Muppet Retro Reviews: Elmo Saves Christmas

Michael Wermuth - Elmo Saves Christmas is a Sesame Street special from 1996. The special begins with Telly, Zoe, and Baby Bear spending Christmas with Maya Angelou, for some reason. When they express a desire for every day to be Christmas, Maya tells them the story of “the time Elmo saved Christmas, and almost lost it again.”

In the story, Elmo decides to stay up on Christmas Eve to see Santa Claus come down the chimney. He falls asleep, but does wake up to find Santa stuck in the Chimney. This was the first time Santa had ever gotten stuck in a chimney (and he’s been delivering presents since before Elmo was born), due to his young reindeer Lightning stowing away in his sack of toys. In gratitude for Elmo getting Santa unstuck and therefore saving Christmas, Santa gives Elmo a choice of gifts. Elmo chooses a magical snow globe with three wishes, and wishes for every day to be Christmas.

Once the news of Christmas being every day hits the North Pole, Santa instantly figures out what happened and goes to Sesame Street to convince Elmo that having Christmas every day won’t be as good as it sounds. When Elmo remains unconvinced, Santa has Lightning the Reindeer, who can travel faster than the speed of light and time, to take Elmo to the future, to see what it will be like to have Christmas in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and then finally the next December 25th (Santa can’t join them, due to having to go down chimneys every night).

At first, most of Sesame Street is happy having Christmas every day, but eventually they all get tired and annoyed by it. Grover has trouble selling Christmas trees (as there is now a worldwide Christmas tree shortage), Big Bird misses Snuffy, who is visiting his Granny in Cincinnati for Christmas (and he can’t even send him a letter, due to the post office being closed).  Maria and Luis are tired of not working. The only one happy with this is Oscar, since it annoys everyone else. However, by December 25, the street has pretty much become a ghost town, Bob and 14 Karat Soul lose their voices from singing Christmas carols every day (oh, did I forget to mention that Bob sings with 14 Karat Soul in this?), and the Count even gets annoyed with counting all the Christmases. But in the end things get back to normal.

This special has quite a bit for me to nitpick about. If Santa was able to give Elmo a gift that could grant wishes, couldn’t Santa manage to wish for Christmas to not be every day (especially since it’s mentioned that he had given away three wishes in the past)? Everybody treats every day like Christmas because it is Christmas every day, but couldn’t they all just treat every day (besides the 25th of December) like a regular day (especially when they all tire of it)? And due to it being Christmas every day, the only program on TV is It’s a Wonderful Life. But since when is that the only Christmas program to air? There’s hundreds of other Christmas movies and specials that could be broadcast (A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street…).

But ignoring those nitpicks, there’s a lot to like about this special, including the scenes with Grover and Mr. Johnson, a short scene where Ernie and Bert watch a scene from It’s a Wonderful Life where that movie’s Ernie and Bert are referred to by name, a news report from Kermit, and so much more. Most of the songs are great, including “It’s Christmas Again” (appropriately sung every day by Bob and 14 Karat Soul), Big Bird’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” (no, not the Mariah Carey song), “Every Day Can’t Be Christmas” (whether sung by Santa or Elmo), and a new performance of “Keep Christmas With You”, sung by Elmo and the cast (though I prefer the original from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street). The only song I don’t like as much is “Give Your Friend an Easter Egg for Christmas” sung by the Easter Bunny (played by Harvey Fierstein). Charles Durning (who you may remember as Doc Hopper from The Muppet Movie) does a great job as Santa Claus, and Lightning is a great character. This is my second-favorite Sesame Street Christmas special (after Christmas Eve on Sesame Street).

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

News Update: June 7, 2013

NEWS UPDATE: June 7, 2013

This week, the Writers Guild of America posted their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series. Included on the list were both Sesame Street (at #56) and The Muppet Show (at #91). Check out the blurbs below for what the Writers Guild had to say about the shows. Thanks to our friend Benn Breeden for the alert!

