Somehow I missed out on all of the Sesame Street hoopla.

By the time the show premiered, I was already reading chapter books. When my own son came along, I was working outside of the home and not around for much daytime viewing (though I do remember the Barney & Friends theme song and some episodes of Rugrats).

Let’s just say that I came to I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story as a blank slate and discovered a truly lovely man and a surprisingly engaging love story.

Now I understand all of the elements inside the suit that give generations lots of warm and fuzzy (feathery?) feelings for the giant, yellow puppet.

Caroll Spinney speaks a language that comes straight from the heart and exudes a spirit that is kind and accepting.

Learning that language and developing his gentle spirit seems to come from his childhood during which his mother’s nurturance and his father’s disapproval taught him how wonderful it is to be supported in artistic pursuits as well as how deeply it hurts to be rejected and abused.

There have been other painful periods in Spinney’s life, too, but rather than deter him from his pursuit of his art (which seems to be as much about spreading love as it is about performing), self-doubt and an unhappy first marriage propelled him into a character he has happily inhabited for 45-years and into a devoted second marriage to the love of his life, Debra.

Spinney is Oscar the Grouch as well as Big Bird, and the duality, which is explored as one narrative thread in the film, is quite interesting.

The documentary, which was largely funded by a 2012 Kickstarter campaign in which 1976 backers pledged $124,114, is fueled by intimate archival footage from Caroll and Debra’s personal collection of photos and footage, interviews with people close to the couple professionally as well as personally, and charming animated sequences that connect narrative elements.

If I have one complaint about the film – and I do have one – it is the score. The wall-to-wall, bright and bubbly music is too much in sum and overpowers the simplicity and otherwise quiet tone of the story.

That’s certainly not enough of a reason to miss this gentle and uplifting story.