Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas

Directed by:	Matt Vogel Ken Diego (associate) Leslie Williams (associate)
Written by:	Ken Scarborough Geri Cole
Release date:	November 25, 2016
Running time:	51 minutes
Rating:	TV Y
Available on:	DVD HBO Max (November 1)

Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas is a Christmas special spun off from Sesame Street that premiered on HBO on November 25, 2016 (making it the first Sesame Street Christmas special to come out following the show's move to HBO) and featuring guest stars Audra McDonald, Zosia Mamet, and Jim Gaffigan (as Santa Claus). It won the 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.

Synopsis

From the press release:

“

Once Upon a Sesame Christmas opens with the lyrical number "Holiday Lights", a musical glimpse into the homes of Sesame Street families celebrating winter holidays, and unfolds into a fanciful bedtime story that brings the past alive. After a day of holiday fun, while being tucked into bed on Christmas Eve, Elmo asks, “Why do we leave cookies out for Santa?" Elmo's father spins a tale about a dreary Sesame Street of yesteryear, a place so unfriendly not even Santa Claus would visit, viewers are transported to a period-perfect 19th-century city neighborhood, with characters in authentic hand-sewn costumes, but marked by unkindness and a serious lack of holiday spirit. Luckily, Elmo's great-great-great-grandmonster moves there with the best of intentions and endless good will, gradually winning over the unhappy citizens and bringing kindness and cheer to Sesame Street once and for all.

”

Availability

The cover to the DVD release.

A DVD of the special was released by Sesame Workshop's then-current video distributor, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, on October 10, 2017. It also included the 2006 direct-to-video special A Sesame Street Christmas Carol as a bonus feature, along with two Christmas-themed Sesame Street segments that originally premiered online, "Twas a Night Before Cookie" and "Elmo's Christmas Song", six other holiday shorts from Sesame Studios' YouTube page, and a downloadable storybook version of the special's plot through DVD-ROM.

Songs

1. "Holiday Lights"
2. "Let Santa Know We're Here"
3. "Two is You and Me"
4. "Deck the Halls"
5. "Kindness"

Cast

Actor/Muppeteer	Character(s)
Alan Muraoka	Alan
Suki Lopez	Nina
Caroll Spinney	Big Bird Oscar the Grouch
Jim Gaffigan	Santa Claus
Audra McDonald	Caroler
Zosia Mamet	Bella
Billy Barkhurst	Ernie
Jennifer Barnhart	Holly
Tyler Bunch	Louie
Leslie Carrara	Abby Cadabby Becky
Ryan Dillon	Elmo
Haley Jenkins	Lavender Anything Muppet Woman
Eric Jacobson	Bert Grover Two-Headed Monster
David Rudman	Cookie Monster Two-Headed Monster
Matt Vogel	Count von Count Constable
Carmen Osbahr	Rosita
Kolette Tetlow	19th century downtrodden child
Julius Thomas III	19th century Present day SE
Liz Hara Chris Thomas Hayes Kathleen Kim Tim Lagasse Spencer Lott Lara MacLean Andrew Moriarty	Additional Muppet performers

Gallery

Behind-the-scenes photos

Screenshots

External links

• Muppet Wiki: Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas
• Boomerang video #1
• Boomerang video #2
• Boomerang video #3