#56 - Sesame Street
"Simply put, the show’s continual inventiveness and impact as an educational tool – forged via the runaway popularity of the Muppets – changed the landscape of children's television. Joan Ganz Cooney was a children's television producer in New York City when, with government funding, she founded the Children's Television Workshop. Sesame Street was born of her belief that kids programming ought to be more forward-thinking and fun. "I wanted this show to jump and move fast and feel and sound like 1969, because kids are turned on visually!" Cooney is quoted as saying on the show's Web site. Cooney's creative team included Frank Oz, Jon Stone (a former producer on Captain Kangaroo who became the show's first head writer), and the master puppeteer Jim Henson. Sesame Street, when it debuted, was banned from the air in Mississippi due to its interracial cast."

#91 - The Muppet Show

"Behind Jim Henson's genius and generosity of spirit were writers who shared his vision for puppetry that could tickle kids while delighting adults. They had worked with Henson going back before Sesame Street and followed him as the Muppets multiplied, springing to richer and richer life. On The Muppet Show, the characters were in showbiz now – with Kermit the Frog the impresario of a kind of variety show that peered at itself backstage, had a house band (The Electric Mayhem), a diva ingénue (Miss Piggy), balcony hecklers (Statler and Waldorf) and a human celebrity guest star. On the writing side, Henson's collaborators included head writer Jerry Juhl (winner of five Writers Guild Awards), Jon Stone (who wrote one of two pilots for the series, called "Sex and Violence with the Muppets"), Marc London (Laugh-in), and Jack Burns, of the comedy team Burns and Schreiber, head writer during the first season."

This week Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop announced their exciting new partnership with the National Park Service. This partnership encourages young viewers to go out and explore the United States National Parks. Who better to encourage this than our favorite furry red monsters Elmo and Murray? Check out the video below to see Elmo and Murray chat with a park ranger. Be sure to click around for the other videos in the series as well. This series is very notable because Elmo is being performed by Muppeteer Ryan Dillon for the first time in a major production. Dillon's Elmo performance is incredibly spot-on. Check it out for yourself!



Finally, our friends at ToughPigs.com have some interesting new information about the upcoming BBC game show starring puppets from The Jim Henson Company--aptly titled That Puppet Game Show. You'll want to check out ToughPigs for all the information, but you can see the intriguing photo featuring "celebrity" Vernon Kay and puppet Dougie Colon below. Enjoy?

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Retro Reviews: Elmopalooza

Michael Wermuth, Jr. - Elmopalooza is a special celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sesame Street. Unlike other anniversary specials, this one does not include clips from the show. Instead, it features new musical performances of songs from the show, as performed by many pop stars along with familiar Muppet characters, and most of the numbers are done in the style of music videos.

The main plot of the special revolves around Jon Stewart, who is set to host a Sesame Street music special. But right before showtime, Elmo accidentally locks Jon, producer Prairie Dawn, the door repair man, and the entire crew except for a stagehand (played by David Alan Grier) inside Jon's dressing room, so the Sesame Street Muppets decide to put on the show themselves. The Count provides the countdown, Bert directs, and Elmo decides to host, in an attempt to make up for his mistake.

This special also has a B-plot, in which the adults plan to come to the studio by limo, but their driver ends up being Grover. Grover assures them that even though he does not know the way, he will get them there because he has a video map. But it turns out it was not a video map after all, but a video game. Fortunately, Grover does end up getting them there before the closing number, but not before getting them lost in other places, like the desert.

For a special celebrating the music of Sesame Street, particularly an anniversary special, most of the songs included are NOT ones casual fans might expect. We don't get celebrities singing new versions of "Rubber Duckie", "C is for Cookie", "Bein' Green", or other songs like that. Instead, most of the songs are what I'd consider secondary or lower ("I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" is what I'd call the only A-list song to be included). In fact, some of these songs I hadn't heard (or even heard of) until I saw this special (and a few of them I still haven't seen or heard the original performances of). But pretty much all of the performances are great regardless.

