As sweet and funny as the ventriloquist herself.

Following the success on the Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and the Sesame Street doc “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,” we’re now given “Shari and Lamb Chop,” which focuses on the late female ventriloquist Shari Lewis, who gave us such memorable puppets like Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy. In fact, at the time in the 1960s, there was barely any kids show, so she was before Fred Rogers or Big Bird and Bert and Ernie, among others. She became a pioneer.

We get a number of archival footage of clips from her shows and her interviews before her death in 1998. We also get interviews from her family like her daughter Mallory Lewis and other celebs like David Copperfield or Sarah Sherman. And there’s a certain spirit that’s directed by Lisa D’Apolito who also made “Love, Gilda,” the Gilda Radnor doc.

Her father was Abraham Hurwitz, who was a famous magician with the nickname Peter Pan the Magic Man. He didn’t need her help during his shows, but he did inspire her to find her own passion in the world of puppetry, which she did successfully.

Her show “The Shari Lewis Show” was successful for three seasons, and when it got cancelled, she was willing to revitalize her career. She was able to blend her personality and comedic gifts together, and Lamb Chop was there by her side. And she finally got her comeback with the 80s series “Lamb Chop’s Play-Along.” I believe I watched some of the VHS tapes at my grandmother’s house when I was little, and the closing titles (“This is the Song That Doesn’t End,” which jokingly annoyed the host) is what I mostly remember. This doc replays that end title, and that’s how I remember it. Mostly the part where Charlie Horse sings “This is the Song That….,” until Shari covers his mouth and tells him to “Go Away.”

We also see her vulnerable side, regarding her marriage with Jeremy Tarcher, how female entertainers were faced with cynicism at the time (you know the kind when men were skeptical about female entertainers being as good as men), and how she was later diagnosed with breast cancer. Throughout her life, she was able to keep her happiness and optimism alive.

“Shari and Lamb Chop” is as funny and sweet as the ventriloquist herself, and it also shows us the pathos in such a happy woman’s life. And while it’s not as passionate as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,” it still wins you over with its examination on Shari and her puppet friends.

D’Apolito shares her respect and joys of directing documentaries about female entertainers like Gilda Radner and now Shari Lewis. And the reason for these docs are for us to acknowledge the female comedy legends we have lost but still embrace through the years. Maybe Shari would have wanted for us to be as optimistic as she was. And I try to be.

In Select Theaters This Friday