Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic



Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic is a four-dimensional show/attraction that premiered at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka on April 26, 2003. The show was taped at Universal Studios in Florida in 2002.

It is shown at the theme park's "Cinema 4-D Theater", along with Shrek's 4-D Adventure. (Sesame 4-D operates from the park's opening hour to 1:45 pm and Shrek operates from there until closing time).

Since March 2008 the attraction, in its original shot English form, is also showing at SeaWorld, California, but has been renamed "Lights, Camera, Imagination! 4D" for US-audiences. The film is also played at two of the Busch Gardens theme parks, in Williamsburg, VA and in Tampa Bay, FL.

Universal Studios Dubailand and Movie Park Germany is building a 400-seat theatre for the show, as well as a carousel and "Elmo's Emporium" gift shop.

Synopsis
The show's basic theme is imagination. In a projection room, the Sesame Street Film Festival is being held, and everyone is busy adding final touches to their films. The first preview is a western flick made by (and starring) the Count, entitled The Counting Kid Counts Again which was filmed in the Arbor area. The second preview is Prairie Dawn's sci-fi/adventure film Prairie and the Pretty Space Ponies, which stars her along with Telly, Zoe and the Two-Headed Monster as the title characters. Suddenly, the projector breaks. Disappointed, everyone leaves the room. Elmo, being the only one left, has an idea that everyone can still show their movies by using their imaginations. Elmo leaves the room and guests enter the main theater.

As soon as everyone is in the main theater, Big Bird, seen with two anonymous Twiddlebugs appearing in CGI form, welcomes the audience and walks over to 123 Sesame Street, where he meets up with everyone else, looking rather disappointed about what happened earlier. Elmo comes in riding his tricycle (bumping into a crate near Oscar's trash can). The "movies" then begin.

Grover climbs off the stoop and pretends that he's a cowboy, fireman (squirting the audience with a CGI "Muppetised" hose) and Super Grover (who gets struck by a huge rock that falls from the sky).

Ernie, who is sitting on the stoop with Bert suggest that they imagine themselves in different places (much against Bert's will). First, they imagine being in a desert, followed by a bathtub (possibly in their apartment) where Ernie throws his Rubber Duckie into the air, leading them to the bottom of the ocean, where Ernie plays fetch with a "dogfish". Out of nowhere, a purple octopus pulls Bert away-not to harm, but to dance the tango with him. Bert is having so much fun dancing with him until he's snapped out of the dream sequence and finds himself held by Oscar.

Next, Cookie Monster imagines himself in a monster movie spoof entitled "Cookie Monster vs. Monster Cookie", which starts with him on top of the Empire State building (a reference to King Kong) and a bunch of Anything Muppets below him screaming. Cookie explains that it's not him who's causing the distress, but rather, a giant cookie which flies around like a UFO, squirting chocolate on the buildings. Cookie makes an attempt to defeat him, but he fails. That is until he "walks off", tricking the over-sized cookie into having his way until he is smashed into crumbs. Cookie then swallows the crumb like a vacuum cleaner and he's back on the street.

Oscar the Grouch then imagines himself and the others on Sesame Street, which has become a dump surrounded by Pesties (who crawl around the audience members' legs, yet only one is seen), socks that sing "I Love Trash," and rain falling from the sky. Elmo comes up with a "happy ending" involving sunny skies, balloons, decorations and so on.

In the final part of the attraction (in which the audience steps through the screen and enter the third hall with an almost exact replica of the street set), Big Bird, Cookie, Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Grover, Zoe, Telly, The Count and Prairie Dawn are seen back in their same old street being interviewed by a Large Lavender Anything Muppet female reporter.

Venues and titles

 * Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic at Universal Studios Japan (2003)
 * Sesame Street: Lights, Camera, Imagination! 4D at SeaWorld, California (2008)
 * Sesame Street: Lights, Camera, Imagination! 4D at Busch Gardens, Virginia (2009)
 * Sesame Street Flim Festival at Busch Gardens, Florida (2010)
 * Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic at Universal Studios Dubailand (planned)
 * Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic at Movie Park Germany (planned, opening in the Summer of 2013)

Credits

 * Executive Producer: Peter Van Roden
 * Written by: Joey Mazzarino, John Weidman, John Rust
 * Director/Co-author: John Rust
 * Animation Director: Robert Tygner
 * Digital Puppeteer: Robert Tygner
 * Animator: Joelle Newton-Mold
 * Art Director: David Kahler
 * Puppet Wrangler: Michael Schupbach
 * Production assistant: Javier Mayol

Pre-Show

 * Main: Elmo, Prairie Dawn, Cookie Monster, Grover, Oscar, the Count, Telly Monster, Zoe, Two-Headed Monster, Chicken


 * Background: Baby Bear, Grundgetta, Rosita, Herry Monster, Mel, Narf Phoebe, Lulu, The Countess, Honker, Bats, Google

3D Movie

 * Main: Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Elmo, Oscar, Grover, Telly Monster, Chicken, Pestie, Singing socks, Twidddlebugs (CGI)


 * Background: Humphrey, Herry Monster, Googel, Narf, Green Dinger

3rd Hall

 * Main: Big Bird, Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Oscar, Grover, the Count, Zoe, Prairie Dawn, Telly Monster, Lavender AM reporter

Performers

 * Pam Arciero
 * Fran Brill as Zoe and Prairie Dawn
 * Kevin Clash as Elmo
 * Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Singing Socks
 * Galen Fott
 * Mark Gale
 * Eric Jacobson as Grover and Bert
 * Joey Mazzarino as Telly's stunt chicken and Two-Headed Monster (left head)
 * Paul McGinnis
 * Tracie Mick as Humphrey (puppetry only)
 * Jason Murphy
 * Jerry Nelson as The Count and Announcer for The Counting Kid Counts Again trailer
 * Karen Prell
 * Mike Quinn
 * Martin P. Robinson as Telly and Pesties
 * David Rudman as Cookie Monster, Baby Bear, and Two-Headed Monster (right head)
 * Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar (voices only)
 * Andy Stone
 * John Tartaglia as Ernie
 * Matt Vogel as Big Bird (puppetry)