jeffrey Katzenberg. This was an interesting element of conflict. Behind all these fluffy and pretty animated movies is corporate politics.

This documentary covers The Fox and the Hound in 1981 to The Lion King in 1994. You learn about the time-consuming and labor intensive process of making an animated film. Animators work on several films at the same time, all at different stages of the process. You see behind-the-scenes meetings, song recordings, and the creative process. You learn about the relationships between animators, lyricists and composers, and the studio heads. The combination of archival films and interviews makes you feel as if you get to know and care for those involved. This makes it all the more heart-wrenching learning of composer Howard Ashman's illness and death before the amazing success of Beauty and the Beast. (He was posthumously awarded Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Beauty and the Beast.")

This was a frank and interesting look at how these best loved films were created. Politics, sweat, blood, and ink created these masterpieces. You get a look at the private elements which produced these very public films.

Disney Docs

So this past weekend, I watched the latest in what I call "Disney Documentaries." They are docs about the people who produced the world's best loved movies. The topics range from music, artists, the (almost) lost art of hand-drawn animation, and Disney artists abroad during WWII. There have been several produced by Disney itself. This gives an easy ability to show clips, original artwork, and music. However, the movies do seem a little santized. There is no real criticism, outside of shifting loyalties to different projects.

Frank and Ollie

Release Date: 1995

Production Company: Buena Vista Pictures

Director: Theodore Thomas

Run time: 89 minutes

Seen on: Netflix DVD

Recommended: Highly, especially if you a fan of the Disney movies

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%

Frank and Ollie was the latest "Disney Doc" I saw. It tells the story of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two animators at Disney. The two college friends started at Disney shortly before the release of Snow White. It begins with the two veteran animators still living next door to one another after years of working together. The documentary switches effectively between their common histories, clips of their work in movies, and their re-enacting of important scenes. In this documentary, one learns about how these men were great animators because they were great actors. They figured out an animal could move and react to give it life and personality. Little things, like the placement of their hands or reaction to another character can bring a flat character to life. My favorite example of this is adding character traits of their young children to animate a petulant Prince John in Robin Hood.

The doc also shows them in their leisure time. We meet each of their wives and dogs. We learn how their carpooling allowed them an extra hour a day to confer and fine-tune their projects. Ollie Johnston had a model railroad large enough to ride through the countryside. Frank Thomas was a pianist who played in the band "Firehouse Five Plus Two," a Dixieland band of Disney animators popular in Hollywood in the 1950s. Unfortunately, their last contribution to Disney films was voice cameos in The Incredibles.

I recommend this documentary for those who grew up on the Disney films. It was an interesting and entertaining look into the work of Disney animators.