From his humble beginnings, to the years he spent in awe of the great Jim Henson, every noteworthy aspect of the performer’s life is meticulously documented to paint the portrait of a great man with an even greater legacy.

| Aug 3, 2023

I Am Big Bird is a fitting ode to Spinneys career, one that might be biased towards its subject and has every right to be. Some people are just good, and some documentaries are just that as well. Not many knocks can be made against either.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 10, 2022

The heartache that drives this story is captured best when Spinney's eyes moisten as he recalls an on-set moment when "I was crying inside the costume. Inside I was dying."

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 2, 2021

A sweet-natured doc, not unlike Spinney's famous feathered character.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2021

I Am Big Bird may not offer grandiose revelations ... but it does provide a glimpse into a person who's touched more lives than some are even aware of.

| Original Score: B | Jul 21, 2020

It's impossible not to walk away with a smile on your face.

| Original Score: B | Jul 5, 2020

Who is the man inside the feathered suit? David LaMattina and Chad N. Walker's straightforward documentary I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story explores just that, giving a face to man behind the bird since its inception.

| Mar 16, 2020

An open and affecting look at the little white-haired man inside of the giant yellow suit.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 22, 2019

A truly magical experience from start to finish, with a heart as big and kind as the bird himself.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 5, 2019

The problem is that LaMattina and Walker refuse to let Spinney's story breathe for a single moment, instead relying on a barrage of maudlin tactics to choke tears out of viewers.

| Jun 20, 2019

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story" is the delightful and heartwarming story of the man inside the head, the 8 foot tall 6 year old who has crossed borders, transcended politics, breached intractable boundaries and enriched lives from his inception.

| Sep 15, 2017

A slathering of sentimentally triumphant music emphasizes what seems like a feeling of protectiveness for their subject, but fair enough.

| Aug 24, 2017

It plays like an extended promo, washed with a score of elevator-music strings, and composed of so many talking-head snatches that it often feels like a trailer for itself.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 16, 2016

It's amazing that a documentary so clumsy has such incredible highs and lows, but that's the power of Big Bird for you.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 18, 2015

I Am Big Bird is not great filmmaking but it pays fitting tribute to Spinney and the character into which he invested so much of his own personality.

| Nov 9, 2015

The purity of intent and sophisticated craft [Spinney] has poured into their creation remains unacknowledged by the general public. The modestly appointed, crowd-funded documentary I Am Big Bird should clear up that oversight once and for all.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 31, 2015

Spinney is well-deserving of the attention, and from a standpoint of sheer curiosity and fascination, knowing more about this man who created a character that we loved as children and that our children now love, is a gently poignant experience.

| Jul 30, 2015

This adulatory doco of Spinney's life and work is a handful of love stories glued together by Spinney, who is at the centre of it. A kinda This is Your Life doco

| Jul 27, 2015

There's little sour to temper the sweetness of this portrait.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 25, 2015

While nice--arguably too nice, in fact--it feels like fifty minutes of material drawn out to nearly ninety.

| Original Score: C+ | Jun 19, 2015