''Elmo's Christmas Countdown'' is a 2007 television

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

, featuring the characters from ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. It was first aired on December 23, 2007, on ABC and starred

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

Plot synopsis

In ''Elmo's Christmas Countdown'', Stiller the Elf (

) is telling Stan the snowball how Christmas was almost ruined. He recounts how he visited Sesame Street because he believed

Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a Sesame Street (fiction ...

would start the official countdown to Christmas. However, due to his hatred of the Christmas season, 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 Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

and Abby Cadabby to help him find the blocks and the true meaning of Christmas miracles. They find the blocks one by one: * Block No. 10 features Jennifer Hudson singing " Carol of the Bells" with the Forest Animals (including Hoots the Owl). It is found by Abby Cadabby. * Block No. 9 has the

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

News presenter Charles Blitzen (a spoof of

Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American Terrestrial television, broadcast television news presenter, anchor, journalist, and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, ...

) of CDN (short for Counter Downer Network) reporting on the incident caused by Stiller the Elf. It was found in Bert's Christmas oatmeal. * Block No. 8 has

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

singing "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas" (a parody of " I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas") with Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus. It was found in Super Grover's cape. * Block No. 7 has

Tony Sirico Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. (; July 24, 1942 – July 8, 2022) was an American actor. Often cast as a mobster, he portrayed Paulie Gualtieri in ''The Sopranos''. Born in Brooklyn to an Italian-American family, Sirico had a tumultuous early life ...

and Steven Schirripa failing to star in a Christmas Special as Bert and Ernie, Christmas is finally saved. It was found by Big Bird. * Block No. 5 is found by Ernie instead of Block No. 6, which makes Stiller anxious. While Abby takes Stiller for some water,. Elmo sings " Do You Hear What I Hear" with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. * Block No. 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 No. 5 has Jamie Foxx singing the "Nutcracker Suite" with a Nutcracker version of Elmo. It was found by Ernie. * Block No. 4 has Charles Blitzen sticking out his tongue to Stiller the Elf. It was found by Papa Bear. * Block No. 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 No. 2 has

Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...

singing " Jingle Bells" with Grover and the Penguins. It was found by Baby Bear. * Block No. 1 was found by Stiller the Elf. Unfortunately, it had a cookie in it and the Christmas Counter Downer is devoured by

Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...

. Stiller the Elf states that Christmas will never come as Oscar celebrates. Elmo states that he and Abby can believe in Christmas miracles as Stiller joins them. Their believing attracts the appearance of

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

(

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), known professionally as Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. He began his career by performing stand-up comedy at clubs on Long Island in the 1980s. He rose to prominence for his portrayal ...

). Santa Claus then sings "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 commercial television. All other ''Sesame Street'' material had aired on PBS, a

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

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

as Stiller the Elf (voice) *

as herself * Ty Pennington as himself * Jamie Foxx as himself *

as herself *

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

as herself *

as Charles Blitzen (voice) * Steve Schirripa as Famous Ernie *

as Famous Bert * Jennifer Hudson as herself *

as himself *

Muppet performers

* Kevin Clash as

, Mouse King * Jennifer Barnhart as Mama Bear * Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn * Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Abby Cadabby * Eric Jacobson as Bert,

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute, and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally perfo ...

* Joey Mazzarino as Papa Bear, Stan the Snowball * Jerry Nelson as Count von Count * Martin P. Robinson as Mr. Snuffleupagus * David Rudman as

, Baby Bear *

Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. ...

as Big Bird,

* Matt Vogel as Stiller the Elf, Big Bird (puppeteer) *

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on '' The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire originated the roles of Rizzo the R ...

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...

* Bryant Young as the 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, Carmen Osbahr, Patrick Holmes, John Kennedy, Peter Linz, Michael Lisa, Noel MacNeal, Amanda Maddock, Ed May, Paul McGinnis, Tracie Mick, Marc Petrosino, Andy Stone, Ian Sweetman, David Stephens,

John Tartaglia John Nicholas Tartaglia (; born February 16, 1978) is an American puppeteer, actor, and singer. Early life Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, i ...

, and Gabriel Velez.

References

External links

''Elmo's Christmas Countdown''
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...