- Daddy Dodo: Excuse me, was there a big yellow bird on this plane?
- Big Bird: Well, only me.
- Mommy Dodo: [not catching on] Oh, too bad. Maybe he'll be on the next plane.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: Oh, Bird, this is goodbye. You're leaving Sesame Street.
- Big Bird: Well, I'm not really leaving. I'm just going away.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: Oh.
- Big Bird: Besides, as soon as I get to Ocean View, you can come and visit.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: I can?
- Big Bird: First thing, ol' pal. I wouldn't go if you couldn't come and visit.
- Oscar the Grouch: [singing] Let this be the Grouch's cause: Point out everybody's flaws! / Something is wrong with everything, except the way I sing!
- Miss Finch: Come on, Big Bird, you don't want to miss your plane.
- Maria: Just a minute. Give us a big hug, Big Bird.
- [they embrace]
- Maria: Don't forget to write.
- Big Bird: I won't, Maria.
- Count: Don't forget to count!
- Big Bird: Okay, Count.
- Bob: And don't forget to dress warmly, okay, Big Bird?
- Big Bird: I've got my muffler, Bob.
- Grover: Don't forget to breathe! In and out!
- Big Bird: I always do, Grover.
- Linda: [signs "Don't forget to read books"]
- Big Bird: I'll read every day.
- Cookie Monster: Oh, Bird, don't forget to eat!
- Big Bird: I won't, Cookie Monster.
- [Oscar comes slowly out of his trash can]
- Big Bird: Well, goodbye, Oscar.
- Oscar the Grouch: [surprised] What? Why, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.
- Newscaster: This news just in, concerning a 6-year-old runaway. The runaway is an eight-foot yellow bird who answers to the name Big Bird.
- Grover: Did you say Big Bird?
- Newscaster: That's right, Big Bird. He left his nest in Ocean View, Illinois last night, and is reportedly heading east for a place called Sasaim Street.
- Grover: Sasaim Street?
- Newscaster: [after hearing corrections from someone off-camera] Sesame Street. Sorry.
- Grover: Oh!
- Newscaster: Here now with the report is our correspondent, Kermit the Frog.
- Kermit the Frog: [to someone else] Okay. Here's one. Why does the chicken NOT cross the road? 'Cause it's chicken. Get it?
- [he laughs, then turns to the camera, as he's on]
- Kermit the Frog: Oh, hi-ho! Kermit the Frog here in Ocean View, Illinois, with the thank you note Big Bird left saying he was running back to Sesame Street. The note reads: "Dear Dodos, you are a very nice family. Thanks for everything, but I'm walking back to Sesame Street. I should be there in three hours, since it took two hours to fly here. So if anyone calls, you know where to reach me. Love, Big Bird." And here is the family that he left, the Dodos.
- Daddy Dodo: Oh, are we on television?
- Kermit the Frog: Um, yes, you are.
- Mommy Dodo: Let's go inside and watch!
- Kermit the Frog: Uh, now who'd run away from a family like that?
- Count: [at the end of the closing credits] That is 278 incredible, colossal credits! Ha-ha, I love motion pictures! Wonderful! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
- Feathered Friend's Magistrate: Now, here today, we have a sad, sad case that needs our urgent attention. He's only six years old, and he lives all alone, with no other birds around.
- Feathered Friends Turkey: He looks so sad.
- Feathered Friends Owl: That's funny. He looks happy to me.
- Feathered Friend's Magistrate: [surprised] Of course he's not happy! How can you say that?
- [the board members begin arguing around the table]
- Miss Finch: Madame Chairbird!
- Feathered Friend's Magistrate: Miss Finch?
- Miss Finch: [clearing throat] We all know he can't be happy. He needs to be with his own kind, with a bird family.
- Feathered Friend's Magistrate: True, very true.
- Miss Finch: And I know just the family. Where does he live?
- Feathered Friend's Magistrate: Sesame Street.
- Miss Finch: Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
- Big Bird: Hey, I've got a great idea. Let's play make-believe. I'll be Snow White.
- Donnie Dodo: But you're not Snow White.
- Marie Dodo: You're bright yellow.
- Donnie Dodo: Yeah.
- Big Bird: [not choosing to notice this remark] And you could be the Seven Dwarves.
- Donnie Dodo: But we're not dwarves.
- Marie Dodo: We're birds.
- Big Bird: I said we just could make believe. You know, pretend? Uh, use your imagination.
- Donnie Dodo: Oh, okay. I'll pretend I'm Donnie.
- Marie Dodo: And I'll pretend I'm Marie.
- [Big Bird sighs with disgust]
- Truck Driver: So you are the bird on the run.
- Big Bird: Oh, yeah, and I can't wait to get back to my real home on Sesame Street. I figure I can walk back there in, oh, about three hours.
- Truck Driver: Three hours?
- [shakes his head]
- Truck Driver: More like three weeks, buddy.
- Big Bird: Three weeks? Oh, no. I'll never get home!
