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‘Butterfly in the Sky’ Review: ‘Reading Rainbow’s’ Creation and Bittersweet Cancellation Get Their Due in Vibrant Documentary
'Reading Rainbow' gets a winning documentary with 'Butterfly in the Sky,' a vibrant retrospective on the LeVar Burton-hosted TV series.
Their tribute blends cozy, warmly-lit talking head interviews with footage (raw home movies and on-air segments) and behind-the-scenes photos, walking us through the story of the program, its creative high points and the uncontrollable factors that contributed to its unfortunate demise. Burton’s commendable willingness to try anything on camera lends itself easily to jazzy montages showcasing his spectacular stunt-work, like log-sawing, scuba diving and, most dangerously, burying himself under a massive pile of kissy golden retriever puppies. Those who suffer from the absence of this programming aren’t necessarily book authors, who experienced massive sales boosts when their titles were featured (in a proto-Oprah Effect), but rather new generations of children who are no longer given the extra enrichment essential to emotional growth.
Or read this on Variety
