Elmo Saves Christmas

*Elmo Saves Christmas*
Elmo Saves Christmas
Genre	Christmas special
Written by	Christine Ferraro; Tony Geiss;
Directed by	Emily Squires
Opening theme	It's Christmas Again
Ending theme	Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Nancy Kanter
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Children's Television Workshop
Release
Original network	PBS
Original release	December 2, 1996

Elmo Saves Christmas is a Muppet musical fantasy comedy television special released on PBS on December 2, 1996.^[1] It was released to VHS that same year. Inspired by the 1892 short story "Christmas Every Day" by William Dean Howells, Elmo wishes for Christmas to occur every day, only to be taken to the future to learn the adverse consequences of his wish. The program was filmed in Sesame Street's usual home, the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City. Footage from the film It's a Wonderful Life also appears in the program and after the credits.

Plot[]

Elmo stays up on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Claus. He falls asleep, but is awakened by Santa stuck in the chimney, helps him out, and chooses either a stuffed animal or a magical snow globe. He chooses the globe and is granted three wishes, wasting his first wish on a glass of water.

On Christmas Day, Elmo, excited by all the cheer, wishes for Christmas to be every day. Everyone is excited, but Santa explains that Christmas would no longer be special if it was every day. Lightning, a reindeer-in-training, takes Elmo to the future to see the effects of his wish. Big Bird is sad that his friend Snuffy is visiting his grandmother in Cincinnati, the Fix-It Shop is closed every day, It's a Wonderful Life plays on every channel, Santa’s elves never get a vacation, and other holidays have not come. However, Oscar the Grouch is the only character who enjoys all the misery.

By next year’s Christmas, the Count is "all Christmassed out", the carolers have lost their voices, Christmas trees have become an endangered species, Big Bird cries over missing Snuffy, all the businesses have gone bankrupt, and Santa has retired to Florida. Elmo uses his last wish to make Christmas annual again, but his snow globe breaks before the wish is granted. So Elmo and Lightning go back to the Christmas Eve when he pulled Santa from the chimney and Elmo chooses a stuffed animal as his new gift. Snuffy returns, telling Big Bird that his grandmother came to Sesame Street instead. In the end, Elmo learns that although Christmas does not occur every day, everyone can keep their Christmas spirit alive in their hearts all year.

Cast[]

Maya Angelou as Herself/Narrator
Charles Durning as Santa Claus
Harvey Fierstein as the Easter Bunny
14 Karat Soul as Themselves

The cast of Sesame Street[]

Emilio Delgado as Luis
Sonia Manzano as Maria
Desiree Casado as Gabi
Bob McGrath as Bob
Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly as Gina
Roscoe Orman as Gordon
David Smyrl as Mr. Handford
Carlo Alban as Carlo

The Muppet Performers[]

Frank Oz as Cookie Monster and Grover
Jerry Nelson as Count von Count, Mr. Johnson, and News Flash Announcer
Kevin Clash as Elmo, Baby Natasha, Benny Rabbit, Father, and Elf 3
Fran Brill as Zoe, and Elf 2
Joey Mazzarino as Lightning, and Elf 1
Carmen Osbahr as Rosita
Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
Martin P. Robinson as Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, and Elf 5
David Rudman as Baby Bear, Humphrey, and Elf 4
Bryant Young as Rear End of Mr. Snuffleupagus
Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog

Additional Muppets performed by Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, John Tartaglia, Jim Kroupa, Alison Mork and Matt Vogel

References[]

^ Geiss, Tony (12 July 1996). "Elmo Saves Christmas". Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Retrieved 14 May 2019.

External links[]

Elmo Saves Christmas at IMDb
Elmo Saves Christmas at Muppet Wiki

[1] Geiss, Tony (12 July 1996). "Elmo Saves Christmas". Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Retrieved 14 May 2019.

[1]