- Truck Driver: Sure, you will. You've just got to keep going. Pick up your feet and follow your beak.
- Gordon: [Notices Cookie Monster is still consuming the Volkswagen] Haven't you had enough?
- Cookie Monster: But Gordon, me growing monster!
- Susan: [Shocked to see that there's nothing left of her Volkswagen] Gordon! What happened to the car?
- Gordon: Don't ask me.
- [Points to Cookie Monster]
- Gordon: Ask him.
- Cookie Monster: [Looks up at Susan] Hi.
- [Belches]
- Cookie Monster: Oh, excuse me.
- Susan: Our insurance man isn't going to believe this.
- Sam Sleaze: Big yellow bird at 1:00.
- Sid Sleaze: Is it that late already?
- Sam Sleaze: It's Air Force talk, you nerf!
- Miss Finch: You know, Big, you shouldn't be living here all alone.
- Big Bird: Well, I'm not all alone. Why, there's Gordon and Susan and...
- Miss Finch: But they're not birds like we are.
- Big Bird: I know, but they're nice people.
- Miss Finch: But you should have a home and a family.
- Big Bird: Well, I am home. I like it here on Sesame Street.
- Miss Finch: Wouldn't you like to be with your own kind? Wouldn't you like to live in a big, beautiful bird house with a nice bird family of your own? And a brother bird, and a sister bird, and a father bird, and a mother bird? And sing and play bird games all day long? Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?
- [Big Bird imagines life with a bird family]
- Big Bird: Gee, I think I'd like that!
- Miss Finch: Good! Because in a lovely city called Ocean View, Illinois, there's a fine feathered family waiting just for you!
- Big Bird: Really? Oh, when can I leave?
- Daddy Dodo: Who's Mr. Sniffuplaga
- [struggles with the name]
- Daddy Dodo: Sniffleblguh
- Big Bird: Snuff-Snuffleupagus.
- Daddy Dodo: Yeah.
- Big Bird: Well, he's my best friend.
- Mommy Dodo: What kind of a bird is he?
- Big Bird: He's not a bird. He's a Snuffleupagus.
- [the Dodos laugh]
- Donnie Dodo: Snuffle-guppy-gus.
- Daddy Dodo: But your best friend should be a bird.
- Big Bird: Why?
- Mommy Dodo: Because you're a bird. Isn't that right, Daddy?
- Daddy Dodo: That's right, Mommy. And you should be with your own kind: birds.
- Mommy Dodo: You'll find lots of birds your own age.
- Daddy Dodo: And make some new best friends. Now come on out and hunt for worms.
- Big Bird: But I don't want to hunt for worms! I want Snuffy to come and visit! And if he can't come and visit, I don't want to be here anymore! I want to go home!
- Mommy Dodo: But you ARE home!
- Kermit the Frog: You think maybe he didn't like it here or something?
- Miss Finch: Impossible!
- Kermit the Frog: Well, what are you going to do about it, Miss Finch?
- Miss Finch: I'm going to find Big Bird, wherever he is, and bring him back to the Dodos.
- Big Bird: [to a truck of turkeys] Hey, fellas, can you give me a lift? Talk to who?
- [turns to see a man loading another crate of turkeys into the truck]
- Big Bird: Oh, say, you must be the driver.
- Truck Driver: Well, what can I do for you, big fella?
- Big Bird: Well, do you have room for just one more?
- Truck Driver: I don't take no riders. This here's a turkey truck.
- Big Bird: Oh well.
- [Then a thought hits him]
- Big Bird: But my friend Oscar always says that I'm a big turkey!
- Truck Driver: Well, I don't guess I can argue with that. Hop in.
- Sam Sleaze: That eight-foot bird is still on the lam. You know, Sid, people would pay money to see that bird.
- Sid Sleaze: Nah, I wouldn't pay to see no bird.
- Sam Sleaze: No, no, no. People would pay us to see that bird! Us, us, us!
- Floyd: You're the biggest chicken I've ever seen.
- Big Bird: Oh, I'm not a chicken actually. I'm a bird on the run.
- Ruthie: Oh yeah. Floyd, he's the bird on TV who ran away.
- Big Bird: Oh, I didn't run away. I'm going back to my real home on Sesame Street where I belong.
- [yawns]
- Ruthie: Are you tired?
- Big Bird: Well, maybe a little. I sure wish I had a place to sleep.
- Ruthie: Have you ever slept in a barn?
- Big Bird: [looking toward the barn] Hmm.
- Big Bird: Gee. There's still no sign of Sesame Street. Nothing but amber waves of grain. I think I'm lost. What'll I do? I wish Snuffy were here. Then I'd be lost with my best friend.
- [at that moment, a mirage-like image of Snuffy appears in the field]
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: Hello, Bird.
- Big Bird: Snuffy? I thought I'd never see you again! I can hardly see you now.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: That is because you are imagining me, Bird.
