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
Original release
Network	PBS
Release	December 2, 1996

Elmo Saves Christmas is a Sesame Street 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

The story is told in flashback by Maya Angelou as she recalls the events to Telly, Zoe, Baby Bear and several children.

Elmo stays up on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Claus. He falls asleep, but is awakened by Santa stuck in the chimney. After Elmo helps pull Santa out, Santa gives Elmo the choice of a stuffed animal or a magical snow globe. Elmo 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 to Elmo 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 distraught 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 the other holidays are overshadowed. However, Oscar the Grouch is the only character who enjoys all the misery.

By next year’s Christmas, the Count becomes "all Christmassed out," the carolers have lost their voices, Christmas trees have become an endangered species, Big Bird cries about missing Snuffy, all the businesses have gone bankrupt, and Santa has retired to Florida. Elmo uses his last wish to make Christmas occur only once a year again, but his snow globe breaks before the wish is granted. He and Lightning go back in time 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 has learned that although Christmas does not occur every day, everyone can keep their Christmas spirit alive all year.

Cast

Humans

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 and Voice Cast

Frank Oz as Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover
Jerry Nelson as Herry Monster, The Amazing Mumford, 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, and Elf 2
Joey Mazzarino as Ingrid, Stinky, 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 Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Jim Martin, John Tartaglia, Jim Kroupa, 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.

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 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)