Among the songs given music videos are "Caribbean Amphibian" with Jimmy Buffet and Kermit, "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" (a song not seen or heard on the show since 1984) with En Vogue and the monsters, "Mambo I,I, I" with Gloria Estefan and Rosita, and "One Small Voice" with Kenny Loggins, among other numbers. At one point, Elmo and Rosie O'Donnell take the stage to perform "Nearly Missed", and when Elmo accidentally causes the set to fall apart, he starts feeling bad about himself as host, but he gets better. In addition to all the singers, there are cameos by non-singers like Richard Beltzer (who has a stunt double try to break down the door), Chris Rock (who considers hosting the show, until Prairie Dawn tells him "No dirty jokes!"), and Conan O'Brien (who interviews the Martians).

Eventually, Jon Stewart breaks free of his dressing room, Elmo's spirits are lifted, and they are able to sing a great closing number, "Songs", joined by the cast (and the stagehand). This sequence includes a medley of some of the more famous songs one would expect to see in a special like this, like "Rubber Duckie" and "C is for Cookie". It's a grand finale, followed by a closing credits montage of all the celebrities in the special singing a verse of the theme song.

So that's Elmopalooza. I would have preferred the special to have clips from the show, as that's what I normally expect from anniversary specials, but despite the lack of show clips, this is a great special. I enjoy the various celebrity performances, and it's cool that the special focuses on lesser-known songs, and the special features most of the 1997-1998 cast (plus Forgetful Jones in the background of some scenes). Elmo may have his name in the title, but it's a lot more than just Elmo. It's an anniversary special worth watching.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Happy Easter 2013, Muppet Fans!

HAPPY EASTER, MUPPET FANS!!!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

News Update: December 4, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: December 4, 2012

Straight off the heels of their week long television-takeover, CeeLo Green and the Muppets are still all over the place. For instance, check out this video introduction CeeLo and Miss Piggy made for a playlist of their favorite holiday songs (obviously including the "All I Need is Love" music video).



Friend of the Muppets and Sesame Street Neil Patrick Harris has always been an avid puppet fan and supporter of all things Muppet-related. So it should come as no surprise that he found a way to team up with The Jim Henson Company along with The Nerdist Channel to create an hysterical, rude, and down-right awesome new web series called Neil's Puppet Dreams. Be forewarned: the following video is very much PG-13, so be ready for some raunchy puppets. However, if you're like me and a sucker for anything NPH (especially NPH and puppets), then this is for you!



Michael Bublé: Home for the Holidays is an upcoming NBC holiday television special from singer Michael Bublé (obviously) and everyone's favorite furry red monster, Elmo, will be appearing in the special on December 10th at 10:00pm/9:00pm central time! This does not mean we can expect to see a new performer as Elmo after Kevin Clash's recent resignation, it just means the special was filmed in October. In an interview with Xfinity, Bublé says, "There was never a discussion to lose him. The truth is, Elmo didn’t do anything. He’s a three-year-old monster. He’s innocent, sweet, and funny – and very polite, too. The deal is that Elmo is featured on my special and that’s kind of how I really felt about it. It’s so warm and sweet. It really is a beautiful moment. I think people will enjoy it." I think it's very cool of Bublé to respect Elmo this much and I for one can't wait for the appearance!

Speaking of Muppet TV Appearances, Kermit the Frog always seems to spend some time on the airwaves this time of year, and this holiday season is no exception! Yesterday he appeared on ABC's cooking/talk show The Chew to (finally) promote the Blu-ray release of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Check out the hilarious appearance in the videos below, and find out what Kermit thinks of Homeland, which celebrities he thinks he looks like, and more!