- Big Bird: Oh. Well, it's so good to almost see you. I suppose a hug is out of the question, you being imaginary right now.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: You could imagine that we're hugging, Bird.
- Big Bird: That's right. How brilliant. Here it comes.
- [Big Bird and Snuffy try to hug, but keep passing through each other]
- Big Bird: Oh, I'm afraid this isn't working, Snuffy. For hugging, you need the real thing.
- Mr. Snuffleupagus: Don't worry, Bird. We can hug for real when you get back to Sesame Street.
- Big Bird: ''If'' I ever get back to Sesame Street. But I will.
- Sam Sleaze: [shouting] How could you miss him? He's eight feet tall!
- Sid Sleaze: [shouting] You were going too fast!
- Sam Sleaze: [whispering] Sid, don't shout at me.
- Sid Sleaze: [whispering] You were going too fast.
- Sam Sleaze: Let's not get mad. We'll just start all over.
- [shouting]
- Sam Sleaze: Now let's get going!
- Oscar the Grouch: [driving into a junkyard] This is where I wanna be - grouch paradise! Just look it at. It's like a work of art.
- Telly Monster: It is different, Maria.
- Maria: Oscar, I want you to turn this car around right now and head for Toadstool!
- Oscar the Grouch: Ah, an angry face in a beautiful place - heaven.
- Big Bird: Say, there's a lady named Miss Finch who's chasing me and, uh, do you mind if I hide in your fun fair?
- Sam Sleaze: Why, no, not at all. We have the perfect place for you to hide. Right here in our hiding cage.
- [Locks him up]
- Sam Sleaze: You'll be safe here.
- Sid Sleaze: Yeah, real safe.
- Big Bird: Gee, thanks.
- [Sid and Sam laugh]
- Sam Sleaze: Let's go!
- Big Bird: Ha, ha, ha! Oh, gee, I sure am a lucky bird.
- State Trooper: [Picks up the kid that got his apple stolen by Sam Sleaze] Are these the two men?
- [the kid nods his head]
- Sam Sleaze: What seems to be the problem, officer? What's the charge?
- State Trooper: [looks through his notebook] What about counterfeiting, extortion, fraud, impersonating a dentist, stealing an apple from a kid?
- Sam Sleaze: Oh, about that apple, officer, I can explain that. We was just holding it for a friend.
- Sid Sleaze: Yeah, for a friend.
- State Trooper: You can tell that to the judge.
- Sid Sleaze: [crying] The judge!
- State Trooper: Be a man.
- Sid Sleaze: But I don't wanna be a man, Sam!
- Sam Sleaze: Shut up, Sid! Shut up!
- Sid Sleaze: [crying] Judge, Sam! Jail!
- [first lines]
- Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, would you please rise for the Grouch Anthem.
- Oscar the Grouch: No, no, no! With the Grouch Anthem, you stay sitting down! Down in front there!
- Oscar the Grouch: [after the Grouch Anthem] Well, anyway, you've seen the best part of this movie, so sit back, relax, and have a rotten time!
- Miss Finch: Are you all right, Big? You are Big Bird?
- Big Bird: [looking himself over] Yeah, I guess I am.
- Miss Finch: [facing the camera] This is worse than I thought!
- Gordon: Cookie, will you stop eating the hubcap?
- Cookie Monster: Taste delicious, me so hungry!
- Olivia: But Cookie, we haven't even started on our trip yet.
- Cookie Monster: That's okay. Me eat three other hubcaps later.
- Gordon: Cookie!
- [In a car chase between the Sleaze Brothers truck and the Volkswagen, the cage opens]
- Big Bird: Gordon, look, the doors are open!
- Gordon: I know, now-now, come on!
- Big Bird: Come on? Gordon, you know I can't fly.
- Gordon: JUMP!
- Big Bird: I'm not even supposed to do this! Why, you should never jump from a moving truck! Why... I shouldn't even be standing up!
- Gordon: You have my permission! Just this once. NOW, COME ON!
- Sid Sleaze: Hey look. A haystack.
- [It's actually Big Bird in disguise]
- Sam Sleaze: We're not looking for haystacks, you chowderhead. Keep your eyes peeled. Big Bird's gotta be around here somewhere.
- [Grover, disguised as Super Grover, is out of breath while flying to search for Big Bird]
- Grover: Oh, my little super body is tired from all this flying. Big Bird! Where are you? Wait! I see a yellow something over there!
- [Grover does indeed see "a yellow something" on the road, but it's actually Gordon's Volkswagen]
- Grover: [as he flies as fast as possible to reach out to "Big Bird"] Birdie! I am coming!
- Susan: [sees Gordon pushing a destroyed Volkswagen around the block corner] Oh! Gordon... what happened to the car?
- Gordon: Don't ask me, ask him!
- Cookie Monster: [eating part of the car] Hi!
- [belches]
- Cookie Monster: Oop, 'scuse me...
- Susan: Our insurance man is never gonna believe this.