Elmo's Christmas Countdown



Elmo's Christmas Countdown is an hour-long Sesame Street special which aired on Sunday, December 23, 2007 on ABC at 7pm. The special was filmed in July 2007 with the working title of "Elmo's Christmas Spectacular".

The story is told by Stiller the Elf to Stan the Snowball, recounting the year Christmas almost didn't happen. Stiller recalls that Oscar the Grouch had been researched as the one who had more Christmas joy than anyone else. As such, he plans to give Oscar the official Christmas-Counter-Downer, without which Christmas can't happen. When Oscar throws it away, the windows on the device vanish, and it's up to Elmo to once again save Christmas.

Highlights

 * Sheryl Crow sings "It's Almost Christmas" with Elmo and some Anything Muppets
 * Oscar the Grouch and Stiller the Elf sing a version of "I Hate Christmas"
 * Jennifer Hudson sings "Carol of the Bells" with forest animals
 * Charles Blitzen reports on how Stiller ruined Christmas
 * Anne Hathaway sings "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas" with Big Bird and Snuffy
 * Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa star in the titular roles of The Bert and Ernie Christmas Special with the help of Bert, Ernie, and Prairie Dawn. The sketch is a seasonal variation of Bert and Ernie's famous "banana in my ear" routine.
 * Alicia Keys sings "Do You Hear What I Hear?" with Elmo
 * Jamie Foxx sings "The Nutcracker Suite" with a dancing Nutcracker Elmo
 * Count von Count sings "I Saw Three Ships" with the help of Ty Pennington preforming an Extreme Makeover: Christmas Carol Edition
 * Brad Paisley sings "Jingle Bells" with Grover and some penguins
 * Santa Claus (Kevin James) sings "You Gotta Just Believe" with the entire cast

Characters
Main Muppets:
 * Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Stiller the Elf, Stan the Snowball, Big Bird, Grover (and Super Grover), Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Snuffy, Count von Count, Bert, Ernie, Prairie Dawn, Baby Bear, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Charles Blitzen, The Mouse King

Background Characters
 * Rosita, Zoe, Herry Monster, Telly Monster, Hoots the Owl, Wolfgang the Seal, Dancing Mice, Fruitcake, Candy Cane, Penguins, Anything Muppets, Anything Monsters, forest animals including Jamie Fox

Cast
Starring
 * Kevin Clash as Elmo
 * Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Charles Gibson (voice), Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Hudson, Kevin James, Alicia Keys, Ty Pennington, Brad Paisley, Steve Schirripa, Tony Sirico
 * and Ben Stiller as the voice of Stiller the Elf

Stiller Puppeteered by: Matt Vogel

Muppets of Sesame Street:
 * Pam Arciero, Jennifer Barnhart, Fran Brill, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Artie Esposito, James Godwin, BJ Guyer, Andy Hayward, Patrick Holmes, Eric Jacobson, John Kennedy, Peter Linz, Michael Lisa, Noel MacNeal, Amanda Maddock, Ed May, Joey Mazzarino, Paul McGinnis, Tracie Mick, Jerry Nelson, Carmen Osbahr, Marc Petrosino, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Andy Stone, Ian Sweetman, Gabriel Velez, Steve Whitmire, Bryant Young

With
 * Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar

''Also Appearing:
 * The Brooklyn Youth Chorus and Tiffany Curl

Production crew

 * Executive Producers: Carol-Lynn Parente, Kevin Clash, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
 * Written by Joey Mazzarino
 * Directed by Gary Halvorson
 * Co-Executive Producer: Joey Mazzarino
 * Supervising Producer: Robin Sheldon
 * Coordinating Producer: April Chadderdon
 * Senior Producer: Tim Carter
 * Associate Director: Ken Diego
 * Production Designer: David Gallo
 * Art Director: Bradley Schmidt
 * Puppets, Costumes & Props: Marc Borders, Loryn Brantz, Chelsea Carter, Alana DeMatteo, Andrea Detwiler, Taylor Harrison, Michelle Hickey, Anne Holdgruen, Rollie Krewson, Anney McKilligan, Connie Peterson, Jason Weber
 * Music Director: Loren Toolajian
 * Music Composers: Mark Radice, John Califra
 * Lyrics: Mark Radice, Joey Mazzarino, Byron Breeze, Daniel Butler, Kivel Jones, William Turner
 * Nutcracker Medley: Jamie Foxx
 * Orchestrations and Arrangements: Mark Radice, Ruzzel Velazquez, Marques Jones, Loren Toolajian
 * Costume Designers: Bill Kellard, Terry Roberson
 * Choreography: Brian Thomas, Tiffany Curl
 * Animation by Magnetic Dreams