One of my favorite shows and one of NBC's funniest shows is 30 Rock starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. As you may know, the show is coming to an end after this, it's seventh season, so they're pulling out all the stops to make it one to remember. And this Thursday night, December 6th at 8:00pm/7:00pm central time, those stops include welcoming the real, actual Kermit the Frog to the show! This is sure to be a fantastic appearance, and 30 Rock is no stranger to Muppets, so be sure to tune in to see Kermit rock with Liz Lemon, Jack Donaghy, and more! Special thanks to our friends at ToughPigs.com for breaking the news!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Kevin Clash Resigns from Sesame Street

Over the past few weeks, you've no doubt heard Kevin Clash's name in the news or read it online, but you'll notice that you did not read it here. The Muppet Mindset made a very firm decision early last week to stay out of tabloid gossip and salacious rumors that affected not only a friend to the site, but a major inspiration as well. Unfortunately, the situation has reached a point where we find that we have to report about it, and it is with extreme sadness that we do so.

Kevin Clash, the man who has brought to life Elmo for 27 years, has officially left Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop. Below you'll find Sesame Workshop's official statement, followed by Kevin Clash's official statement, both initially reported on by the New York Times.

Sesame Workshop's Statement
Sesame Workshop's mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.

Kevin Clash's Statement
"I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart. I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

We at The Muppet Mindset are stunned, shocked, and incredibly saddened by this turn of events. We truly hope you'll join us in wishing the best for Kevin Clash in his terrible time. We also wish the best to Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop in this uneasy time of transition. Kevin's contributions to the show and the company run much deeper than Elmo, and his presence will surely be missed in a heavy way. We are confident that Elmo will live on in the hands of a new performer, but it is impossible to deny that the character will not suffer because of the loss of Kevin.

Despite any accusations, Kevin Clash is a good man who has inspired countless masses and entertained and educated even greater numbers of children all over the world. It is impeccably sad to see him brought down in such a public, hurtful way and we very much hope that things will smooth over quickly and Kevin can move on with his life, however he chooses to do so. We at The Muppet Mindset thank Kevin Clash for his truly ground-breaking career and sharing his immense talent in such a purely good way.

To close, we share our audio interview with Kevin Clash and Elmo from last year.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppetology 101: Intro to Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, Pt. 2

Ryan Dosier - Welcome back to class, class! No quiz again this week, because my cousin's hamster took the papers... he didn't eat them, but instead started his own Muppetology course next door. Don't fall for it. He isn't licensed! ...And obviously I am, if anyone asks. Anyway, let's continue our lecture on Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, this week focusing on the magnificent monsters of Sesame Street!

• GROVER 
• Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and ERIC JACOBSON (1998-present)
• Grover is one of Sesame Street's numerous furry blue monsters. He debuted in the first season of Sesame Street and has been a consistently popular presence ever since. Grover is best known for the countless professions he has worked in over the years, most notably as a waiter and his superhero alter-ego, Super Grover. As far as monsters go, Grover is about as far away from scary as one can get. He is a self-proclaimed cute, adorable little monster and has no interest in scaring anyone. In fact, he scared himself at the prospect of a monster in the classic book, The Monster at the End of This Book. He even sang the song "I Whistle a Happy Tune" with Cookie Monster when they were afraid of the woods. Grover can currently be seen nearly everyday on Sesame Street in his recurring segment "Super Grover 2.0."

• COOKIE MONSTER 
• Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and DAVID RUDMAN (2001-present)
• Yet another of the furry blue monsters of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster is one of the most popular characters on the show, and one of the most popular and beloved television characters of all time. Cookie Monster, of course, ravenously devours cookies (and most everything else) anytime that he gets the opportunity. Of all the Sesame Street monsters, Cookie Monster has the most monster-like speech saying "me" instead of "I," as in "Me want cookies!" Again, however, Cookie Monster does not exhibit many scary traits. Yes, his penchant for eating anything and everything makes him rather over the top, he is never purposefully scary. Just hold on to your hat if it's near a plate of cookies. Cookie Monster recently made a big splash with his parody video of the song "Call Me Maybe" and can be seen in numerous episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.

