Elmo's Christmas Countdown

Elmo's Christmas Countdown is an hour-long Sesame Street Christmas special that first aired on December 23, 2007 on ABC.

Plot synopsis

In Elmo's Christmas Countdown, Stiller the Elf (Ben Stiller) is telling Stan the snowball how Christmas was almost ruined. He recounts how he visited Sesame Street because he believed Oscar the Grouch would start the official countdown to Christmas. However, Oscar tosses the magical counting blocks into the air and they disappear. Stiller is worried that he destroyed Christmas, and it is up to Elmo and Abby Cadabby to help him find the blocks and the true meaning of Christmas miracles. They find the blocks one by one:

Block #10 features Jennifer Hudson singing "Carol of the Bells" with the Forest Animals (including Hoots the Owl). It is found by Abby Cadabby.
Block #9 has the reindeer newscaster Charles Blitzen (a spoof of Charles Gibson) of CDN (short for Counter Downer Network) reporting on the incident caused by Stiller the Elf. It is found in Bert's Christmas oatmeal.
Block #8 has Anne Hathaway singing "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas" (a parody of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas") with Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus. It is found in Super Grover's cape.
Block #7 has Tony Sirico and Steven Schirripa failing to star in a Christmas Special as Bert and Ernie, Christmas is finally saved. It is found by Big Bird.
While Abby and Stiller hunt for Block #6, Block #5 is found by Ernie. Elmo sings "Do You Hear What I Hear" with Alicia Keys.
Block #6 has Charles Blitzen reporting that mass-hysteria is happening after news of the incident caused by Stiller the Elf was happening. It was found by Alicia Keys.
Block #5 (which was found by Ernie) has Jamie Foxx singing the "Nutcracker Suite" with a Nutcracker version of Elmo.
Block #4 has Charles Blitzen sticking out his tongue to Stiller the Elf. It was found by Papa Bear.
Block #3 has Count von Count singing "I Saw Three Ships" with Ty Pennington during an "Extreme Makeover: Christmas Edition" where more ships are being made for the song. It was found by Mama Bear.
Block #2 has Brad Paisley singing "Jingle Bells" with Grover and the Penguins. It was found Baby Bear.
Block #1 was found by Stiller the Elf. Unfortunately, it had a cookie in it and the Christmas Counter Downer is eaten by Cookie Monster.
Stiller the Elf states that Christmas will never come as Oscar the Grouch celebrates. Elmo states that he and Abby can believe in Christmas miracles as Stiller joins them. Their believing attracts the appearance of Santa Claus (Kevin James). Santa Claus then sings "You Gotta Believe" with Elmo, Abby, Stiller, Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, Ernie and Bert, Count von Count, Grover, Prairie Dawn, Baby Bear, Telly Monster, Rosita, Zoe, and Cookie Monster. Santa Claus then takes his leave as he quotes "Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night." After the story is over, Stiller the Elf and Stan the Snowball wish everybody a Merry Christmas.

Sesame Street's broadcast history

Elmo's Christmas Countdown marks the ninth time the Sesame Street characters have crossed over into broadcast television. All other Sesame Street material have aired on PBS, a public television network. 25th and 30th anniversary specials, as well as Elmopalooza, have also aired on ABC, while NBC aired an introductory show to Sesame Street called This Way To Sesame Street, Big Bird in China, and a 20th anniversary special. CBS aired the independently produced A Special Sesame Street Christmas, and Fox aired the special CinderElmo.

Cast

Ben Stiller - Stiller the Elf (voice)
Anne Hathaway - Herself
Ty Pennington - Himself
Jamie Foxx - Himself
Alicia Keys - Herself
Sheryl Crow - Herself
Charles Gibson - Charles Blitzen (voice)
Steve Schirripa - Famous Ernie
Tony Sirico - Famous Bert
Jennifer Hudson - Herself
Brad Paisley - Himself
Kevin James - Santa Claus

Muppet performers

Kevin Clash - Elmo, Mouse King
Jennifer Barnhart - Mama Bear
Fran Brill - Prairie Dawn
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph - Abby Cadabby
Eric Jacobson - Bert, Grover
Joey Mazzarino - Papa Bear, Stan the Snowball
Jerry Nelson - Count von Count
Martin P. Robinson - Mr. Snuffleupagus
David Rudman - Cookie Monster, Baby Bear
Caroll Spinney - Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch
Matt Vogel - Stiller the Elf (puppeteer)
Steve Whitmire - Ernie
Bryant Young - Rear end of Mr. Snuffleupagus

Additional Muppets performed by Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Tyler Bunch, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Artie Esposito, James Godwin, BJ Guyer, Andy Hayward, Patrick Holmes, John Kennedy, Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Peter Linz, Michael Lisa, Noel MacNeal, Amanda Maddock, Ed May, Paul McGinnis, Tracie Mick, Carmen Osbahr-Vertiz, Marc Petrosino, Karen Prell Mike Quinn Andy Stone, Ian Sweetman, David Stephens, John Tartaglia, and Gabriel Velez.

References

External links

Elmo's Christmas Countdown at Internet Movie Database
Elmo's Christmas Countdown at Muppet Wiki

Sesame Street

General	Sesame Street (fictional location) Sesame Workshop History Format Educational goals Influence Characters (Muppet Human Animated) Recurring segments Accolades Emmys

People	Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett Gerald S. Lesser Jon Stone Jim Henson Joe Raposo Kevin Clash Kermit Love Joey Mazzarino Carol-Lynn Parente List of animators List of crew List of guest stars List of Muppeteers

Production	Research International co-productions (Characters) "Elmo's World" "Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce" Music Discography Songs Theme song

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

Television specials	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) Big Bird in Japan (1989) Sesame Street Stays Up Late! (1993) Elmo Saves Christmas (1996) Elmopalooza (1998) CinderElmo (1999) Elmo's Christmas Countdown (2007) Abby in Wonderland (2008) The Cookie Thief (2015)

International Sesame Street spin-offs	1, rue Sésame (France) 5, Rue Sésame (France) Alam Simsim (Egypt) Baghch-e-Simsim (Afghanistan) Barrio Sésamo (Spain) Batibot (Philippines) The Furchester Hotel (UK) Galli Galli Sim Sim (India) Hikayat Simsim (Jordan) Iftah Ya Simsim (Kuwait) Jalan Sesama (Indonesia) Kilimani Sesame (Tanzania) Plaza Sésamo (Mexico/Latin America) Rechov SumSum (Israel) Sabai Sabai Sesame (Cambodia) Sesam Stasjon (Norway) Sesame Park (Canada) Sesame Square (Nigeria) Sesame Tree (UK) Sesamstraat (Netherlands) Sesamstraße (Germany) Shalom Sesame (Israel) Shara'a Simsim (Palestine) Sim Sim Hamara (Pakistan) Sisimpur (Bangladesh) Susam Sokağı (Turkey) Svenska Sesam (Sweden) Takalani Sesame (South Africa) Ulica Sezamkowa (Poland) Ulitsa Sezam (Russia) Vila Sésamo (Brazil) Zhima Jie (China) Sesamisutorīto (Japan)

Literature	Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street The World According to Sesame Street Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street The Sesame Street Dictionary Sesame Street Magazine

Video games	Alpha Beam with Ernie The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure Cookie's Counting Carnival

Related	The Muppets Big Bag Sesame Beginnings Panwapa Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase Sesame Place Kaufman Astoria Studios Sesame Street Unpaved 123 Sesame Street I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story Air Grover Sesame Street in the UK

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