Elmo Saves Christmas

Elmo Saves Christmas
Genre	Christmas special
Written by	Christine Ferraro Tony Geiss
Directed by	Emily Squires
Starring	Maya Angelou Charles Durning Harvey Fierstein 14 Karat Soul Bob McGrath Roscoe Orman Sonia Manzano Emilio Delgado David Smyrl Carlo Alban Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly Desiree Casado
Voices of	Kevin Clash Joey Mazzarino Fran Brill Caroll Spinney Steve Whitmire Frank Oz Jerry Nelson Carmen Osbahr Martin P. Robinson David Rudman Bryant Young Pam Arciero Peter Linz Noel MacNeal Jim Martin John Tartaglia Alice Dinnean Matt Vogel
Narrated by	Maya Angelou
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
Original release
Network	PBS
Release	December 2, 1996 (1996-12-02)

Elmo Saves Christmas is a Sesame Street Christmas musical fantasy comedy drama 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.

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Transcription

Plot

Elmo stays up on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Claus. He falls asleep, but is awakened by Santa stuck in the chimney. Elmo helps pull out Santa, who gives him the choice of a teddy bear or a magical snow globe. Elmo chooses the globe and is granted three wishes, wasting the first on a glass of water.

On Christmas Day, Elmo wishes for Christmas to be every day, but Santa warns him that Christmas would no longer be special. Lightning, a reindeer-in-training, takes Elmo to the future to see the effects of his wish. Big Bird becomes sad that Snuffy does not return from visiting his grandmother in Cincinnati, the businesses remain closed, It's a Wonderful Life plays continuously on every TV channel, Santa's overworked elves end up producing a cow/rabbit hybrid toy called the "Moo-Bunny", and other holidays are overshadowed. Meanwhile, Oscar enjoys the increasing misery.

By next year's Christmas, everybody is tired of celebrating, Christmas trees are endangered, all the businesses are bankrupt, and Santa is retiring to Florida. Elmo uses his last wish to make Christmas be once a year again, but breaks his snow globe before the wish is granted. Fortunately, Lightning takes him back to the Christmas Eve when he rescued Santa, and Elmo chooses the Moo-Bunny as his new gift. Snuffy returns, telling Big Bird that his grandmother came to Sesame Street instead. Elmo has finally learned that, although Christmas does not occur every day, everyone can keep their Christmas spirit alive in their hearts all year.

Cast

Humans

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

Muppet performers

Frank Oz as Bert, 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 Prairie Dawn, Zoe, Easter Egg customer and Elf 2
Joey Mazzarino as Ingrid, 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, and Ernie

Additional Muppets performed by Pam Arciero, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, John Tartaglia, Alice Dinnean, and Matt Vogel.

Songs

"It's Christmas Again"
"Every Day Can't Be Christmas"
"Give Your Friend an Easter Egg for Christmas"
"All I Want for Christmas is You"
"Keep Christmas with You (All Through the Year)"

References

^ Geiss, Tony (12 July 1996). "Elmo Saves Christmas". Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Retrieved 14 May 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Elmo Saves Christmas.

Elmo Saves Christmas at IMDb
Elmo Saves Christmas at Muppet Wiki

Sesame Street

People

Production

Songs

Theme song
"Bein' Green"
"C Is For Cookie"
"I Love Trash"
"Mah Nà Mah Nà"
"Monster in the Mirror"
"One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)"
"Rubber Duckie"
"Sesame's Treet"
"Sing"

Films

Follow That Bird (1985)
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)

Cameos	The Muppet Movie (1979) The Great Muppet Caper (1981) The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

U.S. spin-offs

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)
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)
Elmo Saves Christmas (1996)
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)
The House of Seven Colors (1985)
Happy Birthday, Cookie Monster (1986)

Literature

Video games

Attractions

The Jim Henson Company
Noggin (1999-2002)
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
Jim Henson Idea Man
Teletape Studios
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center

Category

v t e 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 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)

The Muppets

Characters

Television

Series	Sam and Friends (1955–1961) The Muppet Show (1976–1981) (episodes) Muppet Babies (1984–1991) (episodes) Little Muppet Monsters (1985) The Jim Henson Hour (1989) Muppets Tonight (1996–1998) The Muppets (2015–2016) Muppet Babies (2018–2022) (episodes) Muppets Now (2020) The Muppets Mayhem (2023)
Segments	The Jimmy Dean Show ("Rowlf the Dog", 1963–1965) The Mike Douglas Show (1966–1979) The Ed Sullivan Show (including The Great Santa Claus Switch, 1966–1971) NBC's Saturday Night (The Land of Gorch, 1975–1976)
Specials	Hey, Cinderella! (1969) The Muppets on Puppets (1970) The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970) The Frog Prince (1971) The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) The Muppets Valentine Show (1974) The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975) John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979) The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979) The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983) The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) The Earth Day Special (1990) The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990) Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular (2013) Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

Films

Theatrical	The Muppet Movie (1979) The Great Muppet Caper (1981) The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Muppet Treasure Island (1996) Muppets from Space (1999) The Muppets (2011) Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Television	Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) The Christmas Toy (1986) It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
Direct-to- video	Muppet Classic Theater (1994) Kermit's Swamp Years (2002)