• ELMO 
• Primarily performed by KEVIN CLASH (1985-present) 
• Perhaps the most popular children's television character of the past decade, Elmo is the giggling, ticklish, imaginative furry red monster on Sesame Street--as if anyone doesn't know that already. Elmo is the least scary Muppet monster, right alongside Grover, and would never dream of trying to scare someone. Elmo himself has been scared many times, however. At age three-and-a-half, Elmo is one of the youngest denizens of Sesame Street and has gotten scared many times, especially when he had a close call with a fire in Hooper's Store. Mostly, though, Elmo is just happy and carefree. He inhabited "Elmo's World" on the show for many years until the segment was replaced in Season 43 by the entertaining new segment "Elmo: The Musical." Elmo can be seen consistently on every episode of Sesame Street.

• TELLY MONSTER 
• Primarily performed by MARTIN P. ROBINSON (1984-present)
• Telly Monster is one of the main characters on modern day Sesame Street and appears in numerous street stories every season. Telly is best friends with Baby Bear but loves to play with everyone else on Sesame Street too. Telly used to be highly neurotic and worried all the time, but has since mellowed out. In his first appearance, Telly had spinning eyes and antennae sticking out of his head, making it the only time Telly was legitimately scary. Since then, Telly has been the one getting scared, not doing the scaring. In his worrying state, Telly would scare incredibly easily, and sometimes that still shows through even though he has matured quite a bit over the years. Telly can be seen in most episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.

• ROSITA 
• Performed by CARMEN OSBAHR
• Another member of Sesame Street's furry blue monster family, Rosita is a smart, Spanish speaking female monster who loves to play her guitar and sing. She first appeared on Sesame Street in 1991 in Season 23. For quite awhile, Rosita appeared with wings, explaining her full name Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, which translates to Rosita the Monster of the Caves, implying that she was conceived as fruit bat of some sort. Rosita lost her wings in Season 35. Although her full name sounds frightening, Rosita is anything but, as she is one of the sweetest characters on Sesame Street. Rosita remains a popular main character on Sesame Street to this day and can be seen in numerous Season 43 episodes.

• ZOE 
• Performed by FRAN BRILL
• Zoe, who debuted in Season 25 in 1994, was conceived and developed to match Elmo in both appearance and popularity. It succeeded, as Zoe continues to delight children on Sesame Street to this day nearly 20 years later. Zoe has gone through many phases on the show, loving her Zoemobile, her bracelets, her tutu, her dancing, and her pet rock Rocco. Zoe is always seen wearing her pink ballet tutu these days and is usually seen with her friends Elmo, Rosita, and Abby Cadabby. Zoe has a delightful laugh that sets her apart from the other characters and a favorite of Muppet fans and children alike.

• HERRY MONSTER 
• Performed by JERRY NELSON
• Herry Monster is a classic Sesame Street character who debuted in Season 2 of the show and became a favorite character of the audience as well as his performer Jerry Nelson. Herry is perhaps best known for counting to 20 with John John early in the show's run and for being a part of a sort of trio with Cookie Monster and Grover. Herry is larger than most and much stronger as well. It seems that he is always accidentally breaking something, but he always feels terrible about it. Herry loves to play with his doll, Hercules, and remained popular on Sesame Street into the 1990s and early 2000s. He has since been phased into the background, but not before starring in his own recurring segment "Monster Day Care," performing alongside Garth Brooks and Maya Angelou, and becoming best friends with both Prairie Dawn and Rosita.

• MURRAY MONSTER 
• Performed by JOEY MAZZARRINO
• Murray is the newest monster on this list, appearing first in Season 36 in 2005. Since then, Murray has grown into one of the most-used characters on Sesame Street, appearing daily in "tune-in" segments throughout the run of the episodes since Season 40 as well as introducing the daily "Word on the Street." Murray is also the first main character performed by veteran Sesame Street performer and writer Joey Mazzarrino. Murray is often seen with his Spanish-speaking little lamb friend Ovejita, and the two of them had their own segment called "Murray Has a Little Lamb." Currently, Murray and Ovejita co-host the interstitial moments in every episode of the show. Murray can be seen in every episode of Sesame Street Season 43.

