Elmo Saves Christmas

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Elmo Saves Christmas is a children's home video that was released in 1996. In the story, Elmo learns that Christmas cannot occur every day.

Throughout the story, Elmo and the other characters also indirectly learn the value of a healthy disdain for the media. In this film, all of the characters in Sesame Street begin their daily celebration of Christmas solely at the word of the news media, led by Kermit the Frog who announce the new daily celebration of Christmas.

Elmo's wish of a daily Christmas leads to a fascinating dystopian future wherein sickness and the ravages of a complete collapse of capitalism due to constant vacation from work have reduced the people to miserable shells of their former selves. This is a direct result of their dependence on the media: were it not for their trust in the media and its infallibility they could simply have stopped celebrating Christmas any moment they wished.

1 Synopsis
2 Cast
3 Paradoxes Within the Film
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

It is Christmastime on Sesame Street. Snuffy, Big Bird's best friend, departs for Cincinnati to visit his grandmother for the holiday.

While falling asleep 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: "I wish it was Christmas every day."

Suddenly, all the businesses are permanently closed for Christmas. Snuffy is gone all year, visiting his grandmother out of town. There is nothing playing on TV but It's a Wonderful Life. Carolers carol and children trade presents.

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 and in summer and to the following December 25. The Count becomes "all Christmassed out". The carolers lose their voices from constant caroling. Big Bird is crying; he misses Snuffy, who remains in Cincinnati.

After regretting his second wish, Elmo decides on his final wish, shaking the globe furiously: "I wish everything on Sesame Street was the way it used to be — Christmas only once a year." The globe flies out of his hand and breaks. Luis laments, "Now, it's Christmas forever".

Elmo and Lightning go back in time to the Christmas before Elmo wished it was Christmas every day. After saving Santa for the second time, Elmo chose a new gift, the "Moo Bunny", a half-cow, half-rabbit plush toy. The show closes with its final song : "Keep Christmas With You All Through the Year".

[edit] Cast

Kevin Clash as Elmo
Charles Durning as Santa Claus
Harvey Fierstein as Easter Bunny
Carroll Spinney as Big Bird/Oscar
Carlo Alban as Carlo
Maya Angelou as Narrator
Alison Bartlett as Gina
Emilio Delgado as Luis
Sonia Manzano as Maria
Bob McGrath as Bob
Jerry Nelson as Count von Count
Roscoe Orman as Gordon
Frank Oz as Cookie Monster/Grover
Martin P. Robinson as Snuffleupagus
David Langston Smyrl as Mr. Handford
Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog

[edit] Paradoxes Within the Film

The time-travel aspects of the film mirror similar thematic elements from the Superman films as well as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home wherein rapid travel orbiting the planet Earth results in a time shift. However, Elmo Saves Christmas chooses not to treat this as Science Fiction; neglecting, as it does, the issue of a reindeer and Muppet flying in an oxygen-free environment. It is stated in the film that Lightning the Reindeer has magical abilities, which may extend to near-infinite lung capacity, which may explain this plot hole. Nevertheless, while Jim Henson never stated whether or not Muppets require oxygen, Elmo would require air to speak in the many space-based scenes in the movie, as he does. All of these plot problems (except the time travel) would be solved if the movie made it clear Elmo and Lightning were flying within the ionosphere at a sufficient level for respiration.

Though the spiritual aspect of Christmas is ignored in the film, Elmo Saves Christmas does not take into account the effect of daily Christmas celebration upon those who do not celebrate Christmas. Presumably Jews, Muslims, and others who do not normally celebrate Christmas would be free to celebrate their respective seasonal holidays and move on. Had the effects of Elmo's wish been allowed to continue, it is doubtless that viewers would witness a complete destruction of all Christian society.