v t Sesame Street
Fictional location Sesame Workshop productions Characters Educational goals Format Influence Licensing Recurring segments Accolades
People	Fran Brill Kevin Clash Joan Ganz Cooney Ryan Dillon Louise Gold Jim Henson Richard Hunt Eric Jacobson Gerald S. Lesser Peter Linz Kermit Love Joey Mazzarino Lloyd Morrisett Jerry Nelson Carmen Osbahr Frank Oz Carol-Lynn Parente Joe Raposo Martin P. Robinson David Rudman Jon Stone Caroll Spinney Matt Vogel Steve Whitmire List of guest stars List of puppeteers
Production	History Research International co-productions Elmo's World "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce" Music discography
Songs	Theme song "Bein' Green" "C Is For Cookie" "I Love Trash" "Mah Nà Mah Nà" "Monster in the Mirror" "Rubber Duckie" "Sesame's Treet" "Sing"
Films	Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
U.S. spin-offs	Play with Me Sesame Sesame Beginnings Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures Elmo: The Musical The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
Television specials	Julie on Sesame Street (1973) Out to Lunch (1974) Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978) A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978) Big Bird in China (1983) Don't Eat the Pictures (1983) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) The Alphabet Game (1988) Sesame Street, Special (1988) Big Bird in Japan (1989) Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting (1989) Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake (1991) Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years (1993) Sesame Street Stays Up Late! (1993) The Best of Elmo (1994) Elmo Saves Christmas (1996) Quiet Time (1997) Elmo Says Boo! (1997) Elmopalooza (1998) The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street (1998) CinderElmo (1999) Elmo's Christmas Countdown (2007) Abby in Wonderland (2008) The Cookie Thief (2015) Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas (2016) Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019) Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate (2020) The Monster at the End of This Story (2020)
Books	The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover (1971) Sesame Street Together Book (1971) Ernie's Work of Art (1979) The House of Seven Colors (1985) Happy Birthday, Cookie Monster (1986)
Literature	Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street The Sesame Street Dictionary Sesame Street Magazine Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America
Video games	Big Bird's Egg Catch Alpha Beam with Ernie The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure Cookie's Counting Carnival Ready, Set, Grover! Once Upon a Monster Elmo's Musical Monsterpiece Kinect Sesame Street TV
Attractions	Air Grover Grover's Alpine Express Sesame Place Pennsylvania San Diego Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic Spaghetti Space Chase
Related	Sesame Street in the UK Sesame Street Live Comic strip Syndication packages The Muppets Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story The World According to Sesame Street Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Big Bag Oobi episodes Panwapa Teletape Studios Kaufman Astoria Studios The Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Category

v t Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special
Children's Entertainment Special (1974–1984)	ABC Afterschool Special ("Rookie of the Year") (1974) The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Harlequinade") (1975) The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Danny Kaye's Look-In at the Metropolitan Opera") (1976) Special Treat ("Big Henry and the Polka Dot Kid") (1977) ABC Afterschool Special ("Hewitt's Just Different") (1978) Special Treat ("The Tap Dance Kid") (1979) ABC Afterschool Special ("The Late Great Me: Story of a Teenage Alcoholic") (1980) ABC Afterschool Special ("A Matter of Time") (1981) ABC Afterschool Special ("Starstruck") (1982) ABC Afterschool Special ("The Woman Who Willed a Miracle") (1983) ABC Afterschool Special ("The Great Love Experiment") (1984)
Children's Informational Special (1976–1984)	Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1976) ABC Afterschool Special ("My Mom's Having a Baby") (1977) ABC Afterschool Special ("Very Good Friends") (1978) Razzamatazz (1979) The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Why a Conductor") (1980) The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Julie Andrews' Invitation to the Dance with Rudolf Nureyev") (1981) Kathy (1982) No Award (1983) CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Dead Wrong: The John Evans Story") (1984)
Children's Anthology/Dramatic Programming (1980)	ABC Weekend Specials ("The Gold Bug") / CBS Library ("Animal Talk" and "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary") / Once Upon a Classic ("Leatherstocking Tales") (1980)
Children's Special (1985–2003)	CBS Schoolbreak Special ("All the Kids Do It") (1985) CBS Schoolbreak Special ("The War Between the Classes") (1986) ABC Afterschool Special ("Wanted: The Perfect Guy") (1987) CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Never Say Goodbye") (1988) ABC Afterschool Special ("Taking a Stand") (1989) CBS Schoolbreak Special ("A Matter of Conscience") (1990) Lost in the Barrens (1991) Vincent and Me (1992) ABC Afterschool Special ("Shades of a Single Protein") (1993) Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story") (1994) Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("A Child Betrayed: The Calvin Mire Story") (1995) CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Stand Up") (1996) Elmo Saves Christmas (1997) In His Father's Shoes (1998) The Island on Bird Street (1999) Summer's End (2000) Run the Wild Fields / A Storm in the Summer (2001) My Louisiana Sky (2002) Bang Bang You're Dead (2003)
Children/Youth/Family Special (2004–2007)	The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2004) Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks (2005) Reality Matters ("Teen Sexuality") (2006) Saving a Species (The Great Penguin Rescue") (2007)