• FRAZZLE 
• Performed by JERRY NELSON
• Frazzle is the only Sesame Street monster who could be considered legitimately scary. His appearance is frightening, with his large white teeth and angry eyes, and he speaks entirely in growls. However, Frazzle is really lovable and just wants to be loved back, he can't help it if he accidentally scares people. Frazzle has been around since Season 4 of Sesame Street and has performed now-classic songs like "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)" and "Frazzle," the latter performed with his band The Frazzletones. Frazzle rarely appears on the show these days, and if he does it's only in the background, but he has a consistent presence in Sesame Street books to this day.

Well, that's all the material I have for class today. I hope you learned something. No scat, cats! Don't make me bring in the monsters to scare you away.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com 

News Update: October 6, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: October 6, 2012

Our friend Elmo continued to make the talk show round this week to promote "Elmo: The Musical" on Sesame Street Season 43. He stopped by Today on NBC on Tuesday to hang out with Al Roker and friends and just be hysterically goofy. Check out the video below and witness Elmo cracking everyone up with his Gangnam Style dancing, ravenous cookie eating, and eye makeup.



In other Sesame Street Season 43 news, one of Sesame's fantastic spoofs from this season made the rounds on entertainment websites this week. "Birdwalk Empire," a parody of the Emmy-nominated Boardwalk Empire, is that video and you can watch it below! It really does live up to the hype, because it's hilarious... and features Frank Oz as a random chicken. How can you NOT watch it?

As we mentioned last week, the Muppets will be appearing on Cee Lo Green's new Christmas album, CeeLo's Magic Moment, available on October 30th. The Muppets will appear on the track "All I Need is Love" and you can preview a minute and a half of the track right this very minute on iTunes! Based on the preview, this song is pretty fantastic. It's a lot of fun, uses some classic "Mahna Mahna" background tracks, and the Muppets sound great. We get to hear Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy in the preview, but I have a feeling we'll hear a lot more of them once we can hear the whole song!

Last week we also posted the entirety of the Muppets at the "Just For Laughs" Comedy Gala. Unfortunately, the full video has been taken down, presumably for good. But thankfully, our good friends at Muppet Musings have recovered one of my favorite parts of the show: The Muppets Salute Canada, led by Sam Eagle and a whole bunch of hilariously false facts. Enjoy the video!

Finally, as you've probably heard, in the first Presidential Debate on Wednesday night, Republican nominee Mitt Romney said these exact words, "I'm gonna stop the subsidy to PBS. I like PBS. I love Big Bird." This one comment led to a firestorm of support for Big Bird, a wave of anger at Mitt Romney, and generated thousands and thousands of tweets. For the best, full coverage of this incident, I dictate to our good friends at ToughPigs.com, who have rounded up everything you need to know about this thing. Personally, I'm glad Big Bird is getting exposure... but now he and Sesame Street are being used as obnoxious political jabs by both parties, which is frustrating. Mostly, like Sesame Workshop, I'm just glad everyone can agree that we all love Big Bird regardless of party. I will always stand on the side that supports Big Bird and Sesame Street, because Big Bird and Sesame Street have supported the children of America and the world for 43 years.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Elmo: The Musical - A Review of the Revue

The 43rd season of Sesame Street debuted on Monday and the new big thing on the show this year is a brand new segment, Elmo: The Musical. The all-singing, all-dancing segment is designed to replace Elmo's World, which has really been starting to show its age in recent years. Thankfully, not only does Elmo: The Musical provide a fitting replacement for the legendary Elmo's World, but it is infinitely more fun and entertaining for anyone who might tune in.

