Elmo Saves Christmas
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Elmo Saves Christmas is a 60-minute television special and home video that was released in 1996. In the story, Elmo learns that Christmas cannot occur every day. The Christmas special is the basis idea from the Christmas short story, 'Christmas Every Day' by William Dean Howells, (1892). The special was shot at Sesame Street's usual home, the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City.
[edit] Synopsis
It is Christmas time on Sesame Street. Snuffy, Big Bird's best friend, departs for Cincinnati to visit his grandmother for the holiday, and promises to return the day after Christmas. While Elmo falls asleep on Christmas Eve watching TV, Santa Claus gets lodged halfway up his chimney. By freeing him, Elmo is granted the privilege of choosing a gift. When Elmo chooses a magical snow globe instead of a pink teddy bear, he is granted three wishes. Using the snow globe, Elmo wishes for a glass of water because he is thirsty.
Elmo's second wish is more significant to the plot of the story: "Elmo wishes it was Christmas every day."
This proves to be a very costly mistake. Suddenly, all the businesses are permanently closed for Christmas. Snuffy is gone all year, visiting his grandmother out of town, making Big Bird extremely depressed. There is nothing playing on TV but It's a Wonderful Life. Carolers carol and children exchange gifts. At the urging of Santa Claus, Lightning, one of Santa's reindeer-in-training, uses his speed to take Elmo into the future to see what Christmas is like in the spring, summer and to the following December 25. The Count becomes "all Christmassed out" and furious at Elmo, and so does the rest of Sesame Street. The carolers lose their voices from constant caroling. Big Bird is upset, as he misses Snuffy, who has been in Cincinnati for an entire year. Luis finally closes up the Fix-It Shop for good. Santa is retired and should move to Florida.
After regretting his second wish, Elmo decides on his final wish (although it was originally for rollerblades), shaking his snow globe rapidly: "Elmo wishes that everything on Sesame Street was the way it used to be, when Christmas was only once a year." Oscar tries to intervene, but Maria furiously demands silence from him and pleads for Elmo to fix the whole issue. The globe flies out of Elmo's hand and breaks. Luis laments, "It's Christmas...forever!", and Big Bird says, "Goodbye, Snuffy."
Elmo and Lightning go back in time to the Christmas on which Elmo wished it was Christmas every day, erasing everyone's memories (except for Santa, Elmo, and Lightning). After saving Santa for the second time, Elmo chooses the pink bear, but Santa immediately offers him a new gift, the "Moo Bunny", a half-cow, half-rabbit plush toy. Big Bird is reunited with Snuffy early, because just as he was about to leave for Cincinnati, his grandmother came to Sesame Street instead for Christmas. The show closes with its final song: "Keep Christmas With You All Through the Year", which was also featured on Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Elmo learns though that although Christmas can't be every day, it's important to have the spirit of Christmas every day.
[edit] Cast
Maya Angelou as Herself/Narrator
Emilio Delgado as Luis
Sonia Manzano as Maria
Bob McGrath as Bob
Roscoe Orman as Gordon
David Langston Smyrl as Mr. Handford
Carlo Alban as Carlo
Charles Durning as Santa Claus
Harvey Fierstein as the Easter Bunny
Carroll Spinney a Big Bird/Oscar
Kevin Clash as Elmo
Frank Oz as Cookie Monster/Grover/Bert
Jerry Nelson as Count von Count/News Flash Announcer/Mr. Johnson
Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog/Ernie
Carmen Osbahr as Rosita
Martin P. Robinson as Mr. Snuffleupagus/Telly Monster
David Rudman as Baby Bear/Humphrey
Fran Brill as Zoe
Joey Mazzarino as Lightning