What struck me first about Elmo: The Musical was how incredibly well made it is. Set entirely against a computer animated background, the show not only looks amazing, but feels like we really are participating in Elmo's imagination right along with him. The colors are vibrant and exciting and the scenery is always fantastic--so much better than the stagnant crayon room of Elmo's World. In the three segments I watched, "Athlete the Musical," "Sea Captain the Musical," and "Pizza the Musical," Elmo's imagination took us to an Olympic-sized stadium, a grand ocean, and the outer reaches of space. The segment really allows Elmo to stretch and show off his vibrant imagination and gives us a peak at the giddy fun that is Elmo's mind.

Another truly excellent factor of Elmo: The Musical is the music. Each different sketch has so much new musical content in it--and every note is pitch perfect. The songs are not only catchy, but they brilliantly straddle the line between education and humor, just as any good Sesame Street content does. Musical repetitiveness is used to great effect here. A prime example is in "Athlete the Musical," where Elmo is competing to win a pair of golden shoes. Every time Elmo mentions the prize, he slides off to the pedestal where the shoes are sitting and sings a hysterical refrain of "Golden Shoooooes..." This happens four or five times with increasing hilarity. Watching Elmo long for these shoes is fantastic. My favorite song from the three segments I watched was "Dancing with a Whale" from "Sea Captain the Musical." In this song, Elmo sings with a giant pink whale he's been searching for, Captain Ahab-style, throughout the entire show. It's hilarious and the tune is wonderful.

The thing that really makes Elmo: The Musical stand apart from Elmo's World is the number of characters present in every segment. While in Elmo's World it was mostly Elmo talking with the silent Dorothy and Mr. Noodle (with a brief appearance by another character near the end), Elmo: The Musical showcases numerous new characters for Elmo to play off of. I saw Martians, an Enormous Athlete, Chicken Sailors, a Pink Whale, Cheerleaders, a Chicken Darth Vader, and more that I'm probably forgetting spread across these three segments alone. They always play secondary to Elmo, but they're always fun and very funny--especially when they're interacting with Elmo. These characters are what really make Elmo: The Musical so much better than Elmo's World. Elmo isn't talking to the three year old watching, he's talking and singing with characters on screen. It's charming and adorable and fun and funny--all the things Elmo is meant for.

The only recurring character in the segment besides Elmo is a giant curtain named Velvet. She is performed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph brilliantly and is possibly my favorite new Sesame character in ages. Her voice is lilting and operatic, even and she is so excited for Elmo's newest musical. She completely outshines Elmo's previous sidekick, Dorothy the goldfish, because she can actually communicate and interact with Elmo. Elmo and Velvet are such a fun pair and I'm so glad the producers decided to include this character. Velvet is a true delight--which I mostly attribute to Leslie's incredible voice-acting.

One of the only changes I would make to Elmo: The Musical is adding in other established Muppet characters besides Elmo. I would love to see Grover or Murray or Telly participate in one of Elmo's big musicals. But really, this is a small complaint because we do get to see new, fun one-shot characters in each segment. This allows the Muppeteers to stretch their acting and singing and it's fantastic. I just think it might be fun for Abby Cadabby or Rosita to get into the mix for one of the Musicals.

In the end, Elmo: The Musical is really the perfect new segment for Sesame Street. It appeals to a much broader, older audience than Elmo's World ever did. It's all about music and imagination and fun and it is a brilliant showcase for Elmo, who, incredibly, never becomes obnoxious here. He is a natural born performer and Elmo: The Musical is excellent proof of that. Kevin Clash's performances as Elmo never falter, and Elmo's singing voice is as great as ever. While watching Sesame Street episodes, once the street story was over I found myself growing impatient for Elmo: The Musical to start just because I was so excited for it. This new segment is true quality excellence and I am so incredibly thrilled to say that. I haven't been this impressed by a new Sesame Street segment since... Super Grover 2.0, maybe.

Anyway... that's enough raving from me. Basically, you should really tune into Sesame Street this season. Elmo: The Musical has sprung to life in such an exciting way. I adore it and I think you will too.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com